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ZSS/LTP/B1/2020/ADM/0118 1 June 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We have finally come to the end of the Circuit Breaker period and are looking forward to welcoming our students back to school. 2 Jun 2020 will mark the beginning of Term 3 and will last until 4 Sep 2020. Students from Secondary 4 and 5 will attend school from Mondays to Fridays whereas students from Secondary 1 to 3 will rotate weekly between Home-Based Learning (HBL) and returning to school for lessons, at least for the first four weeks of Term 3.

In tandem with the country’s phased approach to resuming normal activities, we will be implementing several management measures to keep our school environment safe and conducive for everyone.

Listed in this letter are the measures and changes that we will be putting in place in Term 3. We would like to seek your cooperation to work with us to ensure that we keep COVID-19 away from our school, and to remind your child/ward to always comply with the many safe management measures put in place over the coming weeks. Issuance of Leave of Absence (LOA) and Approved Absence (AA) in Term 3

1 Please notify your child’s/ward’s Form Teachers immediately if your child/ward is

in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case; or

staying in the same household as an adult (18 yrs old and above) who has been issued with Home Quarantine Order (HQO) or Stay Home Notice (SHN). Your child/ward will be issued a Leave of Absence for the duration of the HQO or SHN; or

staying in the same household as an adult who is on medical leave for flu-like symptoms. Your child/ward will be issued with an Approved Absence (AA) for the duration of the medical leave

In all the above cases, your child/ward will stay home for the duration of the leave. Safe Management Measures in Term 3 2 Visitor Management

We will continue to conduct visual screening and temperature checks on all visitors. Visitors with a fever

(temperature of 38°C and above), or who display flu-like symptoms will not be allowed to enter the school. We will continue using the SafeEntry digital check-in system for all visitors.

3 Students’ Entry Into School

To minimize congestion and inter-mingling at entry points into the school in the mornings, students are to enter the school through the assigned gates, with effect from 2 June 2020.

Sec 1 – 3 : Main gate along Senja Road

Sec 4/5 : Rear gate along Bukit Panjang Ring Road

In the event of inclement weather, all students are to enter and exit the school through the rear gate. For parents/guardians who are sending their child/ward to school by private vehicle, do note that drop-offs can be done at the following designated points.

Sec 1 – 3: School porch

Sec 4/5: Outside rear gate or school porch

ZHENGHUA SECONDARY SCHOOL 91 Senja Road Singapore 677741 Tel: 6763 9455 Fax: 6763 3577 Website: http://www.zhenghuasec.moe.edu.sg Email: zhenghua_ss@moe.edu.sg

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4 Flag Raising Ceremony and Temperature-Taking Students will continue to proceed directly to their classrooms when they arrive in school for the flag-raising ceremony. Visual screening and temperature-taking will be conducted daily after pledge-taking. Please ensure that your child/ward carries a functioning ODT daily for this purpose. A second temperature-taking exercise is conducted in the afternoon for students attending afternoon activities. All mass assemblies are suspended until further notice.

5 Staggered Dismissal Timings The dismissal timings for all levels will be staggered for Term 3, until further notice. Do note that your child/ward may be required to stay back in school for SBB lessons or small group coaching or consultations/activities, hence dismissal times will vary in these cases. Taking reference to individual classes’ end of last period in their daily timetable: Sec 1s: 5 min earlier (e.g. 2.25pm on Mondays) Sec 2s: 5 min later (e.g. 2.35pm on Mondays) Sec 3s: 5 min later than end of last period Sec 4s and 5s: dismissal follows end of last period, end of after-school consultation sessions or STAR

6 Safe Distancing During Recess Times Sec 1 students will have their recess in their classrooms with effect from 2 June. They are strongly encouraged to bring their own containers and utensils from home to pack food bought from the canteen as we want to cut down the use of disposable containers. The canteen has been marked out for safe distancing during queuing and in the seating areas. Please advise your child/ward to minimize talking and socializing as much as possible when eating.

7 Fixed Exam-Style Seating and Wipe-Down Routines

Students will be seated individually in exam-style seating in classrooms. They will continue practicing wipe-down routines in the classrooms and special rooms such as Science labs and workshops.

8 Face Masks and Face Shields

It is mandatory for your child/ward to wear a face mask when he/she steps out of the home, and they are expected to wear their face mask/face shield throughout the time that they are in school (except during meal times). Failure to comply will result in school disciplinary consequences. Please consult your child’s/ ward’s Form Teachers if there are any health precautionary measures that we should take note of with regard to face masks or face shields.

Students are allowed to wear face shields in the classrooms but not in Food Science or Science laboratories. They are required to put on a face mask once they enter the Food Science or Science laboratories to attend practical lessons.

Academic Matters in Term 3 9 Physical Education (PE) Lessons

To ensure that our students remain healthy and active, PE lessons will resume in Term 3 with strict adherence to safe management measures. During PE lessons, students will not be required to wear masks when engaging in strenuous physical activities. As such, we strongly advise your child/ward to bring a plastic bag/Ziploc bag to store their face masks hygienically during PE lessons. Wipe-down routines will apply to equipment used during PE.

10 Support for Graduating Classes Small group consultations will be conducted starting Week 2 of Term 3 for graduating students. STAR Programme will resume in Week 4 after the mid-year GCE O-Level MT Exams.

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11 Assessment Matters in Term 3 As Term 2 was shortened by HBL and the bringing forward of the school holidays, our Weighted Assessment (WA) in term 3 will be adjusted to comprise two components. The first component will be conducted before the mid-July term break, and the second component will generally be conducted after the break. The updated weightings for all WA in Term 3 can be found in Annex A. The GCE ‘O’ Level MT Listening Comprehension Exam will be conducted on Monday 27 July. All students who are not taking the MT Listening Comprehension Exam will be dismissed earlier at 1 pm on 27 July. The GCE ‘O’ and ‘N’ Level Oral Exams for both Mother Tongue and English Language will be conducted at various periods in Term 3. Please refer to the calendar in the table on the following page for the specific dates of the GCE ‘O’ and ‘N’ level preliminary examinations.

12 HBL and Timetable in Term 3

Students on HBL are to generally follow the timetable, and log in to SLS daily for specific instructions. The new timetable for Term 3 will be provided by FTs on the first day of Term 3. We will also post this timetable on our website for Sec 3 students who will be on HBL in Week 1. Please note that this timetable will be updated from Term 3 Week 4 onwards.

13 Suspension of 2NT Achievers Programme (AP) and 3NT Elective Modules (EM) in Term 3

As no external trainers are allowed to conduct enrichment programmes in school during first few weeks of Term 3, our Normal Technical Programs, 2T1 NTAP and 3T1 Elective Modules, will be suspended until further notice. Hence, the students from both 2T1 and 3T1 will be dismissed earlier on Wednesdays in June.

E-CCA in Term 3 14 Please note that CCA activities will resume in Term 3 for all Sec 1 - 3 students, but will be conducted

remotely or online. Your child’s/ward’s participation is strongly encouraged in the e-CCA activities as it is important for them to continue to develop holistically, and maintain a healthy balance between academic learning and attaining non-academic related skills. Your child’s CCA teacher-in-charge will provide more details on the format and timings of the online CCA activities through your child.

Key Events in Term 3 15 Parent-Teacher Meeting

If the national situation allows, we will hold our Parent-Teacher Meeting for Sec 4 & 5s on 10 July, and for Sec 1 - 3s on 6 August. In the event that face-to-face meetings are not possible, our teachers will use phone calls and/or teleconferencing to get in touch with you to discuss your child’s progress in Term 3.

16 Youth Day, Racial Harmony Day, National Day Celebrations, Teachers’ Day Celebration

Youth Day falls on Sunday, 5 July and the following Monday 6 July will be a school holiday. Racial Harmony Day will be commemorated on 17 July. The school will be celebrating National Day on Friday 7 August. Our school-based Teachers’ Day celebrations will be on Thursday 3 September. Students will be dismissed earlier at 11.00 am after the celebrations. Friday 4 September will be a school holiday.

Here’s wishing everyone a safe and smooth-sailing Term 3 ahead.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Eugene Lin

Class Day Date Dismissal Time

2T1

Wednesdays

3 June 1.30 pm

3T1 10 June 1.00 pm

2T1 17 June 1.30 pm

3T1 24 June 1.00 pm

Principal

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KEY EVENTS IN TERM 3

Date Event

2 June First day of Term 3

18 – 19 June GCE O-Level MTL Written Exams.

(Students taking the afternoon exam will not report to school in the morning)

6 July Youth Day School Holiday

10 July Parent-Teacher Meeting for Sec 4/5

7 – 17 July GCE O-Level MTL Oral Exams

13 – 17 July GCE N-Level English Language Oral Exams

17 July Racial Harmony Day celebrations

20 – 26 July Mid-Term School Holidays

27 July GCE O-Level MTL Listening Comprehension Exam

(Please note that all students not sitting for the GCE O-Level MT Listening Comprehension Exam will be dismissed earlier at 1.00 pm)

27 July – 6 Aug N-Level Prelim Exams

31 July Hari Raya Haji public holiday

3 – 5 Aug GCE N-Level MTL Oral Exams

6 Aug Parent-Teacher Meeting for Sec 1 – 3

7 Aug National Day celebrations in school (Students will be dismissed earlier at 10.00 am after the celebrations)

10 Aug National Day public holiday

12 – 26 Aug GCE O-Level English Language Oral Exams

24 Aug – 2 Sep

14 – 15 Sep

O-Level Prelim Exams

3 Sep Teachers’ Day celebrations in school (Students will be dismissed earlier at 11.00 am after the celebrations)

4 Sep Teachers’ Day School Holiday

5 – 13 Sep September School Holidays

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ANNEX A

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