After the last minute announcement of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training yesterday afternoon, this morning, about 50% of 12th grade students in Hanoi city returned to school. These students will learn offline on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and online on Tuesdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

The remaining 50% will study according to the opposite schedule.

Measuring body temperature for students at Kim Lien High School. Photo: Le Anh Dung

“It’s like the first day of school”

At 7:15 am, Pham Linh Giang, a 12th grader at Yen Hoa High School was present at the school. Giang said, I feel overwhelmed and strange because I have not seen my friends and teachers for a long time.

"I feel like it’s the first day of school" Giang said.

Students from Yen Hoa High School at school. Photo: Thuy Nga

Although she was happy, Giang also said that she is worried because the current situation is still quite complicated.

“At first, my parents did not agree to let me go to school for fear of cross-contamination in the classroom. But I'm currently preparing for the high school graduation exam, so I still hope to go to school.”

To ensure her own safety, Giang brought 2 masks, her own bottle of water and hand sanitizer.

Phan Le Ha Nhi (a student in class 12 Chinese of Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted) said that even though she went to school, she was still quite worried because she herself had only received a single dose of the vaccine 2 weeks ago.

Going to school after a long time of studying online, Ha Nhi was also worried about the test. She’s a little bit nervous because she didn’t know if she had learned enough online.

Ha Nhi said, going to school today, she prepared and brought with her wet wipes to clean items, a new bag of masks and a bottle of antiseptic spray to ensure safety.

The whole Board of Directors came out to welcome students

This morning, the Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted’s Board of Directors was present to welcome students at the school gate.

Ms. Tran Thuy Duong, Principal of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted (left) welcomes students at the gate. Photo: Thanh Hung

Ms. Tran Thuy Duong, Principal of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, said that the school splitted to welcome students to maintain distance. One stream is for students who ride bicycles and motorbikes to school by themselves; the remaining stream is for the student who is brought in by the parent.

According to Ms. Duong, to ensure maximum safety for students, the school began preparing a week ago.

The first job, disinfecting and cleaning the classroom, was completed 2 days ago, on December 4.

To prepare for the first lesson today, the school divided grade 12 into 2 groups. Specifically, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, there are 8 offline classes. The remaining 9 classes go to school on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

“We also divide classrooms into “even rooms, odd rooms''. That is, the classes in the even room will go to school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and so on for the rest of the classes. This will ensure maximum safety. 

However, Ms. Duong also said that there were also a few students who had not returned to school this morning, because of their family's concern with the epidemic situation.

“We sympathize with the parents and students. For students who have not yet come to school, the school also requires homeroom teachers to connect online screens in parallel with the classroom so that they can catch up with the program with their classmates.”

Students from Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted came to school this morning. Photo: Thanh Hung

The school is prepared with many options

Ms. Nguyen Thi Niep, Principal of Yen Hoa High School, said that the school's work to prepare for the return of students began at the end of October. However, due to the increasingly complicated epidemic situation, it wasn't until today that students could go to school directly.

“Today, there are 7 face-to-face classes at the school and 7 online classes. For offline classes, we have spaced the classrooms to ensure physical distancing.”

According to Ms. Nhiep, when it was confirmed that the students would come back to school, some parents were quite worried, so they  asked the school administration to let their children leave school. However, today, the number of students attending school is almost 100%.

“The Hanoi Department of Education and Training adjusted the plan for students to return to school on December 6: 12th grade students would come back to school, half of them face-to-face and half of online classes, so the teachers would teach offline, then continue to teach online.

The school has arranged and prepared classrooms as well as a network connection so that after the end of the offline class, teachers can switch to online teaching.

The school didn’t have any students in grade 12 who are in the F0 category or in Areas 3 and 4. But in the event that there is F0, the school also prepared its own gym so that the student/teacher can be quarantined at the school." said Mrs. Niep.

Students of Kim Lien High School are arranged to sit 1 person/table. Photo: Le Anh Dung

The decision to send students back to school in the current situation has concerned many students and teachers. However, going directly to school is also something that many parents and students have hope for a long time. 

Up to now, with students aged 15-17, Hanoi has injected 286,153 shots/307,799 children (reaching nearly 93%).

Schools must meet the criteria of safety requirements in the prevention of Covid-19 according to the inter-sectoral guidance of the Department of Education and Training and the Department of Health. Teachers who have not received 2 doses of the vaccine are only allowed to teach online; schools are only allowed to teach 1 session per day, and are not allowed to organize day meals and canteens;  the students have to bring their own drinking water;...

In the event that F0 occurs, the quarantine and isolation of F1 students will be implemented.\

According to Vietnamnet

(Thanh Hùng - Thúy Nga - Doãn Hùng)

Translator: Nguyen Khanh Linh - English 2 2023