The new school of 9 Algarvian students has masks, disinfectants and distance

Masks, physical distance and constant hand washing and disinfection. About 9 students from the 11th and 12th grades of Algarve will return to classrooms this Monday, May 18th, but the school they will find will be very different from the one they left in March, due to Covid-19.

There are new schedules, defined routes to avoid contacts and split classes. Everything was done in the name of safety, with “the support and collaboration” of the students so that everything runs smoothly.

May 18 was the date stipulated by the Government for this return – albeit very conditioned – to classroom classes.

Students in the 11th and 12th grades will only have classes, at school, in subjects that have the national exam. In all others, distance learning is maintained.

The Ministry of Education has already issued a series of guidelines for this return, such as the mandatory use of masks at school, disinfection and hand washing, the use of large and airy rooms and the need for only one student per secretary.

The use of canteens itself will have new operating rules, such as lunch periods out of phase between groups, whenever possible, and hand washing/disinfection before and after the consumption of any meal. The boards will be prepared by the staff, handing them over to the students.

It is based on these guidelines that the 19 secondary schools in the Algarve will reopen. To Sul Informação, Alexandre Lima, Regional Education Delegate, explains that "after some initial difficulty, now everything is clearer."

«We had to change the workloads, in addition to the spacing rules between desks. Let's imagine a class of 30 students: there was a need to create an offshoot. It is also possible that a discipline that has four hours a week will only have two hours», he says.

Classroom classes return for all students in these two years (11th and 12th), but the Ministry itself has already guaranteed that those who do not go to school by choice of guardians will have their absences justified. However, distance learning is no longer a resource to prepare for national exams.

Despite not having defined numbers yet, Alexandre Lima confesses that he is "aware that there are parents who will not let their children return".

“It won't be a significant number, but next week we'll know. Parents do not want their children to return and they are within their rights. There are advantages and risks in this attitude», he considers.

O Sul Informação spoke with three schools in the Algarve to find out how this return is being prepared – Secondary Pinheiro e Rosa (Faro), Secondary School Manuel Teixeira Gomes (Portimão) and Secondary School of Tavira.

Pinheiro e Rosa's classroom - there will only be one student per secretary

In the district capital, Francisco Soares gives an account of the “challenges” that Pinheiro e Rosa has encountered. The director of this school explains how everything was done "in the name of safety".

“We had to take care of conditions at various levels. In addition to using personal protective equipment, some students will enter through one gate, others through another. The paths they have to follow to go to the rooms are also defined», begins by explaining.

In Secondary Pinheiro e Rosa, there are «more than 300» students who will return. At the entrance to the school, there will be taps, with soap, so that they can wash their hands. Then, inside, in addition to the disinfectant gel dispensers, there are warnings scattered about the need to wear a mask and keep your distance.

The new timetables "were made from scratch" and very much "due to transport". “We cannot have students arriving at 7:30 am to take classes at 9:00 am, because we want them to spend as little time as possible at school,” says the director.

With regard to the classes, they were «broken in half and the teacher will teach in shifts». At most, Francisco Soares explained, each class will have only one day "with classes in the morning and afternoon".

Breaks, despite the Ministry's recommendations, will not be spent inside the classroom. “We have enough space, outdoors, and let's take the opportunity to air the rooms”, he justifies.

And will there be students who will stay at home? The director of the Secondary Pinheiro e Rosa does not have, "for the time being, any report in this regard", but it is something "which is to be expected".

“We have to think about the following: we have a system organized on the presupposition of face-to-face teaching and now we had to think about everything again. This has brought difficulties, of course. And we are now trying to find the solution that responds more efficiently», he confesses.

As for teachers, the Ministry of Education, in the guidelines it issued, gives the possibility to teachers, who are part of risk groups, not to return.

At Pinheiro e Rosa, «there is no known case», but, at a regional level, Alexandre Lima confessed that «there are problems happening on occasion».

«The possible teachers are being hired to fill this, but we have a difficulty here, which was already known, with regard to placements. There is the possibility of the directors themselves giving overtime to teachers who are already at the school. We are working by the day, but even today I learned of a school where five teachers will not go», the regional delegate for Education told our newspaper.

The Dr. Jorge Augusto Correia Secondary School, in Tavira, is one of those cases. "We have some teachers who are not coming back," he said to the Sul Informação, the director José Baía.

For these cases, an innovative solution was found. «The teachers in the class will stay at home teaching at a distance with the students in the classroom and another teacher, from the same subject, accompanying them, in order to clarify doubts for the students. I know of cases in disciplines such as Mathematics and Philosophy», explained this person in charge.

And won't this be like continuing distance learning? «They have a teacher there, for doubts, which is always different», replies José Baía.

Also in this school, “about 300” students will return. In logistical terms, everything is already prepared: “we have just readjusted the Contingency Plan and we have material for individual protection”.

The schedules are new, there will be one student per secretary and students will remain in the room during break times.

«We here, to comply with the measures of social distancing, we are not going to put more than 12, 13 students in the classrooms», he exemplifies. Moreover, no class will have classes in the two periods of the day.

For the director of Secondary Jorge Augusto Correia, the physical distance between students could be a problem. “We won't have a police officer for every student, but let's hope they are sensitive to the rules and comply with them. We count on their civility», he shoots.

At the Manuel Teixeira Gomes Secondary School, in Portimão, this is also a concern. “There are fears, of course, because we are talking about young people, teenagers. Still, we have staff duly alerted to notify students, if necessary. The teachers will also carry out this awareness-raising work», he guaranteed, to the Sul Informação, Paulo Mateus, deputy director of this school.

In this establishment, “all the procedures of the Directorate-General for Health and the Directorate-General for Schools, with regard to the separation of students or cleaning, will also be followed”.

“We had training from the Navy, we received material for individual protection, we are preparing ourselves and we will see how the students will be receptive. Apart from the lack of time, there was nothing that we were lacking», says the official.

The Armed Forces, moreover, were in all secondary schools in the Algarve for training and awareness actions, with a view to disinfecting the spaces.

In total, in Portimão, 17 classes will return and there is already a known case of a teacher who "will not return", being replaced by another teacher from the school's staff.

As is known, the Manuel Teixeira Gomes School had a source of Covid-19 contagion. The first known case in the region was, in fact, a female student at this school. Is this a major fear factor? Paulo Mateus, deputy director, explains how the school was closed “for 15 days and now there is a daily cleaning of all spaces”.

The consensual opinion, in this return to in-person classes, is that everything “is thought out day by day”. «Situations arise and what we planned may even have to be adjusted», exemplifies Paulo Mateus.

"I believe that there are rules defined today and that, when we get to Monday, we will realize that readjustments may be necessary", illustrates, in turn, the regional delegate Alexandre Lima.

The return, recognizes José Baía, director of the Jorge Augusto Correia Secondary School, «is still a risk». Now, "staying at home for life doesn't seem like a solution either," he concludes.

Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação