How to Prepare for the Incoming Face-to-Face Classes?

Are we ready for this year’s Face to Face Classes? With the total of 1.2 million kids aged to 5-11 years old and 9.7 million minors that has already been vaccinated and the resumption of Schools through face to face this year, how ready are our children to go back outside and attend a face to face classes?

The Department of Education (DepEd) reported that there are 17, 479 public and private schools nominated by regional officers to join the progressive expansion program to face to face classes. The breakdown count is 17, 054 form the public and 425 in private schools which are remarked as ready for progressive expansion of the face to face classes.

As per Department of Education official statement for limited face to face classes Last February 2022 “with the President’s approval of the recommendation for the progressive expansion of face to face, Education Secretary Leonor Briones has authorized all regional directors to start off the expansion of face to face classes both for public and private schools provided that the main protocols and standards in the DepEd-DOH Joint Memorandum Circular 001, with the following parameters”

1. Expansion schools have been validated as compliant with the standards of School Safety Assessment Tool (SSAT).
2. Schools must be located in areas under alert levels 1 and 2 based on the periodic risk assessment by Department of Health
3. Schools may already include other grade levels based on the capacity of schools
4. Schools or Division must have secured the concurrence of the Local Chief Executive in the City or Municipality where the expansion school is located, and the schools must also have taken the proper coordination with their respective barangay officials.
5. Students participating in the face to face classes must have the written consent of their parents.
6. Schools are given flexibility in contact time for teaching and learning, provided that meals are not taken in school except during managed recess.
7. Only vaccinated teachers may participate in the face to face classes, and vaccinated learners shall be preferred.

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) strongly supported the conduct of face to face classes for all public and private intuition for basic education. In the face to face classes Covid-19 vaccination shall not be made a requirement for the basic education. IATF encouraged the PUBLIC and PRIVATE Institutions to undertake Covid19 Vaccination Programs for their respective learners; this to allow the Department of Health in coordination with respective local government to facilitate the Covid19 vaccination programs within the premises so that there will be an opportunity for children to be vaccinated.

With Covid19 pandemic, we recognized that Health is Wealth, we really felt the need of Investing in our Health that is beneficial to all members of the Family, and we took our health as one of the highest investments we need to procure. Covid19 pandemic made us realize how we should prepare for our future ahead, we realize how important it is to have a stable life, how investing is important, to health, to house and lot down to investing in real estate, the key realization here as a whole is planning is important in everything and in the time of pandemic we carry on that realization that our lives deserve a better preparedness, a buffer and contingency plan for the times of expected and unexpected outcomes.

Pandemic really hits on us the fact that for a long time we were not able to do the things we used to do, the fear feeling from our children to us adults and the pandemics contributing factor to our health physically and mentally. We fearfully live our life unprepared because of the pandemic effect was abrupt and unexpected. For this year 2022 with more places under the Alert level 1 and 2, and the economics slowly rising and the opening of the classes face to face are about to begin, we are in the loop on what the School, Parents and Students need to prepare for the upcoming expanded face to face classes resumption.

Here are the sustainable preparation tips from respective roles.

For the School Premises:

1. Prepare all the requirements and standard safe implementation needed under DepEd-DOH Joint Memorandum Circular 001.
2. Set Up physical structures such as wash facilities and disinfectant area
3. Coordinate with local government officials or community members in line with face to face classes.
4. Coordinate with Barangay Teams for any further assistance needed like emergencies, contract tracing, school management protocols, coordination with records of vaccinated personnel’s and other needed documentation for the ongoing face to face classes
5. Orientation, Discussion, Advocates about the needed Safety Protocols for the teachers and Learners.
6. Create a program about Mental Health
7. Ensure that the schedules are flexible, adjustable and equitable for all learners.

For the Incoming Students and Parents:

1. Wash Your hands, keep in mind the proper washing of hands, hands must be totally wet and apply enough soap, rub your palms together, rub the back of your hands, interlink your fingers, clean them properly by rubbing your thumb, palms and fingers.
2. Prepare your Protection kit: hygiene kit and essential kits such as alcohol, extra clothes, tissue, soap, towels and personal care.
3. Stay Healthy and Drink Vitamins
4. Keep Emergency lines Open and learners must have contact emergency numbers with them.
5. Learners Preparedness includes planning, organizing learner’s routine, their service schedules and routes and time.
6. Have your Vaccination Card Details with you.
7. Wear your Mask Properly
8. Establish your boundaries and social distancing.
9. Continue your Home Routine Health Protocols after school.
10. Follow Protocols: School Protocols and Government-DOH Protocols

Pandemic has taught us to be diligent when it comes to health safety as it has a lot of unprepared effects on us parents. We want to ensure and instill to our children the importance of safety first in all of their activities. We really travelled a long way in terms of how to take care of our family not just as simple care but the whole cycle of what needs to be done when it comes to our health and our future. Being prepared is very important, preparing safety for our health to prepare our future ahead by securing a spot of all-inclusive future provisions. We learn the importance of having a backbone box of exigency in times of unforeseen and unanticipated events. Preparedness gives us the freedom to live comfortably, stability and dependability. Thus the pandemic taught us that preparedness gives us the opportunity and ability to adapt to our current situation and we became flexible.

Preparedness is an art of workmanship and in workmanship we learn to embrace life and systematically enclose us to awareness that certain things and absolute things are anchored with responsibility. We follow the protocols during pandemic without grumble because we realize as humans we are depot and embedded to value our life. We take responsibility in inclination to what’s ahead of us and we take pride that at the moment of uncertainty quest we are ready to pull those we put together preparedness and underway protection.

Written by Rowena Lansang