Dear Somersfield Families,
I have been told that not all families access the Somersfield Star in which I have been including my Friday Thoughts to date. So this week, to capture your attention, I am sending my thoughts to you directly :).
Antigen Testing
The subject of dual flow antigen testing has been front and centre over the past number of weeks as we look for strategies to help keep our students and teachers in school. Through twice weekly testing of all Somersfield staff, and students from Upper Primary to Diploma, we want to demonstrate to the government our commitment to keep our campus Covid free as we use all means at our disposal to protect our community members. Although we have received no official indication that this strategy will allow the government to move away from its current mass quarantine approach when a positive case is reported, we are confident that alternative approaches to quarantining may be sanctioned with the extra security provided by antigen testing. The ‘why’ of the initiative is to keep students (and staff) in school and to avoid the blanket quarantines which have been the norm to date.
I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your overwhelming support of the pilot testing programme as a high participation rate will be essential for us to make our case to the government. We recognise that leaps of faith are needed at times and we thank you for taking one with us on this learning journey. While we do not have all the answers at this point, we at Somersfield feel empowered and eager to use this latest tool in our quest to keep the community safe and protect the in-person learning journey.
We have taken the conscious decision to begin the pilot with students in Upper Primary, MYP and DP alongside all staff as we work out the logistics of the roll-out and receive feedback about the user friendliness of the tests. We are fully prepared to extend the pilot down to our younger years if and when it is prudent to do so. A number of Children’s House and Lower Primary families have let us know that they too will start testing and we are looking forward to receiving their feedback.
World Teachers’ Day
Big thanks to the PTA for helping us celebrate World Teachers’ Day on Tuesday with delicious made-to-order lunches from Buzz - my Wahoo N’ Chips meal was fabulous! As you know, we have an exceptional team of educators here at Somersfield and I know they appreciated the celebration, and recognition, of all that they do.
Zoom Townhalls
Finally, thank you to Children’s House and Upper Primary parents who joined Janice, Charlie and me for our town halls this week. It was great to start a dialogue, to reflect on the first weeks of term and to be available to answer questions. The Leadership Team members are looking forward to Zoom calls with Lower Primary families on Tuesday 12 October, MYP families on Thursday 14 October and DP families on Tuesday 19 October.
It gives me great pleasure to report that we finish the week with all our year groups back to school for in-person learning. Long may it continue.
Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadians in the crowd and I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow morning for the antigen test distribution.
Peter
