The month of September was very busy at The Academy International School in Marratxí. We had spent much of the summer preparing and planning for the return to school so it was so lovely to see the children back in the classrooms after such a long time.
With two separate buildings now, we have been able to organise smaller classes and maintain distances between bubble groups. In the junior school all primary classes each have two classrooms and a designated outdoor area. In the senior school we are also lucky to have so much outdoor space and large classrooms and common areas.
Each group has their designated outdoor area and the groups from Year 10 to the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme classes have two classrooms, for subject options, and an outdoor area. In both schools the bubble groups do not mix. They have separate play areas, classrooms and designated outdoor learning zones.
The children have adapted very well to the new routine and we are so proud of how they are respecting the new rules. The teachers are adapting their teaching styles and to increase social distance we have separate areas for our larger bubble groups. Particular attention has been given to the arrangement of classroom furniture, use of common areas, outdoor learning, lunch time procedures, social distance and use of masks.
We have had many school inspections during the preparation for the students’ return to the classroom and we are constantly reviewing how all the procedures are working to make sure we can do even better.
We are working in collaboration with the health authorities; our own advisors, from the Instituto Balear de Pediatría, the Servicio Balear de Prevención and following the guidelines in the communications from the Department of Education.
We are feeling positive and looking forward to a different but successful academic year!