Corridor closures, isolating year groups, and track and trace techniques have helped principals in Dubai keep schools open this summer term, despite a slight increase in Covid-19 cases among pupils.
The "bubbling" of classes to stop children interacting with other year groups, vaccinations and clear Covid-19 protocols from Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority also helped, teachers said.
Pupils in Grade 2 and above wear masks, and always sit in the same seats in classrooms and on school buses.
This reduced the risk of transmission if a positive case was reported in a school.
My advice to parents is always to communicate quickly with us and don't feel embarrassed about doing so
Sarah O'Regan, principal at Gems Wellington Academy Silicon Oasis, said she had to close a Year Five class three weeks ago, but it did not affect the rest of the school.
"Over the course of the year, we have had to close certain corridors because of an outbreak in that particular year group,” said Ms O’Regan, who has 3,100 pupils in her care.
"We had two cases in a Year Five class and then another two cases in another Year Five class, so we closed that corridor.
"Throughout the year we had to do that on a handful of occasions."
The pupils switched to online learning for 10 days.
"Back in November or December, we were closing class after class. Now it's minimal," Ms O'Regan said.
The school has several strategies to reduce the transmission of the virus.
Every pupil has to follow a seating plan in class and on the school bus. If there is a positive case, close contacts of the child are informed.
Parents and pupils are advised not to host or attend graduation gatherings or birthday parties. Ms O'Regan said 96 per cent of the school's staff are vaccinated.
Effective safety protocols
Fiona Cottam, principal of the Hartland International School Dubai, said coronavirus cases on her campus increased recently.
"In the last two weeks we have seen an increase in close contacts and have had a very small number of confirmed cases, which we have shared with parents," she said.
"This is the first time since early February that we have seen any cases at all. It, therefore, remains crucial that we continue to take all precautions."
Despite the confirmed cases, the school did not have to shut down any class. It followed track and trace protocols set out by Dubai Health Authority and the education regulator, Knowledge and Human Development Authority. And having a fully vaccinated staff helped to avoid any disruption to school activities.
In May, officials said 85 per cent of Dubai's school staff had received at least one dose of a vaccine.
Those between 12 and 15 years can receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine but younger pupils are still ineligible for inoculation.
Mandatory safety measures in schools include strict social distancing, temperature checks, wearing masks, and staggered drop-offs and pick-ups.
Despite the safety measures, Arbor School Dubai had to temporarily close a year group for a few days this week while pupils were tested.
Principal Brett Girven said he needed to move only some individual classes to online learning.
"We have had a single class close recently, and can link this closure to a birthday party which occurred off-site. It also infected parents and siblings," he said.
"The year group stayed open as KHDA guidelines indicate closures are only necessary if there are multiple students in multiple classes.
"In this case it was confined to one class, so that class and any close contacts identified by contact tracing were isolated.
"Bubbles work well as there was no transmission within the school."
Distance learning an occasional necessity
DHA and KHDA take the final decision about keeping year groups open or closing them temporarily.
This is done on a case-by-case basis and after evaluating all the factors.
Private schools in Dubai have to report any positive case to the authorities and they must move to distance learning if more than five per cent of the pupils become infected.
A committee of DHA, KHDA and Dubai Municipality officials meets regularly to discuss safety measures and the situation at schools.
James Monaghan, principal at North London Collegiate School, said some pupils had to quarantine recently.
"We have had a few classes online for the mandatory 10-day period as advised by the DHA and KHDA following positive cases and close contacts," he said.
"As of today we don’t have any grades or classes online and have not had any grades off as a whole since February, when cases went up after the holiday period."
School officials have focused on staff vaccination and educating the parent community.
Mr Monaghan said he communicated with the parents of his 960 pupils on a regular basis.
"We have a Covid team who are monitoring communication with parents seven days a week and have set up specific avenues of communication for parents relating to any Covid matters," he said.
"I wrote to parents last week asking that parents stay vigilant and be aware and not to relax their approach to minimising the risks.
"My advice to parents is always to communicate quickly with us and don’t feel embarrassed about doing so."
Parents are advised to keep children at home when in doubt, until they have spoken to a member of the medical team at the school.
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MADAME%20WEB
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20S.J.%20Clarkson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Dakota%20Johnson%2C%20Tahar%20Rahim%2C%20Sydney%20Sweeney%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2C%20May%2028%2C%20United%20States%20v%20Scotland%3Cbr%3ESunday%2C%20May%2029%2C%20United%20States%20v%20Scotland%3Cbr%3ETuesday%2C%20May%2031%2C%20UAE%20v%20Scotland%3Cbr%3EWednesday%2C%20June%201%2C%20UAE%20v%20United%20States%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%203%2C%20UAE%20v%20Scotland%3Cbr%3ESaturday%2C%20June%204%2C%20UAE%20v%20United%20States%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAhmed%20Raza%20(captain)%2C%20Chirag%20Suri%2C%20Muhammad%20Waseem%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20CP%20Rizwan%2C%20Basil%20Hameed%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Kashif%20Daud%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Alishan%20Sharafu%2C%20Akif%20Raja%2C%20Rahul%20Bhatia%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETable%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Oman%2032%2019%2011%2040%20%2B0.156%3Cbr%3E2.%20Scotland%2016%2011%203%2024%20%2B0.574%3Cbr%3E3.%20UAE%2018%2010%206%2022%20%2B0.22%3Cbr%3E4.%20Namibia%2014%207%207%2014%20%2B0.096%3Cbr%3E5.%20United%20States%2016%207%209%2014%20-0.229%3Cbr%3E6.%20Nepal%2012%206%206%2012%20%2B0.113%3Cbr%3E7.%20Papua%20New%20Guinea%2020%201%2019%202%20-0.856%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
More on Yemen's civil war
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE BIO
Age: 33
Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill
Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.
Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?
Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
%3Cp%3EThe%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20-%20Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Arabic%20Language%20Centre%20will%20mark%20International%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Day%20at%20the%20Bologna%20Children's%20Book%20Fair%20with%20the%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Translation%20Conference.%20Prolific%20Emirati%20author%20Noora%20Al%20Shammari%2C%20who%20has%20written%20eight%20books%20that%20%20feature%20in%20the%20Ministry%20of%20Education's%20curriculum%2C%20will%20appear%20in%20a%20session%20on%20Wednesday%20to%20discuss%20the%20challenges%20women%20face%20in%20getting%20their%20works%20translated.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
