Read also: Back to school - thousands of UAE pupils return to classrooms
A Dubai school head teacher said the return of pupils for the new academic year has brought classrooms back to life and offered the UAE's education sector "a new beginning".
Zoe Woolley, headmistress of Repton Al Barsha, highlighted the role that successful Covid-19 safety measures have played in winning the trust of parents.
Tens of thousands of pupils across the emirate resumed in-person lessons on Sunday, the first day of another school year affected by the pandemic.
Many of the same Covid-19 safety restrictions introduced in 2020 are still in place, although social distancing has changed from the mandated 1.5 metres to one metre.
Repton Al Barsha school
Pupils arriving at the door of Repton Al Barsha chatted excitedly through their masks and waved at friends they had not seen since last term, as they received their temperature checks and sanitised their hands.
Each year group entered the school through a different door to ensure social distancing.
Ms Woolley said the atmosphere this autumn felt very different, compared with last year.
"This morning, the school is full of life. We have virtually all of our children back on site today, which is fabulous news," said Mrs Woolley, who has 770 pupils in her school this year.
"It is just a brilliant testimony to our safety precautions that our parents are confident to send their children back in.
"And because our teachers are so familiar with the social distancing and the health and safety protocols, there was a lot of confidence this year about what we can offer on site."
New term, new rules
According to the rules of Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority, children over six must wear masks at all times. In addition, pupils must kept in "bubbles" where they learn and socialise only with their classmates.
The "bubbles" are kept separate from other groups to reduce the chance of transmission of Covid-19.
Children are required to sit at the same desk in their classrooms and on school buses, to make contact tracing simpler. Temperature checks will be taken at the start of each day.
Regular testing for Covid-19 is not required in Dubai but pupils who travelled over past two weeks must submit negative Covid-19 tests taken within 48 hours of the first day of school.
However, the KHDA has relaxed many of the restrictions regarding group activities. From October 3, distancing learning in Dubai will end and all pupils will be required to return to classrooms, unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Assemblies, school trips and interschool sports matches are now permitted – a change schoolteachers and pupils have welcomed.
"It is just an amazing start to the new school year. It really does feel like it is a new beginning, a fresh start, and we are all eager to resume fixtures, and for activities, events and assemblies to resume," said Mrs Woolley.
Swimming lessons and extracurricular school clubs are also allowed again. Repton Al Barsha's sports teachers have already created teams that are ready for matches, said Mrs Woolley.
"Last term, we very much focused on skills in order that when team sports did restart, we were able to put our teams back together. So, now we are ready for the fixtures and to play competitively. The children are very excited."
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
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