Dear FIS Community,
A week has passed since our last communication and in that period we have seen a meaningful improvement in the downward trajectory of the pandemic in our region. While the data is still not at a level that allows a reduction in current safety measures, we are seeing key Covid-related figures decreasing, and that is reason for renewed hope.
Our Grade 12 students have returned to campus this week and we know they are pleased to be working directly with their teachers and alongside their peers. We remain hopeful that we will be able to invite other grade levels back on campus in the coming weeks, with some experts suggesting this could occur either at the end of February or in early March providing there is not a substantial increase in cases due to new variants. We can promise that we will communicate this decision to you as soon as we have clarity from the government. The moment we know, you will know as well.
We also wanted to thank our parent community for the more than 700 survey responses that were submitted last week. It is incredibly helpful to compare the results to the surveys sent out earlier in the school year and observe the changes in your perspectives. Not surprisingly, we had far fewer parents wanting in-person instruction at this time, with that figure decreasing from three-quarters in December to less than half last week (46%). When the data is disaggregated to look at specific divisions, the highest percentage of parents wanting in-person instruction comes from our Primary School (60%), which is still down substantially from December (90%). Your approval of our school's handling of the pandemic remains above 90% and, on behalf of our Crisis Team, we want to thank you for your ongoing confidence. You can review the recent survey results here.
We hope to give you a more definitive answer regarding further grades returning in one of the next two Thursday updates. We are now looking at all possible scenarios, including hybrid models as well as staggered return of different grade levels. Please know that in addition to following directives from the government, we are also closely reviewing your input from our surveys to help us understand how we can best meet the needs of our unique international community. We continue to ask that you contact our nursing office if any family member tests positive for Covid-19, even if that individual is not attending school at this time.
Another week has passed, putting us one week closer to the end of this pandemic. You can send us any questions you may have to crisisteam@fis.edu and one of our team members will respond.
Kind regards,
The FIS Crisis Team |