From Head of School
Dear FIS Community,
We have now experienced three weather-related events, two of which were of epic proportions, that have led to unplanned campus closures. As always, safety comes first, and we are fortunate that damages on our campuses were limited. I have received expressions of appreciation for the clarity and timeliness of our school communications. As mentioned in my communication dated 8th September, I am also well aware of the impact such repeated closures have on student learning. While there are reasonable arguments in favour of embracing the proverbial “snow days” (in this case rain days) as welcome moments of pause for students, balance remains an issue, and we should be ready to provide opportunities to learn in case of further disruption in the near future.
In light of recent events, I am sharing two important news today:
- Changes to the school calendar to mitigate the disruptive impact of school closure
- Our short-term schoolwide closure learning plan in case of future school closures
CHANGES IN CALENDAR
In addition to the recent unforeseen weather-related closures, we recently learned from the government that Monday, 11th December would be an official holiday to follow the 10th December election day. All schools in Hong Kong will be closed. This raises to a minimum of four the number of school closure days imposed on us this academic year. This impacts everyone, and I am especially mindful of our high school students who should not fall behind in preparation for their exams.
Therefore, we are taking the exceptional measure to turn Friday, 29th September into a normal instructional day at FIS. Originally in our calendar, 29th September was a holiday for students and a professional development day for faculty. We must indeed use the variables in our control to mitigate these extraordinary circumstances for our students and we will be creative to find alternate ways to bring PD to our teams. We will amend our school calendar accordingly on our website, and I ask you to take note of these two important changes.
SHORT-TERM CLOSURE PLANS
The plans provided below are ready for immediate implementation, should we need to. They are designed for short-term, unexpected campus closures, notwithstanding the reason. They cover all age groups within the school, with age-appropriate degrees of engagement to take into account each group’s relative autonomy and the diverse needs of learners. They provide a balance of online check-ins for students with their class and asynchronous, autonomous activities. This approach ensures social connection, the opportunity to engage in meaningful learning, as well as a degree of autonomy and choice for students and parents (depending on student’s age) on how to plan the day.
EARLY YEAR AND PRIMARY SCHOOL HOME LEARNING PLAN
In FIS Primary, there will be live Google Meet check-ins in the morning to support the school’s youngest learners’ well-being and understanding of learning for the day. Please note the live check-in via Google Meet and home learning tasks are optional, as we understand that some families may experience difficulties in accessing online learning due to the weather conditions in Hong Kong.
| GS/Y1 – Y2/CP | Y3/CE1 – Y4/CE2 | Y5/CM1 – Y6/CM2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Meet check-in | 10:00 am | 10:30 am | 11:00 am |
- Teachers will post work on regular communication platforms by no later than 10 a.m. on the day of the closure. This will be communicated to parents by Home Learning letters sent via email (French stream) and Google classrooms (International stream Y1- Y6).
- It is the student’s responsibility to connect to the learning platform and consult learning opportunities provided from CE2/Y4 to CM2/Y6
- Students in PS/MS, RC/MS, GS/Y1, CP/Y2 and CE1/Y3 will require support from an adult to access the age-appropriate home learning
- For students in PS/MS, RC/MS, the home learning will be age-appropriate and will include reading and learning activities, for our youngest learners home learning is sent to parents email in both steams
- On forced school closure days, home learning will include language learning, Maths, English, Reading, and other subjects as part of the French Stream curriculum and part of the IEYC and IPC in International Stream
- The following instructions have been given to teachers to ensure consistency of approach:
- To use the agreed platforms, for example, Google Classroom (both streams), SeeSaw (French Stream), mémo famille (French Stream), Active Learn (International Stream), MyMaths (International Primary)
- To collaborate among faculty within a year group to ensure coherence and consistency
- Work provided should not be essential or prerequisite for the next lesson, so as not to penalise students who are unable to connect to the platforms.
SECONDARY SCHOOL LEARNING PLAN:
- For each timetabled lesson, according to the daily schedule, teachers will post independent work on Pronote (French Stream – FS) or Google Classroom (International Stream – IS).
- Students should log in to the platforms according to their schedule, when it is safe to do so given the prevailing weather conditions.
- The following instructions have been given to teachers to ensure consistency of approach:
- This work should not be essential or prerequisite for the next class in order to avoid penalising students who are unable to connect to the platforms.
- For students in 6ème and Y7, teachers who are able to connect by video with their classes will set up links on Pronote and google classroom to make contact at the beginning of the hour for a maximum of 10 minutes with all students who are able to connect to ensure that they understand the instructions for the work given.
- For the other levels, teachers who are able to connect by video with their classes will set up links on Pronote and Google classroom to make contact at the beginning of the hour for a maximum of 10 minutes with those students who wish to join in order to check that they have understood the instructions for the work given.
- Teachers remain available via email if the conditions of safety and internet access are met, to communicate with students as needed.
A few additional notes
We will always put student and FIS faculty and staff’s safety first. We understand that some students or some employees might not be in a safe position to satisfy the expectations laid out above. This should not and will not lead to prejudice to them. In addition, these plans will not be actioned for official city-wide holidays as imposed by the government, as this would conflict with government requirements.
I trust these measures will help with the continuity of learning for our students. Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support of our school.
