Updated: August 13th, 2020
As TIPS begins our 2020-2021 academic year, we continue to make every effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We will apply the following measures as long as is necessary.
1. Attendance Schemes
We at TIPS have five schemes of attendance planned: schemes A, B, C, D and E. COVID-19 infection rates and/or governmental directives will be factors in the decision to employ any of these attendance schemes. On non-attendance days, students receive instruction at home through Google classrooms.
Five Attendance Schemes
Scheme A:
Students attend school each day, all day in regular school hours.Scheme B:
Students attend school every other day. Groupings are grades 4 - 8 and grades 9 - 12. TIPS runs programming in regular school hours. Click to view the Scheme B calendar.Scheme C:
Students attend school every third day. Groupings are grades 4 - 7, grades 8 - 9, and grades 10 - 12. TIPS runs programming in regular school hours. Click to view the Scheme C calendar.Scheme D:
Flex time. Academic periods P1 - P4 are shifted to P2 - P5, taking place between 9:40 and 2:15. WIN time and club activities are suspended. Scheme D may be used in conjunction with schemes B or C.Scheme E:
Complete shift to online learning.
2. Face Masks
As a rule, all people in the building wear face masks that cover the nose and mouth at all times. An exception to this is if wearing a mask makes a student unwell, and when eating or drinking. For those who forget to bring a mask to school, a face mask will be purchased (child and adult sizes available) at the front window before they enter. The cost is 60 yen per mask. Masks will be placed in a pocket during lunchtime.
3. Hand washing
Everyone washes their hands as they enter the building, before eating and after using the restroom. Students need to bring a handkerchief for drying hands. If a student needs to buy one, they are available in the office for 110 yen. Hand sanitizer is in each classroom and students are required to use it as they enter and leave the classrooms.
4. Seating
We are making every effort to spread out in our building. Seats will face the same direction to prevent close range conversations. Students will not sit close to each other.
5. Surfaces
Students and staff do wipe down shared surfaces regularly with an anti-viral substance.
6. Ventilation
Only rooms with good ventilation will be in use.
We ask parents to cooperate in the following ways in order to keep us as safe as possible:
- Take your son or daughter’s temperature each morning before sending him/her to school. If the temperature is higher than normal, please keep your child home until the temperature returns to normal.
- In order to reduce shared surfaces, we ask families to send a laptop for use, if possible. If you have borrowed a laptop from school, the lending period will be lengthened until June 19.
- If anyone in our school building is diagnosed with COVID-19, we will follow the instructions of the health authorities.
- If someone in your immediate family at home is infected with the COVID-19 disease, contact us with that information and keep your son or daughter home until advised by health authorities that it is safe to come back to school. TIPS will notify the school community, without using names, of the infection in the home of someone in our school.
- We at TIPS will not allow any disparaging remarks about victims of the illness.
- The school counselor service continues to service our families, including parents, to promote good mental health in this stressful time related to COVID-19.