Message from the Director – 17 March 2023
After 3 years we are now officially out of the Covid-19 period.
From 11 March 2023, the advice on testing for coronavirus infection and isolating after a positive test will no longer apply. So, if you have COVID-19 symptoms you are no longer demanded to do a test. We have adjusted our demands on pupils and staff accordingly, as from now.
The same advices now apply to corona as to the flu and having a cold, for example.
The general advices are:
- Stay at home when you are sick
- Avoid physical contact with people who can become seriously ill from a respiratory infection if you have symptoms yourself.
- Cough and sneeze into your elbow.
- Wash your hands often and well, even if you have no complaints
We have quite a few self-tests in stock. If any of you know of an institution (for example) interested in a large amount of self-tests, please send an email to [email protected] and let us know. The expiry date is sometime in June/July and we obviously prefer the tests to be used rather than sent for destruction.
September 2022
Please click here for Questions and Answers about Covid-19.
Message from the Director – 18 March 2022
Dear members of the ESB community,
I hope this email finds you well and that you are able to enjoy the nice weather.
You are probably aware that the Dutch authorities have lifted most of the Covid-19 measures. One of them is the demand to do self-test regularly.
We will follow this change and thus do no longer require that our pupils and staff do a self-test twice a week. We will also stop the distribution of self-test kits to our pupils from now on.
However, the only time when we will ask to do a self-test is just before activities where pupils will be in close contact for a longer period, for example on an outing or a trip when a class will be using a bus to go somewhere.
We have a stock of self-test kits that can be used when a test is needed. The organizing school cycle will inform parents/pupils involved about the details.
Please remember that we are still obliged to stay at home and get tested if we show any symptoms.
Kind regards,
Per Frithiofson, Director
Update – March 2022
Nursery and Primary cycle: Guidelines for Teaching and Learning from 1 March 2022
Secondary cycle: Guidelines for Hygiene, Health and Safety from 1 March 2022
Update – February 2022
Please click here for Questions and Answers about quarantine rules
Nursery and Primary cycle: Beslisboom kleuter- en lagere school in het Nederlands.
Nursery and Primary cycle: Guidelines for Teaching and Learning from 3 February 2022
Message from the Director – 2 February 2022
Dear Parents,
Since last week’s communication, we have not received any additional information from the Dutch authorities concerning Covid measures. Therefore, I have no specific Covid communication to you this time.
However, I would like to inform you that from 1st of February we have recruited a psychologist for our school, Mrs Amira Christensen.
She is mainly available for individual pupils and to support teachers in the class room.
Take care and kind regards,
Per Frithiofson
Message from the Director – 26 January 2022
Dear Parents,
Yesterday’s press conference gave the message that quarantine demands will change from today. This morning we had contact with the GGD to both confirm and clarify yesterday’s message.
The most obvious change is that if a child does not show any symptoms, he/she will be in school. This applies regardless whether he/she has been in close contact with someone who has or has not tested positive for covid, including family members.
This should be applied immediately also to those who are currently in quarantine.
For pupils showing symptoms, the same measures as before will remain – stay at home and get tested.
For those of you who might not yet have the routine to do the self-test in the morning: Please do so; it provides a test result as fresh as possible before coming to school.
You will receive additional information from the respective cycles if this is necessary. We are still waiting for the final updates of the protocols and we will come back to you if this update leads to any need for additional information to families.
Kind regards,
Per Frithiofson
Message from the Director – 18 January 2022
Dear Parents,
I hope this message finds you well.
First of all, I would like to inform you about the status of the planned relocation of ES Bergen.
In December, the Board of Governors of the European Schools discussed the proposal of the Dutch authorities, which is based on the final outcome of the process of comparing and assessing the different bids for a new site. The process of having decisions formally approved by the Board of Governors must go through several steps before they are officially announced. Of course, during this process things can be adjusted, maybe even changed, but normally all texts are well anchored so that they reflect the outcome of the actual meeting at which decisions were taken. This process is now in its last phase. A written procedure for all decisions taken by the Board in December has been launched and should be finalized by the end of this week. As soon as the official confirmation is known, a communication will be sent to the whole school community.
Now to the Covid situation at our school.
As before you can still see that the situation in our school reflects the general situation in the Netherlands. We can observe an increase in the number of cases, especially in the nursery/primary cyle. We have just started the pre-bac exams and we are happy that, at the moment, we only have 1 case among the S7 students. We hope to have 0 cases soon. There will of course be re-sits for those who miss the exams – just like every year.
We follow the routines set up and communicated to you by the respective cycle. We continue to work with the hope that we will soon be over the peak for this time. I take for granted that you also remain cautious and do not “relax” when it comes to observing symptoms, doing self-tests and doing GGD tests if necessary/requested.
Kind regards and take care,
Per Frithiofson
Message from the Director – 12 January 2022
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to lessons on site again.
Communication concerning restrictions, measures and other instructions have been sent to you from the respective cycles. You are all aware of the general Covid situation in the Netherlands at the moment and therefore I will not add more information this time than the figures for our school.
Several students who are now at home because of confirmed covid have been so since before we started classes on site again, before 10 January. In other words, they have not been in close contact with anyone inside school.
The figures below show firstly how many active cases we have today, and in brackets how many of those have been on site either Monday or Tuesday this week.
Unfortunately I can only produce figures about the situation among pupils this time. The staff situation will be communicated next week.
Kind regards and take care,
Per Frithiofson, Director
Update – January 2022
Nursery and Primary cycle: Beslisboom kleuter- en lagere school in het Nederlands.
Nursery and Primary cycle: Guidelines for Teaching and Learning from 2 December 2021
Secondary cycle: Beslisboom middelbare school in het Nederlands
Secondary cycle: Health and Safety Guidelines – January 2022
Message from the Director – 05-01-2022
Dear parents,
I am happy to inform you that the latest news from the Dutch government concerning the schools is that all lessons for Nursery, Primary and Secondary will be held on site from next week.
The restrictions and measures to be in place at the schools are the same as in the week before our vacation.
We will therefore resume our lessons on site from Monday 10th January onwards.
The decision to have all lessons on site from next week is not an indication that we can relax when it comes to the possible spread of the virus. On the contrary it is very important that we all follow the recommendations in place, inside school as well as at home.
Same restrictions and measures as before the vacation means that:
- Masks are to be used for P3 -> S7 in the corridors but can be taken off in the class rooms
- We will continue to provide families with 2 self-tests per child for each week.
- I urge you to use these preferably Monday and Wednesday mornings.
- Our principle of already acting on a positive outcome of a self-test remains.
If there will be additional information specific for a level you will receive information directly from the respective level.
I wish you all a good continuation of 2022!
Per Frithiofson, Director
Message from the Director – 28 December 2021
Dear parents,
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 situation in Europe is still worsening. Several countries are closing down society more and more. Border controls between some EU countries are again put in place.
Concerning the restrictions on schools in the Netherlands there is no additional official information other than what was known at the time of my latest communication to you.
We are planning to start all lessons at distance next week. Nursery/Primary and Secondary will communicate the details of the week separately to you.
We await the content of the press conference announced for Monday, 3January, and we hope of course that the situation will be such that we can return to lessons on site as soon as possible.
I hope you will all enjoy the last part of the vacation and that the start of 2022 will be good, despite the COVID-19 situation.
Take care and kind regards,
Per Frithiofson, Director
Message from the Director (21-12-2021) – School start in the week of 3 January 2022
A communication with regard to the start of the school after the holidays has been sent out to all parents via SMS announcement. The school will start with online lessons for the nursery, primary and secondary pupils. Detailed information will be given via SMS announcement so please check for SMS messages regularly during the Christmas holidays.
Per Frithiofson, Director
Message from the Director – 14 December 2021
Dear Parents,
The Christmas holidays will soon start. This means a lot of travelling to many other countries for our school community members and of course family gatherings and festivities with friends.
It goes without saying that this will create a serious risk for students, parents and staff members to catch and spread the COVID-19 virus.
I really hope that you realise the risk, and will plan the vacation considering this risk and that everything will be done to minimize the risk. When we return to school in January we would like to start preferably without any COVID case so that teaching, for individual pupils and entire classes, will not be affected and that we will be able continue teaching on site.
The Pre-Bacs exams for S7 will start two weeks after the return – it is extremely important to stay healthy.
Your children are provided with self-tests. We urge you to use them in the morning of Monday 3rd January before coming to school! Even if the test is negative on Monday, please repeat for Tuesday, Wednesday and also for Thursday in the same week. Please make sure that your child(ren) will bring home the self-tests that we provide them with.
At this moment our restrictions/measures will remain the same after the vacation. However, we kindly ask you to check for any communication from the school during the holiday period; we follow the evolution, and the current measures might well have to be adapted and if so, we will communicate this to you via SMS announcement.
We had all hoped that we could have enjoyed the coming holiday without COVID restrictions around us, but unfortunately this has not been the case.
Nevertheless, the vacation is needed and wanted by all of us after an intense and challenging first few months of the school year. I hope you will enjoy it in the best way!
I wish you all Happy Holidays and a Healthy New Year!
Message from the Director – 7 December 2021
Dear Parents,
Self-testing is essential for all parents to help us to keep the school open as much as possible. Your self-testing in combination with our precaution to take individual quarantine measures already after the self-test without waiting for the PCR confirmation, has certainly had a positive effect on our situation, even though we have more COVID cases this week than a week ago.
Our situation when it comes to the number of COVID cases is a clear reflection of the situation in the Netherlands at this moment. Yesterday we decided to quarantine the entire P2EN class for a short period with distance learning. This was done after consultation with the GGD and there were only a few pupils in the class who were not yet in quarantine.
We have identified outside school activities for pupils of our school and organized by parents where there is clear evidence of a spread – we have seen positive cases reported to us one after the other, all of whom had been at the same activity on a weekend. As being the Director of the school it is extremely frustrating to see a lot of time put into working with COVID measures and follow up by our staff – time that could have been used on our core business, education – while at the same time I can so clearly observe actions outside the school that undermine our work and lead to more pupils in quarantine than would have been necessary.
I appeal to all of you to do what you can at home and outside school hours to be proactive. Have no doubts that we are doing our best to be proactive inside school. Together I am confident we will manage this peak of the COVID-19 virus as well as we can and that we will be able to keep the school open.
I have received several questions and opinions from parents referring to official COVID announcements communicated via media or at press conferences. You have to know that the announcements are just the first step to change restrictions/directives. The detailed directives to the schools have a delay of several days. The final directives might very well be slightly different from what was said at the press conference. You should also know that I, as the Director of a European School, have the possibility to be more restrictive than what is possible for the public schools. I cannot be less restrictive, but more. ES Bergen was already more restrictive last year, with a good outcome, and I will be as restrictive as I deem necessary to run this school in an optimal way, given the very challenging circumstances.
Unless the Dutch authorities will implement more restrictive measures we will keep the ones we have now in place until the holidays.
Take care and kind regards,
Per Frithiofson,
Director
Secondary cycle: Guidelines for Health and Safety from 1st December
School year 2021/22 – Update 1 December 2021
Nursery and Primary cycle: Guidelines for Teaching and Learning from 2 December 2021
Message from the Director – 30 November 2021
Dear Parents,
It looks like we can start the exams in Secondary on site. Hopefully we will be able to have them all on site. Thank you, students and parents, for your assistance to keep COVID-19 out of our school as much as possible to make this possible.
The Dutch Government has put new COVID-19 restrictions in place. There are also new measures for the schools to implement, but detailed directives have not yet been sent to us. While waiting for the details we will increase the measures in school in line with the more restrictive approach in general by the Dutch authorities from 1 December 2021.
For the whole school this means that we will not allow external adults inside the school except on very exceptional basis. This also includes parents.
All meetings will be held at distance. Internal (staff only) meetings might be held if social distance in the room can be respected.
The Nursery/Primary and Secondary cycles will send separate information with details about specific measures for the respective level.
Take care and kind regards,
Per Frithiofson, Director
Message from the Director – 23 November 2021
Dear Parents,
As you very well know the number of covid cases in the Netherlands is very high. As I said earlier this affects the number of cases we have inside school.
I fully understand that there are worries among parents about the situation and concerns about how we work internally when we are informed of confirmed cases within our school.
I hope that this communication will provide you with more information so you better understand the situation and how we work.
Please do also note that the covid context we are in now is different than compared to the situation last year. For example, the Netherlands has not put in as strict restrictions as last year even though the total number of cases per day is higher now than it was previously. Many have been vaccinated and even if they are vaccinated, they can still be infected by covid but the consequences are generally much less than what was the situation last year.
No matter how we work internally on covid measures do not forget that we depend very much on your actions with your own children:
- Talk to them, often, about basic hygiene measures and how to keep your mask when not used;
- Make sure they follow these measures whenever you have the possibility to control it yourself;
- Remind them to respect social distance also outside school;
- At first sign of a (1) symptom, keep your child at home and follow the steps set by GGD to be able to come back school.
Priority for us is to have as many lessons on site as possible. The pedagogical activities will go on as much as possible. We will, of course, use the measures from last year with hybrid lessons and lessons at distance if necessary.
How do we in general work when we have information of a positive covid case in a class?
Please note that we, as an extra precaution, act immediately when parents inform us of a positive self-test, we do not wait for a confirmation from a PCR test.
- Based on the information given to us by parents we identify from which day the child is considered to have been contagious;
- We identify in which classes/groups the pupil has been during this time, if any at all (sometimes weekends and holidays are the only concerned days);
- We specifically contact the families with children who might have been at risk of having been in close contact:
- As a precaution we keep this definition wider than what we have to, so normally it will include all pupils in the same class room regardless of whether they have been sitting within 1,5 meters or not;
- For the upper years in secondary the whole level will be concerned due to the high number of mixed groups – it will not be limited to a class;
- For the upper years of secondary we offer all students in the concerned level to make a self-test at school as soon as possible when we have received information about a confirmed case.
- We communicate to all parents in the level that there is a confirmed case in the level;
- If there will be an additional case concerning the same group of pupils, we have up till now not in general sent out an additional communication unless the additional case will lead to stricter measures for the class. All parents have already been informed to be extra attentive to signs of symptoms and there are no more actions to be taken.
When will we decide to step into distance learning for a group of pupils?
- This will be done when we suspect to have an outbreak of a cluster within school. Please keep in mind that several/many pupils confirmed positive in the same class doesn’t automatically mean the same as having a cluster. For each additional case in a class we analyze the information we have and we consult the GGD for their input, if needed
- So far we have not had a cluster within our school and therefore all lessons have been kept on site
- So far we have not seen that there has been a spread via mixed groups
How do we handle pedagogical activities such as visits of external experts, trips and day outings?
- School trips with overnight stay are cancelled until the situation will allow us to do them again;
- For each request to take pupils for activities outside school, the concerned Management will analyze the need, the precautions that can be put in place during the transport, the measures taken at the destination and make a decision if the activity can be allowed;
- The large events for all European Schools, like Eurosport, are being discussed at system level involving all the Directors – information concerning the large events will be communicated when we know more;
- If the activity with an external expert is such that it can be done respecting the measures in place, and maybe with additional ones, the activity will be allowed.
From now on we will:
- Add all parents at school in step number 4 above;
- We will repeat the information procedure for every additional case in a class even if all have already been alerted after earlier cases in the group (step number 5 above);
- Once a week we will give all parents an overview of the situation on that day about number of active cases in our school, presented per level;
- Separate pupils in the mixed groups in Primary so that the class bubbles are kept in the mixed group.
We evaluate the situation with all school Management at least twice per week. Additional measures might be taken.
Students in quarantine and missed lessons:
For primary students, each class teacher handles the communication with the pupils in quarantine. Additional information might be sent directly from the Management of primary.
At secondary, the teachers have been informed to handle the situation in the following way:
- foresee the lesson material on Teams/One Note;
- to stream lessons when possible (especially if there are more students in quarantine and in exam classes). Same way as was done during the hybrid teaching last year.
We do not provide all school with information about cases at class level to minimize the possibility to identify individuals. Directly concerned parents (see point 3 above) receive more detailed information.
Take care and kind regards,
Per Frithiofson, Director
Message from the Director – 19 November 2021
Dear Parents and secondary pupils,
I am sure you are all very well aware of the worsening situation in the Netherlands when it comes to the spread of Covid. Also in our school we have more cases, and as I communicated earlier, there are more cases this school year than before.
I fully understand that you would like to receive as much information as possible about the general situation at our school, the cases and measures taken.
When we are informed that a pupil in a class has tested positively for Covid we inform immediately the concerned families about this (most of the time only all families in the same class, but could also include others). We are in contact with the GGD (national health service) to have their directives or advice, if there are additional actions for us to take. For example, they will inform us if we have a situation that would lead to a temporarily step into distance learning for a group of pupils. I will of course decide in line with such information/recommendation from the GGD – they have the expertise and knowledge and also the overview of the general situation in Netherlands, in our region, of which we are a part.
The good thing is that we have not yet had to go into distance learning for a group of pupils because of Covid among them.
We evaluate the situation daily, including communication needs. At our Management Team Meeting on Monday (22nd November) we will discuss how and what we communicate to the whole school community about Covid cases in our school, in addition to what is described above. We have to find a balance between the desire of many parents to know more about the overall situation and the integrity of those pupils who are quarantined due to a positive test. We are a small school and it might be possible to identify individuals based on quite general information.
Take care and kind regards,
Per Frithiofson, Director
Message from the Director – 9 November 2021
Dear Parents,
During the last 2 weeks we have had more confirmed covid cases among our pupils and staff than what was the case for the whole “Covid period” so far. The number of cases is increasing rapidly in the Netherlands and so is the number of persons in need of intensive care. We are part of the society in the Netherlands and therefore we are of course also affected by the increasing number of covid cases.
Now is not the time to relax and to consider everything as back to normal, regardless whether your child is immune or not.
When we have a positive case we follow the directives from the GGD. By doing so we can quite well limit the consequences for the education at Nursery and Primary but for Secondary, a single student confirmed positive could lead to a whole level going into distance learning/teaching. What is normally one of our strengths, the many choices and mixing of groups, is in this situation very much to our disadvantage. The upcoming period of exams at the beginning of December in Secondary is a sensitive period to be absent and it would also be a pity for our pupils if they would not be able to participate in the nice celebrations coming up from now until the Christmas Holiday.
Reminder:
- Pupils who are informed of having been in close contact with a confirmed positive case (inside or outside of school) shall stay home and take an official PCR test;
- School will confirm when a student who has been requested to quarantine can be allowed back in school;
- If a child has symptoms – even light ones – stay at home and get tested regardless if the child is immune or not;
- Make sure your child has warm clothes in school due to the enforced ventilation.
Precautions in school – to be proactive
- Students who arrive at school with symptoms will be taken out of class and parents will have to come to school to take them home. Parents will be asked to follow the demands from the GGD if a child has symptoms;
- Staff in the secondary cycle of the school will again wear a face mask inside the building if they are not in a class room, and they will be asked to respect a distance of 1,5 meters with the pupils inside the class rooms as much as possible;
- We strongly recommend our secondary pupils to always wear a face mask in the corridors;
- We will continue with, and reinforce, the hygiene measures during the school day.
Precautions at home – to be proactive
- Act directly at signs of symptoms by keeping your child at home and follow the GGD procedure to be tested (https://coronatest.nl/);
- All students, also those who are immune, will be provided with self-test kits by the school – use them! (Do though note that self-tests cannot be used if you have corona-related symptoms);
- In case family members are awaiting a PCR test result, please keep non-immune children/siblings at home to observe if any symptoms might show until the outcome of the test is known;
- To save precious time, make sure there is a DigiD account for each child in the family. If you have such account and your child has to do a formal PCR test, you will receive the feedback on the test result faster (https://www.digid.nl/en/apply-or-activate-digid).
We are now less than 6 weeks away from the Christmas Holidays. Hopefully we will not have more covid cases during this time if we all do our best to act in the best way to avoid the spreading of the virus.
Take care and my best regards,
Per Frithiofson, Director
Update – 21 October 2021
Nursery and Primary cycle: Decision tree nursery/primary in English / Beslisboom kleuter-/lagere school in het Nederlands
Secondary cycle: Decision tree secondary in English / Beslisboom middelbare school in het Nederlands.
Message from the Director – 19 October 2021
Dear Parents,
Now we are 1,5 months into the new School Year and we are happy that we have a school like it should be: with teachers and pupils interacting face to face.
As you know we have no longer any restrictions due to Covid on lessons and other syllabus related educational matters. For example, outings and residential trips are being planned and some have already taken place. Possible trips abroad might be affected depending on different national restrictions and situations. Each trip is, of course, handled separately and families concerned will be well informed about the conditions for a trip.
When it comes to internal school events for our pupils (sometimes also including parents), they will not be organised until further notice. These are events that we don’t have to do to comply with the syllabuses of different subjects and therefore not necessary to do. We are acting on the principle of caution and will avoid large gatherings we don’t need to organize.
Please do remember to continue to keep your child(ren) at home if they show any symptoms until they have been tested with a negative result.
Maybe it is good to also remind you at this time, that there are many other viruses we have to be aware of and that children with symptoms should stay home until they are fit enough to go to school again, even if the Covid test was negative.
Traffic situation: Kiss and Ride area
Since the beginning of the school year I have been observing the children’s dropping off at the start of the school day.
I have observed what is well known to most parents: the Kiss and Ride area is a source of difficulties and possible incidents.
I can see that most parents who take their child(ren) to school by car, use this area as it is meant to be used. However, I do appeal to those who don’t respect that the Kiss and Ride area is not for parking, not even for a few minutes.
At the Kiss and Ride lane:
- You stop
- You make sure your child crosses the road safely
- You make sure that the child enters the school premises
- You leave
I realize that we have a difficult traffic situation when pupils are being dropped off and picked up, but that makes rather greater demands on solidarity between parents to respect the K&R area than if everything would have gone as we all would have liked.
Take care and kind regards,
Per Frithiofson, Director
Update 11 October 2021
Nursery and Primary cycle: Decision tree nursery/primary in English / Beslisboom kleuter-/lagere school in het Nederlands
Secondary cycle: Decision tree secondary in English / Beslisboom middelbare school in het Nederlands.
School year 2021/22 – Update 27 September 2021
Nursery and Primary cycle: Guidelines for Teaching and Learning from 27 September
Secondary cycle: Guidelines for Health and Safety from 27th September
Message from the Director – 21 September 2021
Dear parents,
As you have probably heard the evolution of the Covid situation in Netherlands and the vaccination rate has led to that restrictions becoming much less strict.
This is of course good news for us and will have an impact on us. It is clear that the wearing of face masks will no longer be compulsory and there will be no demand to respect a physical distance to other persons of 1,5 meters from Saturday 25th September.
We are still waiting for the official protocols on how confirmed Covid cases, if any, will be handled by the GGD and what will be required of the School. The protocols might very well be different for Nursery/Primary and Secondary. We expect to have more details this week.
Whatever changes there will be and regardless of whether they will be different for different levels, they will be implemented from the same date. We expect this to be from next Monday, 27th September.
More detailed information will be communicated later this week.
Take care and kind regards,
Per Frithiofson, Director
School year 2021/22
Nursery and Primary cycle: Guidelines for Teaching and Learning from 2 September and Decision tree nursery/primary in English / Beslisboom kleuter-/lagere school in het Nederlands
Secondary cycle: Guidelines for Health and Safety from 27th September and Decision tree secondary in English / Beslisboom middelbare school in het Nederlands.
Message from the Director, 1st June 2021
Dear members of the ESB school community,
Yesterday was the first day of 2021 with all pupils back at school. It was also the first day when we were able to issue all secondary pupils with self-tests. They are expected, like all staff, to do this twice per week and we suggest that it is done under your supervision on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. This preventive measure is one of the reasons why the Dutch government have fully reopened the schools, and we hope in this way to be able to identify any problems and restrict the spread of Covid-19 during the last weeks of the school year. We appeal to you all for your full cooperation and support in this measure which we hope will help to contain the spread of the virus.
Unfortunately, self-testing yesterday led to the identification of a pupil who was positive, and this has now been confirmed in the fully administered test. We took the advice of the GGD and all close contacts (36 pupils and one teacher) went immediately into quarantine. https://lci.rivm.nl/covid-19-nauwe-contacten-EN This shows, however, how important self-testing is, and without it the consequences could be much greater. We hope to welcome all the affected pupils and the teacher back very soon.
This is a reminder that although the school is fully open, we all need to be very careful, especially as there are no more distance restrictions between pupils. We have now got through the first two days of the Bac exams, and we can only hope now that the rest of these exams can take place without any problems. But we also have exams and B Tests in S6, S5 and S4, and so we will have to monitor everything very carefully on a day to day basis.
The Molenweidtje is still a problem, and there is a lot of work going on at the moment. Please continue to avoid it whenever possible.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, 25th May 2021
Dear members of the ESB school community,
- Following the decisions taken at the weekend, we can announce that the secondary will be fully open for all classes with effect from Monday May 31st. Further information will be sent out by Thursday lunchtime at the latest once we have had updates from the VO Raad. Here is the link to the information we have so far: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2021/05/22/middelbare-scholen-volledig-open
- We do not have any information about new cases of Covid. One primary class is in quarantine this week.
- A reminder that the road outside the school is difficult to use this week, and cannot be used for “kiss and ride”, or for parking. We strongly advise you not to use the Molenweidtje at all for the moment.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, 20th May 2021
Dear members of the ESB community,
I hope that this message finds you well, and that the better weather and that the reduction in Covid restrictions is making your lives easier. We do not have any news yet about secondary school changes, and so for now we have to continue as usual with the A,B,C groups so that we can keep the 1,5 metre distancing. We hope to hear more news at the next Press Conference on Tuesday, and we hope that it will soon be possible to have all pupils back in school.
There are currently two Covid cases already out of school, and due to the May holiday this has had no effect on classes. Today we have had a positive case in one primary class, and all pupils have been sent home and will be in quarantine until the end of next week. We have taken all the necessary steps and precautions, and it is a reminder and warning that we must continue to be very vigilant. As we have insisted on the use of face masks in the mixed primary classes (for example in L2), this has reduced the number of pupils we have had to send home. All parents involved have been informed.
The traffic situation is complicated. Yesterday we had a meeting with the project leaders to find out more about the plans in the coming weeks. As you have seen, the work is now right outside the school and we will have serious disruptions up to the summer holidays. Therefore it is our strong advice to not use the Molenweidtje at all, not even for kiss and ride, and just use the Churchilllaan if you are driving to school. It will be a difficult time for all of us, but there is nothing more we can do about it. If the traffic is lighter on the Molenweidtje it will be safer for bicycles which can continue to use it in both directions, although we will still encourage bicycles to go through the cemetery. The project leader will give us weekly updates, and so if things change for the better or for the worse we will be able to inform you.
With best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, 5th May 2021
Dear all,
I hope that this message finds you in good health. At present there are no Covid cases known to us, and we can feel pleased that we have reached another important target, the May holiday. As always before a holiday, can we remind you to check carefully the current regulations regarding Covid – especially if you are planning to travel.
During the May holiday there will be another press conference, and we will wait to see if there are any changes for schools. We will discuss this on our return on May 17th, and will let you know if there are any changes. In the meantime we will continue with the situation in the secondary as it is (A, B, C groups in S1-S6; all S7 pupils) and in the nursery and primary (all pupils in school).
With best wishes, Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, 21st April 2021
Dear members of the ESB school community,
Following the press conference yesterday there are no changes for the school. Things have gone well since the Easter holiday, and we are aware at this time of only one Covid case. This has had no impact in the school because the pupil has not been back to school since the holidays. We are also encouraged that some staff members are now getting appointments for vaccinations. It is clear from the national situation that the number of cases is still high, and we will need to remain vigilant over the coming weeks with our next target being to reach the May holiday which will start in just over two weeks.
We continue with all classes from M1-P5 and the S7 fully in school, with the other year groups from S1-S6 coming in three separate groups. For the pupils from S1-S6 they will continue to have a combination of in situ, online and hybrid teaching, and this is done in the manner which the teachers find to be most effective. We are very happy at the way things are going, and we have been able to have a much more flexible approach than in many other European Schools.
Best wishes, Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, 14th April 2021
Dear members of the ESB school community,
Following the Press Conference yesterday, there will be no changes to the present structure we have in the school. We will wait for further information next week which may bring changes from April 28th, but we do not yet know what may be foreseen for schools. The school has made a quiet and uneventful start to the summer term, and we are not aware of any positive Covid cases at the moment. Some pupils are in quarantine because of holiday travel.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, 9th April 2021
Dear all,
We hope that you have had a good holiday, and that all is ready for our return to school next week. We have had no further news of cases over the holidays, or any changes to the protocols, and so the information on the website is still what we are following. Please note that we expect you to follow the Dutch regulations if you have been abroad, and inform the school about the date when children can return. Following the rules and taking strict precautions has led to very few cases since last September, but as always we are most anxious after a holiday period.
Nursery and Primary will be fully open, as before the holidays. In Secondary all of S7 will also be in school every day. The ABC groups will continue for the rest of secondary, and on Monday Group C will be in school.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS – 26-03-2021
Please find here the instructions if a child in the nursery/primary cycle shows symptoms of Covid-19.
Message from the Deputy Director, Secondary Cycle – 7th May 2021
Please click here for the GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING IN SECONDARY (update 12.04.2021)
Please click here for the S1-S6 ABC SCHEDULE ( May 17th – May 28th )
Beslisboom 12+ leeftijd / Decision tree 12+ age (update February 2021)
Please find below the link to the “Decision tree 12+ age”, applicable to all students of the secondary cycle:
Nederlands – beslisboom 12+ and English – decision tree 12+
Message from the Deputy Director, Nursery and Primary cycle – 25th March 2021
Please click here for the GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE SCHOOL YEAR 2020-2021 – Nursery and Primary Cycle
Beslisboom/Decision tree (update February 2021) – for children age 0 up to group 8
Please find below the link to the “Decision tree for children age 0 up to group 8 Primary school – Should children be allowed to attend school or child care” in Dutch and English.
Nederlands – Beslisboom and English – Decision tree
Message from the Director, Wednesday 24th March 2021.
Dear all,
We have almost managed to reach the Easter holidays, and it is a relief that we have done this without any new Covid cases, and there is no further news. It will be good for us all to have this two-week period without the pressures facing all in the school community in recent months, but it is very positive that we have reached this point as well as we have. Everyone has played their part, and I am most grateful to you all for the careful, sensible and committed way you have all managed to get the balance between education and safety right.
We can only hope that the situation will gradually improve after the Easter holidays, and if there are any changes which will affect us from April 12th when we start back I will let you know before the end of the holiday. This next block of time will be quite short due to the May holiday which is less than a month later, and so we really count on everyone to respect the national rules during the holiday period so that we can continue with the fullest possible educational programme.
It will be another quite different holiday period for us all, but I wish you in any case a safe and relaxing time, and thanks again to everyone for your continued support during this difficult and challenging time.
All the best,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 10, Monday 15th March 2021.
I hope that this message finds you well. The school has established a new rhythm following the return in the secondary, and I am pleased to report that everything has gone very well so far since the February holiday. We have not heard of any new Covid cases for some time now, and it appears that all the precautions we are all taking are helping to keep the school community safe – despite the high infection rates in the local area. We have a calm, safe and positive atmosphere in the school, and all the staff have been working tirelessly not only to manage the learning of the pupils, but also to work in a safe environment where we have taken many precautions.
Our next target is to reach the Easter holidays without any new cases or the need to close any classes, and hopefully this is now something we can hope to achieve. Classes have been running normally in nursery and primary now for some time, and in the secondary it is quiet with the A, B and C groups. The S7 group are all at school every day, and we are very pleased at the way they have responded to the challenges of distancing which means that some classes have had to be split because they are too large. The oral exams have been cancelled for them, but they will do their written exams in the summer, and we will do whatever it takes to support them in their last weeks at school. We hope that after the Easter holidays we will be able to have more pupils from the other years in the secondary school, and we will wait for further news from the Dutch authorities. We expect the next news to come on March 23rd, and so my next message will come after that.
The Easter holidays themselves provide another challenge if people travel. All we can say at this stage is that we will adopt the same approach as at Christmas. We expect everyone to follow the national rules, and to observe quarantine periods as laid down by the national authorities – and unless there are any changes we expect everyone back at school on Monday 12th April.
This is a busy time with the school relocation project, and after the Easter holidays the bidbooks for Alkmaar and Zaanstad will be available for the general public, and so you will all be able to see what is being planned. Everyone in the school community will have a chance to give their opinions through their representatives (pupil and staff reps, and the Parents Association). The Ministry of Education will take into account the views of everyone before making their final decision which will go to the Board of Governors in December 2021.
Before Christmas I informed you that there was going to be a change in the arrangements for the canteen in the new school year. Since then the subject has been brought up in Brussels and there is now a major discussion going on about who is responsible for the running and organization of the canteen. At the next Board of Governors in April there should be a decision which will help us to decide on the arrangements for the new school year. We will let you know more during May.
At the beginning of the year I stressed the need for us as a school to get “back to basics”, and this is exactly what we have had to do. It has been a year without so many of the “fun” things which are also such an important part of school life – events, school trips, Euromarket, competitions etc. We have had to cancel so many things, and I think that we are all feeling tired and frustrated at how long this is going on. It has been our major priority to make sure that the education of the pupils does not suffer, but the wellbeing of pupils – and staff and parents – is something else. It is our greatest wish that if things begin to improve after the Easter holidays that we will be able to start to reintroduce all of these extras before the end of this school year – even if it is on a small scale and in the local area.
I wish you a good week, and will send a final message before the Easter holidays in the middle of next week.
Kind regards,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 8, 1st March 2021.
Dear all,
Please find below the weekly update. We are not aware of any new Covid cases which will have a direct impact on the school this week. With the return of secondary we begin a four-week period up to the Easter holidays, and we hope that everyone in the school community will stay healthy during this time. This is of course a time of greater risk with us all being back on the school premises, and it means commitment and vigilance regarding the hygiene and distancing protocols. Please be reassured that if we have news of any positive cases of Covid which could put a class or classes at risk, we will take strict measures to identify all those at risk and quarantine those concerned. This may mean that we take stricter actions than those in the RIVM protocols because of the greater mixing of groups in our school.
Nursery and Primary – Things are going as smoothly as possible, and there is nothing new to report.
Secondary – Today we welcome back in school our full S7 group, and one third of the other pupils for the first time in 2021. A lot of work has been done behind the scenes to make the school as safe as possible, and it looks as though all pupils are taking things very seriously. The use of face-masks is very important, and we have a much stricter approach than before Christmas. We are also aware of the need for the best possible ventilation in the classrooms, and during this dry, but rather cold period, we hope that pupils will be dressed warmly for school. Other important measures such as distancing are also much stricter than before, and we expect pupils to observe the 1,5 metre rule, and follow all the hygiene measures. Everyone involved has already received a copy of the guidelines.
School Canteen – We expect the canteen to reopen on Monday 8th March, and if there is any further news we will update you at the end of the week.
School Building Project – The process of selecting the location has now begun, and the two potential sites have been reported recently in the press – opposite Alkmaar Noord station, and just north of the Zaandam station. I am involved in the committees as the school representative in the coming months. After the Easter holidays the representatives of the various groups in the school who are members of the School Advisory Council will get the proposals for the two locations and they will have until the end of June to provide their feedback. This will give all current parents, staff, pupils and other stakeholders the opportunity to give their opinions. Various committees and groups will consider the financial and other aspects, and it is foreseen that a location decision will be taken by the Minister and presented to the Board of Governors in Brussels for approval. It is expected that the final decision about the location will be known by the end of 2021.
I will send the next message following the Press Conference next week,
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 7, 24th February 2021
Dear members of the ESB community,
In this short message I would like to inform you that following the Press Conference yesterday evening, we will reopen the secondary cycle with effect from Monday 1st March.
Tomorrow (Thursday 25th February) secondary pupils and parents will receive information about the organization which will be in groups, and pupils will not be in school every day. There will be strict regulations regarding 1,5 metre distancing and the use of face masks. After such a long period of time with distance teaching it will be good to see pupils back in their classes, and we hope that all will go well until the Easter holidays.
We expect all members of the school community to fully respect the national rules regarding health, quarantine and distancing. Pupils who have been abroad must follow the rules when they return. If any parents are in doubt they should contact the school for clarification. We will send any pupils home if they have symptoms, or if the rules regarding the return from abroad have not been respected.
In the nursery and primary cycles we are in the middle of the second week of in situ teaching and everything is going well so far. We appreciate the efforts made by everyone to have the best possible conditions for teaching and learning, and it is clear that the children are very happy to be back.
I informed the nursery and primary parents on Monday that the canteen would close for this week for personal reasons. We do not know when it will reopen, but when we have news we will let you know immediately.
Have a good week, and stay healthy!
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Deputy Director, Nursery and Primary cycle – 4th February 2021
GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE SCHOOL YEAR 2020-2021
Nursery and Primary Cycle – In effect from 8 February 2021
- INTRODUCTION
On 31st of January, the Dutch authorities decided to reopen the Primary schools as of February 8th.
The guidelines for the Nursery and Primary cycles of ESB have been updated, based on the protocol for Primary Schools (version 21.01.21), aiming to allow the Nursery and Primary pupils fully return to school.
All Nursery and Primary pupils will switch from distance learning (ex situ) to classroom instruction (in situ) with effect from 8th February.
The school will continue to maintain safety and hygiene measures to ensure that pupils – as well as staff members – can work in safe conditions in accordance with the Dutch national protocols.
The indicators of the RIVM (through the coronavirus dashboard) inform us that the situation in North Holland is currently assessed at the highest risk level (‘very serious’). The organisation of the teaching and learning programme in Nursery and Primary has therefore been re-considered slightly to incorporate safety measures and to limit the mixture of students in lessons (vertically and horizontally, where possible).
The following guidelines clarify the arrangements at all levels of the Nursery and Primary Cycles.
- PRINCIPLE AND OBJECTIVES
Our objectives are to:
- Incorporate safety measures to maximize the safety of the pupils and staff of the European School Bergen.
- Maximize the pedagogical quality and efficiency of teaching and learning within the safety framework.
- STRUCTURE
The arrangements and measures apply from Monday 8th of February onwards.
Continuous evaluation is foreseen and, if needed, changes to the arrangements and measures will be implemented.
Any change in the instructions from the Dutch government and the RIVM will be followed up closely. This may also lead to immediate changes in the organisation and/or the measures.
- SAFETY, HYGIENE AND HEALTH MEASURES
Following the updated protocol set in place by the Dutch government (version 21.01.21), Nursery and Primary will be organized as follows:
- all pupils will return to school on a full-time basis
- pupils don’t need to keep 1,5m distance between one another
- social distancing must be enforced for adults
All pupils from every level of Nursery up to P5 will attend school for 100% of the normal teaching time over the week.
As long as the RIVM (corona-dashboard) assesses the risk of the safety region of North Holland North as ‘very serious’, additional measures are in place to reduce the mixture of students (vertically and horizontally). This is to increase the safety of teachers and pupils and to limit spreading, in case of a confirmed case of COVID-19.
4.1. SAFETY
Parents, or other adults not working for the school, are only allowed on the school premises by invitation only, and when social distancing can be guaranteed. For those who work in the school, precautions have been taken to ensure social distancing.
Entrance to the school
All nursery and primary pupils will make use of the primary gate to enter and leave the school.
To avoid too many adults and pupils congregating at the same time, the timing of the start and end of the lessons has been slightly adapted and staggered.
The times of the groups/classes follow the schedule below:
| START AND END OF THE LESSONS | TIME OF ARRIVAL
at school | |||||
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Between… | |
| Nursery | 9.00 – 16.15 | 9.00 – 12.45 | 9.00 – 12.45 | 9.00 – 16.15 | 9.00 – 12.45 | 8.50-9.00 |
| Primary P1 and P2 | 9.00 – 16.15 | 9.00 – 13.00 | 9.00 – 13.00 | 9.00 – 16.15 | 9.00 – 13.00 | 8.50-9.00 |
| Primary P3, P4 and P5 | 9.15 – 16.25 | 9.15 – 16.25 | 9.15 – 13.10 | 9.15 – 16.25 | 9.15 – 13.10 | 9.05-9.15 |
| Children making use of school transport (taxi/minibus) | 8.40-9.00 |
- Parents who come on the playground for dropp-off/pick up should come alone and are requested to wear a face mask. This applies to the outdoor space on the school premises.
- Nursery pupils are to be brought to school and collected via a separate route.
Nursery parents are asked to walk a designated loop, entering the P345 playground via the Primary gate and walk via the one-way route onto the nursery playground, where they hand over their child(ren) and immediately leave the nursery playground via the nursery gate (one-way round trip). The same route will be used for collecting the children from school at the end of their school day. - Primary pupils are not to be accompanied onto the primary playground by their parents (as usual), but to enter through the Primary gate by themselves. They will not remain on the playground in the morning, but will immediately find their way to their own classroom at the start of the day. Teachers on supervision-duty will guide the pupils in the corridors. This arrangement ensures less crowding in the corridors at the start of the school day as well as eliminating the need for adults to pass each other on their way to the rooms.
- When collecting the primary children from school at the end of the day, parents of (P12) primary pupils are asked to come onto the Primary playground (where there is more space then outside the primary gate). This applies to all days, except for Tuesdays, when the P345 pupils continue their school day. (On Tuesdays, P12 parents will await their child(ren) outside the primary gate.)
Parents are explicitly requested to spread-out over the playground, maintaining a 1,5 m distance from one another and immediately leave the playground once the child is collected. This will not be monitored and it is expected that parents will strictly abide these measures. Otherwise, it will be necessary to exclude parents from this area.
P345 pupils are asked to leave the school independently where possible.
Corridors and movement
In the corridors, the routes are clearly marked. Arrow strips on the floor show the direction in which people are expected to walk. Children and staff are expected to always walk in lines (and not side-by-side), to avoid crowding and to ensure there is enough space for staff/adults to maintain distancing. Everyone is expected to be patient when walking in line. It is forbidden to pass others or to run.
Pedagogical staff members are required to wear facemasks while they are on the move, in the corridors and outside their class room.
4.2. HYGIENE
Class rooms and materials are cleaned to conform with the rules and expectations of the RIVM.
Pupils and teachers are asked to continue to strictly follow the guidelines for good hand hygiene.
Soap and paper towels are available in all class rooms and toilets.
Hand sanitizers will also be available.
In practice, all children will wash their hands (with water and soap) multiple times during the day, following a set routine. Washing hands is in any case required before the start of the day, before eating the daily snack, after each (outside) break and before starting lunch.
4.3. HEALTH
A Nursery/Primary child must not come to school if:
- … he/she feels unwell
- … he/she has a cough
- … he/she has fever
- … he/she is planning to be tested or is awaiting the test result
- … someone in the household has a fever (>38°) and/or shortness of breath
- … someone in the household is planning to be tested and/or awaiting the test result
- … he/she has traveled to, and has returned from, an orange/red identified zone (the child will remain in quarantine together with the family members)
Children who are in school with any of the above COVID-like symptoms, will be sent home after consultation with the school nurse.
Parents should inform the school in due time and keep the school regularly updated on the situation, via [email protected]
Nursery/Primary children are strongly advised to get tested if:
- they have cold-like symptoms and any additional symptom of sickness (like cough, fever, shortness of breath,…)
- there is an indication, related to contact tracing
If a child has been in quarantine, the return date should be discussed with the school.
Children can only return to school after written confirmation (of the return date) by the school.
- ORGANISATION OF THE DAY
5.1. PROGRAMME AND LESSONS
The main aim is to continue the normal programme as far as possible, while avoiding mixture of pupils where possible.
All Nursery children will follow the normal programme of the Early Education Curriculum, including (mixed) outdoor play, but excluding European Hours’ activities (indoor mixed activities).
In Primary, all pupils will follow a near-to-normal timetable, including Language 1, Language 2 and Religion/Ethics, but excluding European Hours (for P345). This subject is in nature a mixed lesson with children of all language sections, and is therefore considered too high risk to organize in the current situation. The groups have been reorganised along linguistic lines and will therefore not rotate.
For lessons which involve a mixture of pupils and/or a non-class teacher teaching the group, (a combination of) measures are taken, case by case.
In general:
| Physical separation in class | Face masks for pupils expected | Children of different languages stay with the original language group | Classes > 15 pupils: split | |
| Language 1 (SWALS / P1-2) | x | |||
| Language 1 (SWALS / P3-5) | x | x | ||
| Language 2 (P1-2) | x | x | ||
| Language 2 (P3-5) | x | x | x | |
| Ethics/Religion (P1-2) | x | x | ||
| Ethics/Religion mixed (P3-5) | x | x | x | |
| ‘European Hours’ (P3-P5) | x | x |
| The wearing of a face mask is mandatory for pupils of the P3 to P5 age level, when they attend a lesson which is not given by their class teacher.
All pupils of P3, P4 and P5 are requested to bring 2 (clean) face masks daily, in a small zip-bag, with one additional zip-bag for the used mask(s). Having 2 face masks to use during the school day is a condition of attendance for any pupil in P3, P4 and P5 level. |
In classes, teachers will focus primarily on the well-being of the children and on an optimal social class climate.
Formative evaluation, direct instruction and immediate feedback will be used to maximize the effectiveness of the teaching/learning time in school. Summative evaluation will be used to evaluate the children’s level of performance at fixed times.
5.2 ROOMS AND MATERIALS
The organisation of the room is adapted to maximize the safety of the pupils and their teacher.
The floor plan/placement of the tables follows a health and safety assessment, rather than a pedagogical reasoning.
Where possible, tables are placed separately and in the same direction (lines rather than groups).
Pupils will get a fixed designated place in the room.
The teachers’ desk is placed at 1,5 m distance from the tables of the children, where possible.
For lessons which combine multiple levels/classes, the organisation of the places follows the class cohorts and each pupil will have a fixed designated place in the class.
Teachers will ensure that the classroom is properly ventilated throughout the school day.
During the winter months:
- Windows will be fully opened before, between and after the lessons when there are no pupils in the room (before the start of the day, at morning break, lunch break, afternoon break and at the end of the school day.) Doors will be opened during these moments, allowing ventilation for around 10 to 15 minutes.
- Either (one of) the top windows will be opened or windows will be opened at 10 cm to have more continuous ventilation.
Teachers will ensure that pupils’ tables are not directly under/next to an open window because of cold air and draughts.
Communal rooms, like the art room and the drama center can be booked and used by a class group. Before and after the lesson, the tables will be cleaned.
Laptops which are used by multiple classes/levels will be disinfected before and after each use.
Teachers are advised not to offer music/singing activities or physical activities in the room or an enclosed area. They are allowed to go outside with their class during the day, to catch some fresh air, do some singing of physical exercises or to give (part of) an outdoor lesson (under the condition that children can keep enough distance to their teacher and mixing with other classes is avoided).
Physical Education activities can take place in the Primary Gym. Teachers are strongly advised to keep 1,5 m distance between them and their pupils during this type of (indoor) activities.
The primary library is open. Classes are allowed to visit the library under the supervision of their teacher, and to borrow books. Only one class is allowed at a time.
5.3. BREAKS AND LUNCH
In Primary, children make use of separated playground areas for outdoor play. Children of different language sections play in a separate area.
The outdoor play times are adapted to reduce the number of pupils playing in the same area at the same time.
Pupils are not allowed to share their food or to bring (food) treats to share, or hand out, to others.
For special occasions, like birthdays, individually purchased (non-homemade) items can be handed out.
Nursery and Primary pupils are asked to bring a packed lunch. All children will have lunch in their class room. (The aula will be closed because the risk of contact is too great.)
For parents who have ordered lunches from the canteen – an arrangement can be foreseen by Luna Rossa. Parents are asked to communicate directly with Luna Rossa.
5.4. SCHOOL TRIPS AND OUTINGS
School trips, both day trips and multi-day trips, are cancelled at least until the Easter Holidays.
Nursery and Primary teachers may organize outdoor lessons/teaching activities (when there is no travelling or bus involved).
Best wishes,
Nadia Roofthooft
Message from the Director Week 5.2, 3rd February 2021
Dear all,
Following the Press Conference yesterday, and in the light of the information we have received, we would like to update you on the current situation:
Nursery and Primary –
- Nursery and Primary will reopen 100% on Monday 8th
- Further practical information and instructions will be sent tomorrow morning (Thursday).
- To ensure the safety of the staff and pupils in mixed group lessons, all P3, P4 and P5 pupils will need to bring 2 face masks per day and they will be mandatory in such lessons. This is not the case in the normal class lessons. This will be explained further in the instructions.
Secondary –
- The secondary classes in all year groups will continue with online learning until 1st March, or until there are changes in the measures which will be announced in the Press Conference on February 23rd . We have had very positive feedback about the online learning, and so feel confident that in the weeks before and after the February holiday that the pupils will continue to have the educational continuity they need, although we do appreciate that they are missing out on many of the social aspects of school and the advantages of being physically in class.
- If the measures are extended after 1st March, we will make arrangements for the S7 pupils only to return to school on 1st March, although we will work on the basis of 1,5 metre distancing.
We can only hope that the measures taken nationally, and by us in the school, will lead to a situation in which we can resume in situ teaching and learning for all in the 4 weeks in March before the Easter holidays. We must be realistic, however, and expect that it is likely that there will be restrictions in group sizes in the secondary so that we can keep 1,5 metre distancing in the classes and reduce contact in break times. In addition, if there is a Covid case in one of the classes at any level we will carry out the measure we have adopted since September – to quarantine the class and the teacher(s).
In order to function as normally as possible we rely fully on all members of the school community to inform us if there are any Covid cases, and for pupils and staff to stay at home if they have any symptoms. It is better to be safe than sorry, and not to put everyone else at risk.
We hope that once the vaccination programme begins, and more of our staff have better immunity, that it will be easier for us to get back to normal. In the meantime we appreciate the efforts made by everyone to keep things running as well as they are.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director Week 5.1, 1st February 2021
Dear all,
I hope that this message finds you well, and this is the first of two messages this week.
Nursery and Primary – We just wanted to inform you that following the decision yesterday for the nursery and primary schools to reopen on 8th February, we will also reopen. Later in the week we will get more information, and we can then inform you about the arrangements and measures we are taking.
Secondary – There is no news about the secondary, and therefore we assume that online teaching for all years will continue until the February holiday.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 4, 26th January 2021
Dear members of the ESB community,
There is no further news about the Covid situation and we are waiting for further information from the Dutch government regarding their position about relaxing the restrictions. We expect that we will have more news by this time next week. In the meantime our online arrangements will continue, and we understand that things are going as well as can be expected under these difficult circumstances. We have just received a new document about distance teaching from the office in Brussels, and this is available on the school website.
In other news, you may have seen some press stories about the Alkmaar bid for the relocation of the school. I have a couple of links for you if you have not seen this:
If you are interested in seeing where this site is, you can see it easily if you cross the road in the direction of the canal from Alkmaar Noord station. As far as we know Zaanstad should have submitted their bid to the Ministry by now, but we do not have any information. We will soon begin looking at the two bids. We do not know yet when the decision about the location will be taken, but it will certainly be a big discussion point in the new school year, and will be an important topic for the new director, Mr Frithiofson, to deal with when he starts in September.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 3, 18th January 2021
Dear members of the school community,
You will have heard that a decision has been taken by the Dutch authorities for the nursery and primary children to continue with distance teaching. At present it is expected that the date for Dutch schools to open again is Monday 8th February, although this may change if the situation does not improve. This means that all pupils in the school will continue to have distance teaching. We have decided to keep distance teaching for S7 after the Prebac exams are over because the groups have to mix so much with each other.
We will wait for more information, and nearer the time we will be able to make decisions about the arrangements for the week of 8th February as it is the week before the February holiday.
Kind regards,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 2, 13th January 2021
Dear members of the ESB community,
As stated in the press conference yesterday, the school will remain with distance teaching for another three weeks. In view of the present situation with Covid we welcome this decision for the safety of staff and pupils, although it puts so much pressure on everyone.
Pupils in S6 and S7 who are doing the B tests and Prebac exams will do these, and they will receive information shortly. Distancing of 1,5 metres must be observed, and we will expect pupils to wear masks at all times, except when doing the examinations. Pupils should be in school for as short as possible and leave immediately after the exams or B tests. This will help to ensure the safety not only of the pupils, but also of the staff. Any pupils in S6 or S7 who have returned from abroad within the last 10 days should contact the school immediately. Any pupils with symptoms MUST stay at home and inform the school. Replacement exams and tests will be organized.
We are not sure what will happen in the nursery/primary areas, and we will await further news.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 1, 6th January 2021
Dear members of the ESB community,
I would like to wish you all the very best for 2021, and hope that you have been able to make the most of the holidays despite the severe restrictions to travel and meeting family and friends. With the start of the new year we have a new target to reach – the February holiday which starts on Saturday February 13th, or in just over 5 weeks from now.
We are now in the third day of distance teaching, and things appear to be going as well as possible, although not all pupils are reachable and there are reports of some without good internet connections or only able to use their phones. At present everyone is working on the assumption that 100% in situ teaching and learning will resume on 17th January. We would like to encourage all parents to check that their children have the best possible conditions for distance teaching and learning.
Since the decision for the lockdown was taken before Christmas the situation has become a lot worse, and as you will surely have read in the press there are major concerns about the new strains of the virus which are spreading very rapidly. We have no idea at this stage how many pupils have Covid at the moment, but we have heard of some cases. As you can see from the table from the RIVM in the article below, secondary pupils were in the biggest infection group before the holidays. The younger ones look better, but how do we really know because they are not usually tested?
This information is a major cause of concern not only for the health and safety of the pupils, but also for the staff who cannot maintain distance in the nursery and primary. We know that our staff would much prefer to teach as normal in school, but we have a duty to protect them as much as we can.
We know that next Tuesday (12th January) there will be another press conference, and then we will have some more information about what will happen with the lockdown, and if any further measures will be introduced or the lockdown extended. We are looking at measures to make our community as safe as possible, and this is likely to bring changes in our normal class organization, although we will ensure that the Prebac examinations for S7 and the S6 B Tests will take place.
We are particularly concerned about children returning to school after being abroad, and we have already taken two decisions affecting pupils in the nursery and primary which are stricter than the current national measures:
- Children of all ages who have been abroad will not be allowed to return to school until they have been in home quarantine for 10 days, starting from the day of return to the Netherlands.
- Children of all ages with runny noses and colds should stay at home.
In the meantime we will have to try and stay positive about the developments of the vaccine, and we will do what we can to ensure that staff are vaccinated as quickly as possible so that at least this will be one measure which will help to ensure the maintenance of in situ teaching.
I will send my next message after the press conference, and after we have made decisions about the coming weeks,
Kind regards,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 15, 15th December 2020.
Dear members of the ESB community,
With reference to the decisions made by the Dutch government to observe the lockdown, I can confirm that the school will be closed from tomorrow, Wednesday December 16th, and will reopen on Monday January 18th for in situ teaching.
Arrangements for the secondary and nursery/primary will be released later, but there are a few important pieces of news:
- Exams in S5 and B Tests in S7 and S4 will take place on Wednesday and Thursday this week as planned. There may be changes in times.
- The Prebac exams in S7 will take place after January 20th, and the arrangements and new timetable will be given later.
- This week – there will be limited contact during these days from the school. Teachers will be busy preparing for distance teaching after the holidays.
- Online teaching will begin on January 4th, and the teachers will follow the guidelines and recommendations for distance teaching. This does not mean that the pupils are expected to be online all day so that they can be protected from too much screen time.
- Building is open – pupils will need to take books etc. with them today, but it will be possible to come and collect items.
Please check for updates with SMS messages and emails over the coming weeks.
I have one final message from the Parents Association – if you are planning to make a donation to the Food Collection please visit their website so that the money can be provided before Christmas.
I would like to wish you safe and healthy holidays, and hope that we will be able to return to in situ teaching in more positive circumstances.
With best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message 2 from the Director, Week 14. December 9th
Dear members of the ESB community,
At the Press Conference yesterday there was no new information about the relaxation of measures during the holiday period, but it was reinforced that the existing measures would continue because of the seriousness of the situation and increase in cases. We should have more news on December 22nd.
Nothing was said about measures for schools, and we will therefore continue to follow the national regulations. This means that as a school we can do nothing more than confirm that the school will follow the holiday calendar as foreseen. The last day before the holidays will be next Friday, December 18th; and we will start back on Monday 4th January.
We are aware that this will make it very difficult for any of us planning to travel over the Christmas period. It is our individual responsibility as staff, parents and pupils to follow the rules, and take the consequences of our decisions. But we cannot put others in the school community at risk when the school reopens, and in this area you will have our understanding and support.
We see the first two weeks of January as a very high risk time, and if we feel that it is in the best interests of the school we will close individual classes or send pupils home. We will have in situ teaching with all staff and pupils as normal to comply with the national regulations and ensure pedagogical continuity.
Kind regards,
Steve Lewis
Communication from the Office of the Secretary-General – 08-12-2020
Please find here a communication from the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General of the European Schools.
Message from the Director, Week 14. December 7th
Dear members of the ESB community,
I hope that this message finds you well. After the Press Conference tomorrow evening we will contact you again later in the week with further news regarding any changes – particularly if there is any news about the holiday period because we are getting many questions from staff and parents which we cannot answer at the moment.
With only two weeks of school left before the start of the holidays we are hopeful that we will be able to run things as normal until then, especially now that tests and exams are in progress in S4, S5 and S6. We do have a new Covid case among the non-teaching staff, but we have taken all the necessary precautions.
I need to inform you that the school will have a new Director in September 2021. My contract will end next summer because of Brexit and I will then leave. The present Director of Luxembourg 2, Mr Per Frithiofson from Sweden, has applied for a transfer. I have known him well since his appointment in 2016, and I am confident that he will make a great contribution to the future development of ESB. His transfer needs to be approved by the Joint Board of Inspectors in January or February, and after this we will be able to work closely together to ensure a smooth and easy transition. I will be very sorry to leave the school after such a long time, and will now start to make plans for my own future, either in the Netherlands or somewhere else.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Beslisboom/Decision tree (update 02-12-2020) – for children age 0 up to group 8
Please find below the link to the “Decision tree for children age 0 up to group 8 Primary school – Should children be allowed to attend school or day care” in Dutch and English.
Dutch – Beslisboom and English – Decision tree
Message from the Director, Week 13. November 30th.
Dear members of the ESB community,
I hope that this message finds you all well. There is no further news, and there are no changes at the start of this week which affect the school. The exams in S5 and S6 are about to start, and this will have the positive consequence that there are fewer pupils in school in the secondary. We expect further news from the Dutch government next week.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 12. November 23rd
Current situation in the school
I hope that this message finds you well, and that the slightly more relaxed restrictions in the community will make things easier. The press conference last week has not brought about any changes in the school, although we are concerned about the increasing numbers of absent staff due to illness and testing. Unfortunately we do have a new Corona case with a member of staff in the Primary, and we have informed those who are directly affected. This is a strong reminder that all of us in the school community must be cautious and vigilant, and follow all the hygiene rules which have up to now seemed effective. We just hope that things will not get worse in the coming week and that we will be able to keep the school running as normally as possible in the remaining four weeks until the Christmas holidays – but we must be realistic and so please be ready for changes to our normal routines.
Christmas
We should know more about the position of the Dutch authorities on the Christmas period by the second week of December. Until then please note that we are expected to remain fully open for teaching and learning in situ as foreseen both before and after the Christmas holiday. If the position of the Dutch government changes in particular regarding foreign travel, we will have to make some decisions in consultation with the Ministry of Education and all the stakeholders in the school. Our priority will be to do our best to avoid a situation where Corona leads to closures of classes and years for teaching and learning in school.
Staffing
The new TEAs in the secondary (Temporary Educational Assistants) have all been busy, and together with the additional teachers and other measures we have taken, the school is much better staffed and working as well as can be expected under the circumstances. This has taken pressure off the teachers at a very busy time, and we are ready to manage if there are illnesses. Some teachers have been giving their lessons live from home to their classes in school, and that is going well. Last week in the secondary the first online parents evening with individual appointments took place, and was a great success.
Traffic
Some small steps we have taken seem to be helping the traffic situation – parking for some staff inside the school, vehicles not left all day in the kiss and ride area, and contact and reminders with delivery vehicles. We encourage you to all be as careful as possible, and to let us or the PA know if there are trucks in the Molenweidtje particularly in the busy period from 08:30-09:00.
School Building Project
We seem to have forgotten the school building project with all the attention we have given to the Corona situation. The deadline is fast approaching for the bids on the location to be submitted to the Ministry of Education. As I informed you before, there are now two left – Alkmaar and Zaanstad. It is my understanding that decisions will be taken early in the new year, and when there is further news I will let you know.
Just a reminder, however, that this process will continue to be a long one and we can expect that due to the Corona situation and changes in personnel in the project that there may be further delays. In the meantime there is a meeting this evening with the gemeente Alkmaar about the planning for their project which you can join if you are interested:
Have a good week,
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 11, 16th November
We begin the week in some ways on a more optimistic note with news of a vaccine and a stabilisation in the number of infections in the Netherlands, although it is clear that across Europe the situation is very serious. One member of staff is currently at home with Covid, but as this person has not returned after the holiday this is not a risk for anyone in the school community.
Suddenly the Christmas holidays do not look so far away, and our aim of being able to keep the school fully open up to the holidays, and afterwards, looks much more realistic. This is such an important time for all the pupils, but in particular the S5, S6 and S7 pupils who are doing important school examinations just before and just after the holidays and we will do everything we can to make sure that they have the best possible opportunities to do all the tests and examinations as foreseen.
Our message about the Temporary Educational Assistants has attracted a quick response, and we have now been able to make appointments for 3 full-timers with immediate effect, and we plan to fill a 4th post. We thank all of you who have applied, and if we face a similar need in the future we know that there are competent people out there who can support the work of the school. We are very pleased that we have a number of additional staff to help during this time, and if a number of teachers are absent we are confident that we will be able to keep the school running as normally as possible.
Parking remains a problem, and we would like to ask parents not to park in the mornings in the parking area in front of the Europahal – this is a drop-off area only because staff need to park there. We will use the parking area inside the secondary building again, and we have asked staff not to park in the kiss and ride area in front of the primary. We hope that this measure will make things a bit easier. The parking area in front of the Oudtburgh is the better option for parents if they need to park for a few minutes. We hope also that the traffic situation has improved by the building site and depot, and the number of trucks and delivery vehicles in the busy times before and after school is less. If there are problems please let us know and we will take action.
Latest Updates from the RIVM in English:
- Patient with Covid – https://lci.rivm.nl/covid-19-patient-EN
- Family member of a Covid patient – https://lci.rivm.nl/covid-19-huisgenoten-EN
- Close contacts with someone with Covid – https://lci.rivm.nl/covid-19-nauwe-contacten-EN
- Other contacts – https://lci.rivm.nl/covid-19-overige-contacten-EN
On Tuesday evening the next press conference will take place. If any changes are announced which will affect the school we will let you know during the week.
Kind regards,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 10, 9th November
Things ran smoothly last week, and there are no positive cases of Covid-19. We are therefore optimistic that the holiday has not had a negative impact.
Due to the health situation, we have been able to negotiate extra budget for staffing as part of our contingency planning in case staff are absent, or other support is needed with supervision etc. This means that in the nursery and primary cycles we have been able to employ an extra teacher in each language section.
Kind regards,
Steve Lewis
Message 2 from the Director, Week 9, 4th November
Following the press conference last night I would like to confirm with you that there are no changes which affect our school, unless there are special restrictions in the region.
We would like to remind you that pupils should remain at home if a direct family member has been tested and is waiting for the result.
Kind regards,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 9, 2nd November
This message comes one day earlier than planned because there may be news on Tuesday evening from the Press Conference which has an impact on the school. If this is the case we will send a second message later this week.
We hope that all pupils and staff have had a relaxing week, and we hope that everyone will be fit and healthy and ready for school tomorrow. It is clear, however, that we are in a very difficult period with the escalation of cases across Europe, and we ask for your full cooperation in following all the national guidelines regarding illness and travel, and the use of face-masks in the secondary. Tackling Covid is our biggest challenge, but so far it has gone well. Perhaps we have been very lucky, but we must be prepared for what may come.
During this challenging time I would like to acknowledge the commitment and dedication of our teaching staff, and all the other staff in the school, who have shown their will to keep our school community together in this uncertain period. We want our school community to remain a place where tolerance and mutual respect are our guiding lights, and we have seen just how willing our pupils are to make things work.
No ESB in Castricum
In other news, we saw in the Castricum press last week that they have decided that they do not want to host the school. If this is indeed the case then it is now between Alkmaar and Zaanstad. Both councils have until the end of December to submit their bids to the Ministry of Education with a decision to be taken on the location in the new year. The school will be in Bergen for about another 5 years, however.
Traffic and Safety
We are very concerned about traffic safety around the school as a result of the new building site, the plans of the gemeente Bergen to make the Molenweidtje a two-way road, and the lack of parking spaces at the moment due to the building of the new sports centre. We are meeting the gemeente in collaboration with the Parents Association to discuss the safety issues and find short and medium-term solutions. In the meantime, please can you make sure that if your child cycles to school that he/she has proper lighting on their bike – and that they use it on the way to and from school; and that if you bring your child to school by car that you are very careful about stopping and observe the “kiss and ride” idea.
Kind regards,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director – Travel during the holiday period and return to school – 21-10-2020
Dear parents and pupils,
All of us have difficult decisions to make about travelling abroad during holiday periods, and it is clear at the moment that it is very difficult to travel without restrictions. Here is a brief reminder of some important links. As we are all expected to be back in school on Tuesday November 3rd, we felt that it was important to remind you that with 10 day self-isolation/quarantine periods following a return from almost all countries it will be very difficult to travel abroad and respect the isolation rules both in the country visited and back in the Netherlands, as well as the requirement for children to be back at school.
General Information about travel: https://reopen.europa.eu/en
Self-quarantine in the Netherlands: https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/tackling-new-coronavirus-in-the-netherlands/travel-and-holidays/self-quarantine
After the holiday we hope that you will continue to inform us about any Covid infections at home, and we would like to ask you to keep your children at home if a direct family member is waiting for a test result. This is a precaution which is stricter than the national guidelines, but we feel it is very important to take all the steps we can to minimize the risk in our school community. This is particularly important after the holiday period when through travel and other social contact there may be a higher chance of infection.
We hope that the steps we are taking will help to reduce the risk of infections in the school and we urge all members of the school community to help us to keep the school working as normal after the holidays. As stated in the last communication, we will adapt our own protocols to changes which may be introduced in the coming two weeks.
We can only manage this with the cooperation of everyone in the school community,
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 8, 19th October 2020
At the start of the school year we made it our first target in our “back to basics” approach to reach the October holidays with normal teaching and learning “in situ”. We are very pleased that this has been possible, and in our final week before the holidays we can look back with satisfaction on these first weeks of the year. We have had good attendance, we are not aware of any positive cases of Covid with pupils, and only one class has had to spend time out of school. Even more important – the regular pattern of teaching and learning has taken place and we have been able to offer the complete programme, including even some local walking excursions for the younger children.
This has been only possible because of the great team effort from everyone in our community – from the teachers, support and ancillary staff, the parents and the pupils – all of whom have shown such a commitment to keeping the school running. We really appreciate the responsible and supportive approach of parents who have kept their children at home with colds, coughs and temperatures. Last week we were also really impressed with the secondary pupils and how they adapted to the new situation with face masks. We have done our best to keep things running as normally as possible.
The Dutch government has made a commitment to keep the schools open during this period of partial lockdown, but if the situation does not improve we will have to wait and see if new measures will be taken. We hope that we will be able to return to a completely open school after the holidays with all staff and pupils in place, but at the moment we really do not know. If you do not hear from me during the holiday period, please assume that the school will be open as normal and I will send my next message on Tuesday November 3rd, the first day back after the holidays.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis
Message 2 from the Director, Week 7, 14th October
At the Press Conference on October 13th the decision for a partial lockdown in the Netherlands was announced, and that nursery/primary and secondary schools will continue as normal. I can therefore confirm that ESB will continue as normal. In the nursery and primary there are no changes, but there is one important change in the secondary which is for all pupils to wear a face mask.
The decision to “strongly advise” pupils to wear face masks when walking around the school will become an obligation once this has been passed in law. We expect all secondary pupils with immediate effect to wear face masks when entering the building and when walking around inside in all areas, including by the lockers. Pupils will not be required to wear face masks in lessons or in other areas when seated. This means from Thursday morning, October 15th, and pupils will be expected to bring their own non-surgical face mask.
Although there are no distance requirements, pupils should sit apart from each other, especially in more public areas, so that there is less contact than usual. Pupils are encouraged to go outside as much as possible in breaks.
The next message will be as usual at the beginning of next week.
Kind regards,
Steve Lewis
Message from the Director, Week 7, 12th October 2020
This is the first message for this week. The second message will probably come on Wednesday or Thursday when we know if there are new rules which will affect the school after the government Press Conference on Tuesday evening.
With two full weeks to go before our autumn holiday it is getting more difficult now that the number of infections is increasing so quickly nationwide, but it remains our commitment to do the best we can to keep in situ teaching and learning for as long as possible. We are of course anxious and concerned about everything that is happening, and we are doing our best to deal with what happens on a day to day basis.
First case of Corona – nursery
You may already have heard that we have had our first case of Corona in the school. As a result one of the nursery classes will be out of school this week. All those involved have been fully informed, and all the necessary steps with the GGD have been taken. We really appreciate the calm and pragmatic way in which all parents and all others involved in this in the school were able to deal with the situation with a minimum impact on other members of the school community at the time. We were able to put our protocol into action in consultation with the local authorities. At this stage there is no reason for any other pupils or staff to be ex situ. We are aware of a number of other staff and pupils who have had tests, but all have been negative so far. But we cannot expect that this will be the last case either.
Face Masks – secondary
On Friday a message was sent to all secondary parents and pupils with the request to take action to use face masks when moving around the building and follow the government’s “strongly advised” message. This is now the common practice for all adults in the building, and we expect all visitors to the school to follow the strong advice to use a face mask whilst inside the building. Now that we have had the first case of the virus in the school, as well as some near misses, it becomes even more important for everyone to be even more careful. We were very pleased to see this morning that most pupils in the secondary had masks, and we would like to encourage all the others to use them from tomorrow onwards.
Symptoms? – stay at home, even if you have a test
All of this has had an effect on our core business of teaching and learning, but overall we are very happy that we have been able to do as much as we have done since the beginning of the school. We have focused on teaching and learning without the extras to make sure that the pupils are as well prepared academically as possible. With more absences than usual because of mild symptoms this has meant that some pupils have had to do some catching up, but this all seems to be going well. In the secondary many of the pupils are now preparing for tests, and soon we will have the exams in S5, S6 and S7. Please be aware that the same rules must apply at this time if your son/daughter is not well – we can arrange for them to take the B test or exam at a later stage if necessary.
We need everyone in the school community to work with us so that we can keep things running –
- Mild symptoms – stay at home, and follow advice on testing
- Good communication – let us know if there are problems, and stay informed. Things are changing fast
- Check information if you plan to go abroad
- Encourage all children to take this as seriously as possible – use of face masks in secondary help to protect us all
- Pupils need warm clothing
- If in doubt – ask us first
Kind regards,
Steve Lewis
Special message from the Director – Face masks – 09-10-2020
Dear pupils and parents of the secondary cycle,
At the beginning of this week our message contained the strong advice to wear a face mask in school when in public spaces and walking around the building. We are pleased to see that some pupils have started to wear face masks. But this is only a small number at the moment.
In view of the very high number of infections in the Netherlands we are very concerned about the situation, and want to do everything we can to prevent infections in the school.
We therefore strongly encourage ALL secondary pupils to come to school on Monday with a face mask and use it as foreseen in the last message.
Many thanks,
Steve Lewis, Director
Message from the Director, Week 6, 5th October 2020
Dear members of the school community,
We are pleased to report that no cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the school, although we continue to be very concerned about the numbers of cases in our region. With the October holiday fast approaching this could cause further problems in our school with the requirements for quarantine and travel restrictions.
Here is a reminder that you can check on travel restrictions on the following website: https://reopen.europa.eu/en This information is regularly updated, it is available in many languages, there is an app available, and it can help with your planning so that all members of the school community are expected “in situ” at school on Tuesday November 3rd.
Following the communication on Friday 2nd October by the Dutch authorities, the use of face masks is “urgently advised” in shops, public buildings and secondary schools, and is already mandatory on public transport.
Nursery and Primary
The use of face masks is not part of the government advice in the nursery and primary cycles where distancing is not a requirement at present, and this includes no distancing between staff and pupils.
If adults spend significant time in the secondary part of the building they are encouraged to follow the advice in the secondary, although this does not apply to the canteen because staff who are supervising the children there are not there at the same time as adults and pupils from the secondary.
Face Masks in the Secondary
We would like to strongly advise all secondary pupils, staff and other staff in the secondary part of the building to use face masks when moving around in public areas in the school. This means that in the lessons this is not necessary, but if a pupil feels more comfortable then it is perfectly acceptable.
We advise wearing masks after entering the building, when walking in the corridors, in the locker area, and when generally moving around inside the building. Outside this does not apply, and we encourage pupils to be outside as much as possible during break times and get as much fresh air as possible. The use of the face masks should be combined with good hand hygiene. When seated in public areas this is not such an issue if as much distancing as possible is observed.
- On the move?– face mask is strongly advised
- Seated? – face mask is not as necessary, but keep away from others as far as possible
The school will not make this mandatory unless the Dutch rules change, or unless we are obliged to take stricter measures because of infections. We encourage all parents, pupils and staff to support our efforts to follow national advice and keep things running well in the school by providing face masks for this purpose. They will not be provided by the school. This is a personal choice, and no actions will be taken if pupils do not wear a face mask. However, we do feel that once everyone gets used to it that more will follow the advice and it will become the “new normal”.
If you do use face masks, please make sure that they are used properly and that you have a sufficient supply. If they are cloth masks they should be washed regularly. As a simple guideline they should be changed at least every 4 hours, so in a typical school day using them in this way one face mask per day should be sufficient as long as it is kept hygienically.
In addition, all adults still have to maintain 1,5 metre distancing. The same applies to any adult visitors who are also strongly advised to wear a face mask in the school building.
We expect everyone to be responsible for keeping tables in public areas tidy, clean and litter-free so that the cleaning company can do their work properly at the end of the day.
Beste wishes,
Steve Lewis, Director
Message from the Director, Week 5. Tuesday 29th September 2020
I hope that this message finds you well, and it is good to report that the school appears to be in the best state of health in these challenging circumstances.
The new Covid rules announced on Monday evening will not lead to any changes in the organization in the school, and we are pleased that we will be able to continue as normally as possible. The measures we have taken with open doors and open classrooms have led to much more space in the building, and we really feel that things are running smoothly and that everyone is happy to be here. It Is great to be “in situ” with all pupils in school and we want to avoid being out of school – or “ex situ” if at all possible, but we are ready if needed to make changes quickly.
We have had a number of pupils absent, and we are happy that parents are not sending their children if they are displaying symptoms. A number of our staff have been absent as well, but so far we have managed to find replacements. Hopefully the information provided to you, and available also on the school website, makes it clear what is expected in the nursery/primary and secondary because there are some differences.
The simple common sense rule is that we do not want any pupil or member of staff to put the rest of us at risk, and so if in doubt – stay at home – and if there are Covid symptoms, arrange a test. So far it is very good to report that we are not aware of any cases of Covid at the school since the start of the school year, although we are also aware that the numbers of infections are increasing rapidly in the country, and that as many of our pupils come from Amsterdam we have to remain vigilant.
One important point to reduce the risk of colds and coughs is to make sure that your children have something warm to wear in school. We have noticed that many of the pupils are still in their summer clothes, and with the need to ventilate the classrooms well by opening windows, it will not be as warm in school now that the weather is changing. It would be an idea for all pupils to have something warm to leave in their locker just in case it is needed.
As I have said before, this is a really big team effort – and everyone is playing an important part here – teachers, all other staff, pupils, parents and everyone else involved in the school community.
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis, Director
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS – 22-09-2020
Please find here instructions if your child shows symptoms of Covid-19.
Message from the Director, Week 4. Tuesday 22nd September 2020
I would like to inform you that I will send a brief message on Tuesdays to give you updates on how we are managing in the Covid-19 crisis. This will include information such as whether or not we have had positive cases, and any extra measures we are taking. We hope that by giving you this information that you will be reassured that we are taking important steps to make our school as safe as possible and we are being practical. This is a huge team effort and we need all staff, pupils and parents to support what we are doing so that the school can run as normal. This also means what happens outside school – we have already seen that schools have been affected by the spread of the virus from parties and gatherings outside the school community.
So far I can report that we have had no cases, and we are encouraging our staff and pupils to stay at home and have tests if they have symptoms. Things are running smoothly in the school, and our priority is to keep things running as normal as far as we can. Please check the guidelines about symptoms on the website – and if you are not sure, please do not put all of us at risk.
We are being careful and we are constantly reviewing the measures we are taking to respond to developments outside the school. Like everyone, we are worried about what is happening with the spread of the virus at present, but we have clear plans in the event of Covid cases. We hope that we will not have to put these plans into action, but with the colder weather coming and colds, coughs and flu which is normal for this time of year, we will work on the basis that it is “better to be safe than sorry”. There is a strong commitment at Dutch national level, and in the European School system, to keep schools “in situ” and we are all convinced that it is in the best interests of everyone to be in school.
This means that we need to look at small, but significant ways, to make our school as safe as possible – and to make pupils as aware as possible. Unfortunately, there are still some who think that it will not affect them. Examples of some new steps are – in the secondary we are taking measures to avoid overcrowding in front of classrooms, for example, and we have also opened the double doors during the day so that staff and pupils do not need to touch the doors.
Stay safe and stay healthy!
Best wishes,
Steve Lewis, Director
CANTEEN REOPENING
The school has received the information below from the canteen caterer, Luna Rossa. If you have any questions, please contact the company directly.
Canteen reopening plan Covid-19:
- There will be A4 posters at both the acces of the canteen , via the aula and via the back counter, which indicate the most important guidelines about the Covid 19.
- We will ask our customers to disinfect their hands before entering the canteen.
- Disinfectant solutions will be available for the customers.
- Staff and teachers will be served only at the back counter. There will be an access sign.
- Students will be served at the front, access via the aula. There will be an access sign.
- The hand contact point will be reduced as much as possible by packaging all our food and not allowing our customers to touch the product before purchasing.
- We will ask our customers to pay contactless, by card or by phone.
- All the food will be served in disposable packaging and cutlery.
- We choose the most sustainable packaging for the food.
- We will intensify the hygienic measures especially in the hand contact point.
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR – 27-08-2020
Back to School – Back to Basics.
We hope that you have had an enjoyable, relaxing and safe summer. We are getting close to the start of the new school year, and we can inform you that we will open for all pupils as planned on Wednesday 2nd September. We will follow all the Dutch protocols on organization and safety, and you will receive messages with more specific information from the deputy directors and the safety and security officer very soon. We will make sure that the Covid-19 part of the school website has all the current information. If we have any relevant information from the canteen, Parents Association or others, we will post it there as well.
Safety first – our first priority is to make our school safe by following the Dutch protocols, and we are ready to welcome all pupils back. We would like to ask all parents to ensure that their children do not come to school if they are not well, and we expect that no pupils are in school if they have come from a zone which requires quarantine. What we mean by “not well” will be explained in a separate communication from the safety officer. We will also make sure that any members of staff with complaints are tested, and we will follow all the advice from the GGD (Dutch National Health Service) and others regarding contact, quarantine etc.
Although there are no social distancing requirements for pupils, all members of staff and any other adults in the school must observe the 1,5 metre distancing from each other and from the pupils. For this reason we will do as much of our communication with parents and other adults by telephone/video call as possible.
We will carry out simple and regular temperature checks, and we will contact parents and send any pupils home who are not well. Ventilation is important and at this time of year this will be easy to organize, but it would be sensible if pupils have something warm to wear in class if the weather is cooler – they could leave something warmer in their lockers. At the moment there is no requirement to wear face masks. We advise pupils to have sufficient food and drinks with them to last them through the day. We will monitor the situation on a day to day basis.
The rules in other European Schools are different – we are all following the national rules.
“Back to Basics” – we expect the year to be a challenging one, but we hope that we will be able to have as normal a year as possible. Our focus is on putting teaching and learning in a class setting as our top priority, and we look at the period between now and the October holiday as an important time to make sure that all pupils are up to date and fully integrated into their classes and courses. We are also ready to change things quickly if this is necessary and carry out distance teaching as well. We expect that all pupils will be ready for this too, and so it would be a good measure to take at home to ensure that Internet connections can cope with the demands of distance teaching and that there are appropriate devices to cope with this. For the foreseeable future, our “back to basics” approach means that there will be no school trips.
Other news
European Bac and the new S7 – despite the Covid-19 and the cancellation of the written and oral Bac exams, we were very happy that all of our pupils were awarded the European Baccalaureate for the fifth year in a row and nearly all were able to go to their first choice universities. Now our attention turns to the new S7 students, and we will put our energies into ensuring that they are managing in all subject areas. Across the system there will be big differences because in some schools there has been no in situ teaching for nearly six months – it will be a priority in the system to make things fair and equal for everyone this year.
School Building Project
At the beginning of the summer holidays we were informed by the Dutch Ministry of Education that they have taken the next step in the consultation process. The communities of Zaanstad, Castricum and Alkmaar have been asked to present their plans for the rehousing of our school by the end of 2020, and early in 2021 a decision will be taken on the location of the new school. The project will take a long time, and it is possible that there are further delays due to Covid-19, and so it is unlikely that pupils who are in the secondary cycle will be much affected.
In the meantime we are confident that the start of the new school year will go well, and that all pupils will welcome the opportunity to be back together in their classes. We will all need to work together, and therefore please check your emails and the website on a regular basis so that we can communicate any changes in the situation efficiently. If you have any questions it would be best in the first instance to contact the class teacher.
Kind regards,
Dr Steve Lewis, Director. 27th August 2020
