As students in Egypt return back to school, many institutions find themselves implementing safety measures in order to ensure the safety of staff and students. In our exclusive interview with Metropolitan School’s Academic Leadership team, we take a look at the efforts made by the school to ensure a safe welcome back to campus.

What safety measures has Metropolitan School taken to protect students & staff on campus?

Metropolitan School implemented several strategies to encourage behaviors that reduce the spread of COVID-19. All students are required to wear face masks and/or shields. Anyone who arrives on campus without a mask will not be permitted to enter the building.

Additionally, Metropolitan School asks students who are sick or who have recently had close contact with a person with COVID-19 to stay home. All school gate areas provide sanitization and temperature check areas for students’ and staff’s arrival and dismissal. Practices for social distancing (maintaining distance of approximately 1 meter) between colleagues, students, and others are always enforced.

Upon arrival, students are required to have their temperature taken. If a student’s temperature is below 37.5, they will be permitted to enter the building. If a student’s temperature is above 37.5, they will be isolated and will have their temperature retaken in five minutes. If their temperature continues to be above 37.5, the student will be taken to the school clinic and will wait in the isolation room for someone to collect them.

Metropolitan has divided its classes into 2 student groups (A and B) so that social distancing guidelines can be followed. This includes entrances to buildings, classrooms, hallways, bathrooms, and play areas. These guidelines are practiced and reinforced often with students until they become routine. Also, Golden Tickets are awarded to students who are correctly following the social distancing guidelines.

Metropolitan continues to teach and reinforce handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, hand sanitizer that contains at least 70% alcohol is used for staff and students. Additionally, we encourage our staff and students to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or in their elbows as well.

What teaching approach is Metropolitan School currently following?

In accordance with our responsibility to fully prepare our students for the realities of the university and professional worlds into which they will move after high school education, we have embraced the inclusion of technology as best practices in teaching and learning. Additionally, E-Learning provides social distancing guidelines from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health.

Based on the need for students to be exposed to technology, Metropolitan has implemented a Hybrid model for the start of the academic year. A hybrid model for teaching and learning is to provide students with a mix between an on-campus learning experience and an online learning experience. Each class has been divided into two groups (A&B) that rotate on a weekly basis. That means when group A is on campus, group B will be home receiving E-learning and vice versa.

The purpose of dividing the students into two groups is to encourage social distancing and to follow the guidelines provided by the Met Health and Safety Committee and the Ministry of Health, for the following reasons:

• During the E-learning week, students will be staying at home for 9 days including weekends. This will give the school enough time to know if someone has any symptoms so we can advise them to stay at home.
• To maintain social distancing inside the classroom, buses, and the whole campus.
• For parents to be able to effectively schedule their time with students home for one week at a time rather than a day off at a time.

Can you tell us your personal experience of returning to campus amidst a pandemic?

Returning to the school campus amidst the pandemic situation has challenged the entire management. This has resulted in ongoing meetings and planning to prioritize the safety of everyone returning to school.

What has been your school’s biggest strength in terms of adapting to the current situation?

Our school’s biggest strength in terms of adapting to the current situation was our exemplary teamwork and implementing our character pillars of Acceptance, Responsibility, and Respect.

As part of our ongoing plans, we included initiating a positive campaign with our parents and students where we asked them to share photos and videos of themselves to show support to others during the lockdown period last March.