2020-2021 School Year FAQ

Approaches to August

The Covid-19 situation in Tokyo for August remains very much unclear. To give clarity to our community, we have created an explanation of our guiding principles and a matrix of risk levels to serve as a guide for how and when we shift from one mode of learning to the next. This document also outlines our safety and cleaning protocols put in place for the 2020-2021 school year. Please click the below button to view the Approaches to August document.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Our Commitment

Nishimachi is looking forward to welcoming students back to campus this autumn after such a long period of seeing each other online. This FAQ outlines the way in which we intend to do this safely and attempts to answer the many questions our parents have sent in.

We acknowledge however that there is no such thing as absolute safety and, while we believe the risk is manageable, we cannot state that there is no risk. We know that there are some aspects of running a classroom or a school which makes the Japanese government’s ‘three Cs’ very hard to implement. We also know that children are children, and sometimes will make mistakes in following the guidance set.

Our staff will use their professionalism to create classroom environments which – to the best of their ability and within the limitations that exist – promote maximum safety as outlined here. When children find it hard to follow the guidelines, we can also commit to teaching and supporting them in learning from their mistakes. For children who consistently find it hard to follow the guidance, we may need to ask that family to keep their child at home.

We ask each family, having read this FAQ and having understood and considered the limitations that exist, to make their own decision about whether or not you wish your child to come to campus. We very much hope that you will decide to do so; but we fully respect the choice of each family in this regard. Please know that our model, even as it evolves, will be what all of our staff and leadership are putting their effort into, and we will not be able to run an additional or parallel program.

We will continually update this page, but please continue to send in your questions, through our Q&A form, as we may not have answered it yet. Thank you and be well.

FAQ

NEWLY ADDED 9/3/2020

In this section we have answered frequently asked questions submitted to us through our Q&A form and from our webinar on 8/19/2020. The answers to many questions received have been clearly outlined in our Approaches to August document, so we ask that you please refer to that document.

Question	Answer
For health restrictions, what do we do if any family member has contact with anyone diagnosed with an active case of covid-19.	Please inform the school immediately should any family member be in contact with someone that has tested positive for COVID-19.
The access restrictions state that a child will not be allowed on campus if: “Someone who is staying in the same household with anyone who has returned to Japan from a foreign country within the past 14 days.“ I wanted to clarify—does this mean if a child’s parent returns from a business trip outside of Japan, the child will not be allowed on campus for 14 days following the parent’s return to Japan?	If the parent is able to stay quarantine in a different facility, or can assure the school that there is not cross contamination during this 14 day period, then the child may come to school. If not, if in grades 2-9, the child can access learning on this exceptional basis via streaming online. If the child is younger and in K or Gr1, then we will not be able to offer teaching content, but the absence will be excused.
If the campus closes incase of a positive case, will live-streaming or elearning take place while campus or the specific class is closed?	Yes, we will pivot to remote learning if our campus needs to close.
Can the parents tell the students not to go to school and make it e- learning if we think COVID 19 cases are rising? If so will the students be counted as absent?	If in Grades 3-8 yes they can stay home and learn remotely.
Will students be able to borrow library books?	Yes, students are allowed to borrow library books and have access during prescribed times.
I am aware that the gym was used during the summer for LFC soccer practices. How does that program fit into the Nishimachi protocols once school begins?	We will be offering a schedule of ASA's shortly and will outline which programs are available in person and online.
I understand that this was not an easy decision to make, and the school is doing its best to come up with the best solution under the circumstances. However, it seems unfair to the G3-8 students who will lose the opportunity to learn and interact with fellow classmates on campus daily; the perception of this being unfair is amplified by the fact that this comes on the heels of the school unilaterally raising tuition and other costs. Can you please provide explanation on this?	The decision to move to a hybrid mode is outlined in our Approaches to August document and is not related to tuition, but to safety concerns. We needed to mitigate the possibility that we could have a case on campus and needed to prepare for social distancing in the context of the way we teach, and the configuration of our campus. Social distancing, when paired with mask wearing is the best known way at this time to lower the possibility of infection. Using good hygiene practices meant that we ran out of space on this campus. Our spaces are uneven in size and our campus does not lend itself to having everyone here at the same time.
What are Nishimachi’s views on reporting and assessment in this environment?	Our plan at the moment is to be able to assess and report on student progress as normal. Of course, we have not been in this type of learning situation before and there will be challenges that we have anticipated, and others we may not foresee. Teachers are spending time at the start of the year doing diagnostic assessments to understand where students are in a variety of subjects and skills. Through ongoing informal assessments, they should be able to gauge students' progress in order to report as usual.
So during the day at home is the student required to join class or is that a day off?	When the student is at home they will join the class in school via live streaming.
How will art and music class work with the hybrid schedule?	In the middle school, art and music classes will take place in the Art Room for those students on campus. If they are at home, they will complete activities from a choice board. In the elementary school, the students at home will also use a choice board and for the in-person classes the art and music teachers will teach the lesson in the homeroom.
Many businesses have a very specific protocol for an external company to come in to sanitize & disinfect the facilities IN THE EVENT there is a confirmed Covid-19 case ONSITE. What is Nishimashi’s policy & procedure regarding this?	We have a relationship with an external company and are prepared for full or partial sanitization of the school in the event of a confirmed case.
Are face shields allowed to use instead of face masks?	All students and employees on campus will need to wear a mask. If they use a face shield, they will also need to wear a mask.
Is bringing stuff from home to school and vice versa a safe practice (I.e. school computer, worksheet)?	Students will be working with their own learning tools, such as writing utensils. Students will consistently use the same device when in school. We are confident in the safety and hygiene guidelines we have implemented to allow teachers to safely share paper-based learning materials. Any materials students consider bring from home should be disinfected according to our safety and hygiene protocols.
I would like to know why we are now required to purchase a very extensive supply list for our kids to go back to school this year. In the past, NIS has always supplied these items. During our 6 years at NIS, this is the first time we have been asked to do this. This list looks like a public school supply list from the US, where schools are free. With the recent tuition increase, I don't understand why we are being asked to make these purchases. It is my opinion that the school should continue to provide these materials to it's students.	First, to clarify, the MS supply list has always been extensive and asked students to provide most of their own school supplies vs. being provided by the school. Second, in ES, we prepare the supply lists at the end of the previous school year. In June this year, it was not at all clear how we would open in August, and we needed to be prepared for all eventualities. It wasn't clear if we may need to start or quickly switch to remote, where kids needs all their materials at home. Or, if we'd be starting in hybrid, needing to take care with materials separated by individual children. To be as prepared as possible, we opted to ask ES students to purchase more supplies than typical. However, as the year goes on, we will replenish these as needed. We apologize for any extra burden this put on our families.
Is Nishimachi taking into consideration how and whether local Japanese schools are in operation to determine how and whether to fully reopen campus? Since local schools have been in session in person for a few months now, does that factor into Nishimachi’s decision making?	We are taking in all factors when making decisions - local conditions, untraceable spread, local area schools, our own community conditions. As we cannot change the space issue on our campus, this is a constant that we also have to consider. Please see our matrix in the Approaches to August document.
I received the email about the hybrid schedule and, although I completely understand and appreciate the school trying to be as safe as possible in this scenario we are leaving, I couldn't understand why the kids won't be at school full-time. If there is no state of emergency and restrictions declared by the government, the japanese school came back at full schedule and everything is open, how can a hybrid schedule be better for kids who already had online classes for so long? We are all commuting to work, going on trips and restaurants. If the teachers will be commuting to school every day, why the kids, in a already small classroom, won't be? How can the teachers give enough attention to the kids who will be at home? Will they have an assistant? Does the school have information that we, as parents don't have? Is the government asking for this kind of schedule? I'm sorry for making so many questions, just trying to understand, as a foreigner, if we are not getting all the information we should.	As noted in our Approaches to August, the School considered 1) Safety 2) Approach to teaching and learning 3) Configuration of our school. Social distancing and mask wearing were two of the known ways to mitigate health risks while managing contact tracing. As our campus is irregular in size, and as we have issues with uniformity of space, we felt it was best to begin in a hybrid mode. Hybrid learning answered our social distancing issues, supported our style of teaching, and allowed for our youngest students to access education every day. We cannot compare ourselves to other schools as every JCIS school and Japanese school has agreed that we needed to honor our individual considerations.

CALENDAR AND SCHEDULE

Q: Will the school year begin as scheduled on August 27, 2020 or will you move the date as now the Olympics will not be held this year?

A: We will not be changing our start date as we have teachers who are coming from overseas and will need to quarantine upon their arrival once the Japanese government allows them to enter Japan.

Q: When will we have next year’s school schedule?

A: We are working on several different schedules at this time. We know that government regulations may dictate our schedule to some degree, but it is more likely that our decisions will be data-driven and will depend on the state of infections within the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Q: Will we continue with remote learning?

A: We may have periods with remote learning if the government orders this or if there are cases within our immediate community. However, it is more likely that we will be working with a hybrid model where children can be on campus some days of the week, and will learn at home for others. In addition, we may need a day of remote learning each week so that we might deep clean the campus on Fridays.

Q: What protocols will the school be using to determine whether we are activating one or another plan?

A: We will be working with healthcare professionals in Japan and use local ward and government guidance to ensure a safe and responsible opening. We plan to create a matrix at the beginning of August that addresses both phased openings and closings to help with this, and will share it with the community before school begins.

Q: If we have more than one child in the school, can you please arrange schedules so they go on the same days?

A: Yes, we will do our best to try and make this happen although it may be easier to do if they are in the same division (ES or MS).

HOW WILL NISHIMACHI DECIDE WHICH SCHEDULE TO USE?

Q: Under what circumstance would you consider having all children on campus together? Could you consider this if there was a lot of handwashing and other hygiene protections in place?

A: At this time, we are working with local physicians and Japanese government guidelines to help us build out a decision matrix. We plan to share this with our community before the start of the school year.

ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL/ACCESS

Q: How will arrival and dismissal work?

A: If we begin with a physically distant plan, we will have staggered arrival and dismissal times by grade level and separate entrances/exits in order to ensure as much physical distancing as possible.

Q: Will you be taking everyone’s temperature?

A: Yes, in addition to having families fill out a form prior to arrival daily, we have no-touch thermometers that we will use on all children and staff. Either way, we will follow government guidance to determine best practices.

Q: Will parents be allowed to walk children onto campus?

A: If we start with a socially distant plan, campus access will be limited to staff and students to stay controlled and contained. Thus, parents will not be allowed to enter our campus during the school day except to pick up a sick child. They will need to say goodbye or wait at the end of the day at whichever entrance the child will be entering/exiting through.

Q: Can parents drop off children via bicycle?

A: We will be asking children to come on foot as much as possible as we will not have a place for bicycles to park since we will likely have timed entries.

CAMPUS ACCESS RESTRICTIONS

Q: Who will be allowed on campus and who won’t?

A: Campus access is ONLY permitted for students whose grade has been invited to attend on that specific day, and for staff. Your child will not be permitted on campus if any of the below Health Restrictions apply:

Health Restrictions

Any student who is currently diagnosed with an active case of COVID-19.
Any student who has a fever (37.5 degrees or higher), a persistent cough or cold/flu-like symptoms of any severity.
Any student who has been in contact with anyone diagnosed with an active case of COVID-19 within the past 14 days.
Any student who has returned from a restricted country within the past 14 days where quarantine is required by the government.
Any student who is staying in the same household with anyone who has returned from a restricted country within the past 14 days where quarantine is required by the government.
Any student who is staying in the same household of a family member (or other close contacts) who exhibits a fever, cough or any cold/flu-like symptoms.

Q: What happens if a child becomes sick while at school?

A: Parents are asked to confirm that their child meets the campus access policy prior to sending them to school. This policy prohibits access to campus to anyone (staff, students or guests) for whom the below conditions apply:

Any student who has a high temperature and/or is otherwise unwell at this time, or at any time during the school day, will be asked to wait in an isolation space until their parent/guardian can collect them from school. We require that students who exhibit symptoms are collected in private transportation and not by public transport.

Q: Can parents and visitors come on campus?

A: We regret that parents and non-essential visitors may not access campus unless it is for an essential pre-arranged meeting with a staff member. (As needed, non-essential in-person meetings will be rescheduled to Zoom meetings.) In that case, the parent or visitor should first register for their appointment at reception and then, once admitted, remain on campus for the minimum time possible, at all times wearing a mask. Parents should, therefore, plan to drop off their child at their designated school gate where staff will be ready to welcome them and take their temperature. Flexibility for very young children who might need parental support in entering the building/classroom will of course be accommodated, particularly on the first day back.

SAFETY AND HYGIENE

Q: What safety measures are you putting in place?

A: Nishimachi will, to the best of our ability, welcome students and staff to a safe school environment that follows government guidance around the “Three C’s” - Close Contact, Closed Settings, Crowded Settings. These are supported by best practices as indicated by the CDC which asks everyone to:

Stay at home if unwell
Wash hands thoroughly with soap as often as one can (or use sanitizer when one cannot access water)
Avoid touching one’s face
Minimizing shared surfaces/items and cleaning regularly

Q: Will children and teachers be required to wear masks?

A: Masks are to be worn at all times unless otherwise instructed by a teacher (Ex: lunch, or PE if physically distanced.) Students will not be permitted on campus without a mask; we will have some available, but it is expected that parents send their children with masks to be on campus. Again, this will be dependent on the environment and government guidelines at that time.

Q: What does physical distancing look like at Nishimachi?

A: Our goal is that:

Students will be taught and asked to follow the ‘hula hoop’ of personal space, and to use this idea to help them keep their distance (ideally around 2 meters).
Teachers will plan and supervise learning and play activities that reduce, as much as possible, the risk of close contact
As much as possible, classrooms will be adjusted to avoid close contact; this includes adjusting seating so that students are separated by a 1-meter distance and/or hygiene barriers, dependent on the space.
When lining up (e.g. for recess, specials) physical markers on the floor and supervising staff will reduce the risks of close contacts
Higher risk activities such as PE and singing will be adjusted in order to ensure for safety

Q: Will you be staggering the number of students on campus on any given day?

A: Yes, if we are following our physical distancing model. By only bringing a reduced number of students to campus each day, we can significantly diminish the risk of overcrowding.

Q: What happens if a child becomes sick while at school?

A: Children will be put into an isolation room and the parent will be called. Our nurse is not a diagnostician and will ask that you take your child to see a healthcare professional immediately.

Q: Who should not come on campus?

A: It is recommended that students/families and staff concerned about high-risk conditions consider carefully their need to access campus. High-risk conditions are defined by Nishimachi in accordance with the guidelines of the Japanese Ministry of Health and the US Center for Disease Control as follows: diabetes, heart condition, chronic lung disease or respiratory conditions, receiving dialysis, chemotherapy, immunocompromised, pregnancy and aged 65 or older.

CLASSROOMS AND ROUTINES

Q: How will classrooms be set up?

A: Each room will have designated ‘open’ windows/doors that ensure a cross-breeze airflow. These windows/doors will be clearly marked and left open on set timeframes. Smaller office spaces with limited ventilation will have fans provided to increase airflow.

Q: Will children be wearing their shoes indoors?

A: We are evaluating whether this is a good idea at this time. In the meantime, we will be taking up all classroom rugs in order to make sure that we can clean surfaces easily.

Q: Will classes always be indoors?

A: Where possible, activities will be held in larger spaces where ventilation is improved

Q: How will students move around campus?

A: Students and staff will be asked to use exterior routes when moving around campus, as opposed to interior routes, where possible, and everyone will follow designated routes so children do not cross over one another. As we move around the campus, all staff, students and any approved visitors, will be asked to adhere to the following rules put in place to maximize for safety:

There will be a ‘keep left’ rule on campus at all times. Walk on the left!
Certain narrow spaces (e.g. some stairwells) will be designated ‘One Way Only’. These instructions must be followed.
Wherever possible students should use OUTSIDE routes to move from class to class Inside routes are available if the outside route is impractical and/or if the outside route is crowded.

Q: Will children be allowed to order lunch?

A: This is yet to be determined. We will let parents know in August.

Q: What will lunch look like?

A: Lunch will be supervised in classrooms and/or outside to reduce the risk of close contacts during eating time.

RECESS

Q: What will recess or playtime look like?

A: Staff may designate different and/or more restricted locations for play/recess than during normal school in order to ensure for the supervision of students with regard to safe play and physical distancing as follows:

Restrictions will be placed on which equipment can be used and/or how many students can use certain play equipment at any given time
Students will be taught about ‘safe’ activities for play (e.g. drawing with chalk) and unsafe activities (e.g. tag) and staff will support students in making these choices

MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS

FIELD TRIPS

Q: Do you think that we can have field trips this coming year?

A: At this time, the only trips we have canceled thus far apply to Grade 9 (the Mt. Fuji climb and the trip to Cambodia). The Hiroshima/Kyoto/Nara trip will be postponed until Semester 2. Kazuno and other outings are being evaluated live time and decisions will be made accordingly. Where possible, we will postpone, instead of cancel, such trips because we know of their value to our students’ overall education.

AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

CAMPUS CLEANING

Q: How will the campus stay virus-free?

A: While we cannot guarantee a completely virus-free campus, we will have an ongoing, regular and intensive cleaning routine including:

Daily cleaning at the end of the day.
Ongoing cleaning by staff employed to rotate around campus during school hours using high-strength disinfectant on high-frequency surfaces such as doorknobs, handrails, light switches, taps/faucets, table/countertop surfaces.
Thorough end of week cleaning each weekend, to include deep anti-viral cleaning in the last weekend in May.
Equip each classroom with its own cleaning kit which staff and students can use to wipe down surfaces between use.
Ask students to use drinking fountains ONLY to fill their own water bottles (not to drink directly from).
Minimize any activity which requires the sharing of materials or resources that need to be shared among more than one student.
Ask students not to share items with others and to have their own basic stationary equipment for class.
Have all students wear a face mask and guide them to wash thier hands.

CAMPUS CLOSURE

Q: What determines when you close campus?

A: In any of the below cases the campus will once again be closed for a predetermined period:

A student or staff member who has been to campus, or their close contact, is diagnosed with COVID-19.
Tokyo reinstates the State of Emergency and/or indicates to schools that they should close.
There is a significant worsening of the COVID-19 situation in Tokyo such that the school deems it appropriate to return exclusively to distance learning.

If you have a question that we have not addressed on this page, please submit your question through this Q&A form.

2020-2021 School Year Question Form

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