19 by Fiona (Grade 10) & Jewel (Grade 11)19 by Fiona (Grade 10) & Jewel (Grade 11)19 by Fiona (Grade 10) & Jewel (Grade 11)
During the outbreak of COVID-19, although students and teachers in BCOS are in different countries and time zones, they choose to adopt an online mode of learning. From their homes, teachers teach students daily through the synchronous video lessons and assigning weekly learning tasks. They send homework commonly by using Schoology, the daily learning platform for students to download and self-study, including homemade teaching videos and notes in class. All grades 10-12 students were back to school campus on April 20th and continued to take online lessons, but this time in the classroom together, and teachers let students participate in discussions because all people are face to face. Cooperative tasks became more convenient and direct than communicating online. Teachers can also more clearly see students’ learning status through the camera, which can urge students to learn and participate in the class.
At the same time, after the beginning of the semester, students who study in school are separated in an orderly manner by grades, and the distance between the seats of a class and students in the class is widened to a safe distance. In both online and offline classes, students are required to wear masks, also in break time, they need to use alcohol wipes to clean up personal belongings. In the first CLC (Career Life Connection) class for every grade, Mr. Hughes and Mr. C introduced how serious COVID-19 is to all the students and emphasized the importance of proper hand washing. In order to let the students have a certain concept of time to wash their hands for 20 seconds, the teachers found a length of 20 seconds of different music, and let students wash hands according to the time of the music.
Although the closure of supermarket made students unhappy, it ensured food safety and reduced spending on snacks. While students go to the canteen, they comply with the rules of one-meter distances and students will consciously backup to one-meter apart after waiting when ordering food, and then sit down to their own required dining area. Also, the canteen is designed to isolate empty seats, reducing unnecessary contact and ensuring the safety and order of students in the gathering place.
After a period of adjustment, students are getting used to the new style of school life and consciously abide by every rule. But even so, everyone especially Grade 12 students, hope that they can see their teachers who currently remain abroad as soon as possible when the COVID-19 can gradually leave people’s life. They miss them very much.