August 8, 2020

Dear Junior School Families,

I do hope that this correspondence finds your family safe and well. We are excited to be starting the school year soon. While most of our families in  the Junior School are here in Thailand, we have a number of families still overseas. Accordingly, we will be starting the year with a blended learning model, ensuring that families have access to face-to-face learning and/or remote online learning.

Included in this correspondence, please find versions of the Prem Early Years and Junior School Reopening Plans, information about remote learning for students overseas and information about our new teachers who are currently working out safe passage to Thailand which will delay their arrival until after the start of the school year.

Early Years and Junior School Reopening Plans

In this week’s Community News, you will see versions of the Prem Early Years and Junior School Reopening Plans. These  plans strive to make it possible for us to come back together and continue face-to face learning in the safest possible manner. It will be wonderful to see all our students back on campus, as well as welcome those students who are new to PREM.

In the current COVID environment, it is important that as a school community we do a lot of planning. We are committed to doing our very best to ensure a safe environment for our students, parents, and staff.  Our reopening plans seek to protect the health and well-being of each individual member of the Prem community. Beyond the mandatory requirements set by the government, our reopening plans outline some of the procedures we are putting in place. These procedures reflect best practices recommended by other international schools and international health organizations. They also reflect our unique Prem context and the current Covid situation that Thailand is presently experiencing. Relative to other countries, the Covid situation in Thailand is quite favourable. Thailand has been free of a locally transmitted case of Covid-19 for quite sometime now. Daily life is relatively normal. With that said, we recognize that this is not the time for complacency and thus we will reopen with robust measures in place to optimize our ability to keep everyone in our community safe and healthy. 

We recognize that Thailand’s Covid situation will continue to evolve. As such, our reopening plans are not static. Rather, these plans will evolve as we take steps to be responsive to an evolving context. Therefore, our plans may change from time to time. We will be sure to update families accordingly. As always, the safety of your children is our number one priority. We thank you for your support as we go forward as a united community reopening our lovely Prem campus.

Remote Learning for our Students still Abroad.

As we get set to welcome students back on campus, we are very aware that some of our families are stuck overseas. We will have a remote learning program in place to ensure your children are able to access our learning programs. More information will be provided. We are certainly thinking of our families abroad at this time. Our empathy is with you and we do hope the fates allow for your safe return to Thailand as soon as possible.

New Teachers Entering Thailand

Much like our families who are stuck in other countries and unable to enter Thailand, many of our new teachers are experiencing similar challenges securing entry on repatriation flights. We have contingency plans in place for students whose homeroom teachers won’t be here from the first day of school. This applies to EY1, EY3, Grade 1, Grade 3 and Grade 4 students. In the case of EY1, A. Tammy will run the class until A. Wendy arrives from Hong Kong. Of course, A. Tammy has been our EY1 teacher for many years and is naturally suited to run the classroom on an interim basis. In EY3, A. Katie is currently in Vietnam. Until she can arrive, A. Helen will teach all EY3 students. In Grade 1, A. Kate will teach all students until A. Mayada can secure safe passage to Thailand. A. Charlotte will teach our Grade 3/4 composite class. Until she arrives, all Grade 3 students will be taught by A. Jeremy and all Grade 4 students will be taught by A. Steve. While we understand that this situation is not ideal, it does reflect the reality of our times. Your understanding, flexibility and support is appreciated as we await our new team of educators to arrive in Thailand.

Yours respectfully,

Justin Jarman

Junior School Principal