Students of SM Wong Nai Siong return to school while adapting to new social distancing norms

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Lau (second left) visits one of the classrooms to ensure that the students comply to the SOP.

SIBU: It was a fresh start and experience for 138 students of SM Wong Nai Siong as they returned to school for the first time since the Movement Control Order was implemented on March 18 to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Wearing compulsory face masks, all students had their temperature screened by the thermal imaging camera installed at the entrance of the school hall and their hands sanitised before they were allowed to enter their respective classrooms.

Life as a student will no longer be the same as everyone had to follow the standard operating procedures (SOP) like enhanced social distancing and avoiding crowded places.

School vice principal Yu Yien Ching said all the students who returned to the school today were from the Senior Middle III classes and were seated in seven classrooms, instead of the usual four classrooms.

“Tomorrow, another batch of 24 students who are sitting for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination this year will also return to the school and we will arrange an additional class to accommodate them,” she said while welcoming back the students to the school this morning.

Also at the school to monitor the development of the student’s movements included the Chairman of the School Board of Directors Temenggong Datuk Vincent Lau Lee Ming, Chairperson of the School Old Students Association Pok Chee Hua and a representative from Sibu Education Department Kho Teck Kiong.

On June 23, Senior Minister (Education) Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said a total of 500,444 students from 2,440 secondary schools who would be sitting for the SPM, Sijil Vokasional Malaysia (SVM), Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations we well as international schools would resume their school session today.

He said they started to work on the standard operating procedures (SOP) for the re-opening of schools in early April.

Yu said the school had a student population of 851 and the staff strength of 48 teachers.

She said when all the students returned to the school, they would need to arrange at least 40 classes to accommodate them from the previous 28 classes.

“A class, say, with 40 or 35 students will only be able to accommodate 20 or 15 students, depending on the size of the classroom, under the new norms,” she added.

Yu said there was no shortage of classrooms as they could divide the students into two sessions, morning and afternoon classes.

“We have also re-timed the school opening and closing hours, from 7.30am to 12noon instead of 7am to 1.15pm and had also set a time limit to the teaching period for each subject. This is to allow the students to dispose of their masks which should not be worn for too long.”

However, she said the burden would be on the teachers as they had to put aside more time to teach the students, both in the morning and afternoon sessions.

“Currently, our teaches are providing guidance and still conducting online studies for the students from Junior Middle I to III and Senior Middle II students,” she added.

That aside, Yu said the school had also decided to do away with extracurricular activities for the time being.

“As for the washrooms, we have social distancing markers in place to ensure that all the SOP are adhered to strictly.”

Break times will also be staggered to avoid large numbers of students staying in the same place at one time, she added.