SABIS® International School – Runda has kicked off the third trimester smoothly amid the global lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic using SABIS® E-learning solutions. The school has deployed virtual learning programs provided by SABIS® that include digital lessons, e-books and digital platforms for students and parents that enable them to continue learning seamlessly and with confidence.
Students and parents can access a Weekly Plan of Home Learning and the proposed Daily Home Learning Schedule on the SABIS® Digital Platform similar to what is available during normal school days for all grade levels. The weekly plans contain selected material that students should be covering in each week with the daily home schedule directing them on what will be covered each day.
The weekly plan is accessible with hyperlinks to the Interactive White Board lessons that teachers/students usually use in active classrooms. The program utilizes the Virtual Classroom feature by Microsoft Teams to deliver live lessons to students so that they do not miss out on learning while being away from school.
Teachers facilitate lessons for students, who can access these lessons on their tablets or computers as if they are in a class while delivering a learning session using the relevant material. During these lessons, students are able to ask questions and engage in the lesson with their teachers and follow along in their books. In addition to monitoring and attendance, these sessions can be recorded and made available for later view.
According to the school director, Robert S. Kleynhans the online classes are for all students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 and will be closely monitored by parents and teachers in the school on a lesson-by-lesson basis.
“The system allows parents to provide feedback to the school on the progress of their children’s lessons at home and get feedback on any queries they may have, in addition to individualized online assessments that students take to track their learning progress and provide targeted support,” noted Mr. Kleynhans.
As a member of the global SABIS® Network, the school in Runda is leveraging on all the resources made available to them and their students, including online videos, which are sometimes created centrally at SABIS® headquarters or from sister schools across the network. These videos use a similar curriculum, familiar teaching methodology, and learning materials to reinforce important concepts students are learning.
“The third trimester has kicked off smoothly and we are monitoring the students closely to ensure that learning progresses well as per the school schedule,” said Mr. Kleynhans.
The school has also continued to offer its popular reading program at home in an effort to ensure that all students continue reading as much as possible over this period, and the library has organized a Non-Fiction Reading Challenge for all students to work on during this time. This is a good chance to encourage children to continue reading.