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SINGAPORE – The two children who tested positive for Covid-19 recently are a timely reminder that precautions are still badly needed, Education Minister Lawrence Wong said on Monday (January 4) the first day of school of the new year. .
He said the clusters could have easily emerged if the cases had been discovered during the school term and cautioned that safe distancing still needs to be observed even in phase three of Singapore’s reopening.
“Even in phase three, we maintain all the necessary safe management measures in all of our schools,” said Mr Wong, citing door health screenings and exam-style seating arrangements in classrooms.
Two students from Raffles’ Girls School had previously tested positive for the coronavirus. The first student was a relative from a previous case, a permanent resident who works as a marine surveyor. The second student had visited the first teenager at her home for a few hours on a day when the marine surveyor was present.
Mr. Wong spoke during a press visit to Waterway Elementary School on Monday, the first day of school, where The Straits Times noted that safe management measures had been put in place.
In primary schools, only Primary 1 (P1) students and Kindergarten 1 (K1) children from the Ministry of Education (MOE) kindergartens returned.
Across Singapore, around 3,500 K1 children and 40,000 P1 pupils attended school on Monday.
The children from Kindergarten 2 and Primary 2 to Primary 6 stayed home with an extra day of vacation. They will start school on Tuesday.
High schools and special education also reopened on Monday, while junior colleges (JC) and the Millennia Institute (MI) will begin on January 11.
At Waterway Primary, accompanying pupils and parents were asked to take their temperature at various stations before entering school. Only one parent was allowed per child.
Teachers were also stationed around the school to direct the children to the meeting points of their respective classes.
Mr. Wong said the goal is “to ensure that we can keep schools open and safe, and that we can continue to learn throughout the school year.”
He added: “We have already seen many disruptions in school life in many other countries last year, and even now, they continue in many places where schools remain closed.”
“We do not want that to happen in Singapore and we are determined to ensure that our students can continue to learn and enjoy learning in our schools in a safe and sustainable way.”
Waterway Primary principal Ms. Wee-Kwan Liam, 62, said that since only the children in P1 and K1 were in school on Monday, there was much more workforce and teachers were able to help children to settle in their classrooms.
“(What’s additional) this year are safety management measures, where the basic focus is on personal hygiene, personal responsibility and social responsibility,” he said.
Parents were also asked to meet in classrooms where they attended a teacher presentation session and watched a video address from the principal.
One mother, 36-year-old Aryany Abdul Manab, said it was good that teachers were able to focus on younger children on the first day of school.
“It’s to get them used to a different routine: where to go, what to do … I think it was a good initiative,” said Ms Aryany, who was with her seven-year-old son. She is the director of a private preschool.
Six-year-old Jaden Heng was nervous but excited for the first day of school.
He said, “I feel good because I can learn more. I haven’t made any friends yet, but I’m excited to meet my peers.”
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