Schools in St. Eustatius gradually reopened on May 11 after having classes disrupted since March 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In photo: Schoolchildren at Lynch Plantation Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) School during their first day back in school on Monday
ST. EUSTATIUS--Schools in St. Eustatius gradually reopened on May 11 after having classes disrupted since March 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The island’s four primary and lone secondary schools welcomed their pupils and students back to school on Monday.
Lynch Plantation/Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) School’s acting director Deborah Hinckson said that COVID-19 has disrupted the school’s regular learning period.
“We have considered making this reopening a fun, exciting and memorable one for the children. With this in mind, our first day of school on May 11, 2020, was labelled ‘Mismatched Day’. The children did not have to wear school uniforms and fun activities were planned.” Hinckson herself also joined in the fun while dressed in a collection of items to create a mismatched outfit.
Bethel Methodist Primary School, the primary school with the largest number of pupils, welcomed its schoolchildren back with an adjusted schedule and curriculum to maintain social distancing. All classes except for pre-kindergarten were split into two groups, according to a different timeframe. The school is anticipating challenges with the schedule and has plans to evaluate after the first week of reopening.
The school held an opening assembly, during which many pupils sang and danced, joined by Methodist Minister Vincia Celestine.
At Gwendoline van Putten secondary school, which has the largest student body count of the island, classes were divided, with a maximum of 11 students per class being the norm. The school established two groups of students to cut down on the number of students on the premises at the same time. Group One will be in school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while Group Two will be at school on Tuesday and Thursday. The groups will alternate weekly between these two schedules.
To minimise students’ movement on the premises, a rotation system has been set in place for teachers. Students of the lower forms will remain in one classroom the entire day, while teachers rotate to meet with their students. The higher-form students will have some liberty of movement, because they have to visit specific locations for profile classes.
The school encourages all students to wash their hands and provided instructions on how to properly clean their desks.
The schools asked parents to pick up their children after school in a timely manner.
