ICS Paris: the end of the school year marked by serenity
"This year, we had three back-to-school dates!" says Amel Fayache, Admissions Manager at ICS Paris (formerly EIB - The Victor Hugo School). It is true that students, parents and teaching staff had to thoroughly adapt to the health context. Thanks to their commitment, the learning process was ensured with no interruption and communication between students was preserved, both during the lockdown and during the different reopening stages of schools.
Make sure to keep in contact with students during the lockdown
Thanks to proactive preparation, teachers and staff were ready from the first day of the lockdown to carry out their teaching mission via Zoom videoconferencing platform.
With this exceptional situation, the teaching team made sure no students were left aside. All decisions were contextualized, and virtual classes were adjusted according to the ageof the students and ability to concentrate in front of a screen. As a result, all students, including in nursery, were able to connect and interact with their teacher and classmates on a daily basis.
For the older students, the timetable was more similar to the one on site, but class periods would be shorter and learning adjustments had to be implemented: more group work and homework were done in pairs..." Our goal was to maintain good communication between teachers and students, but also between the students themselves," explains Amel Fayache.
A gradual return to near-normal conditions
As soon as the schools and middle schools were allowed to reopen, the maintenance team has worked hard to welcome students back to school with the best conditions, in accordance with the health protocol. Thanks to spacious classrooms and small class sizes (up to 18 students in primary school and 20 in middle school), the school located on rue de Cronstadt in the 15th district of Paris could reopen 4 days out of 5.
Here again, everything had been arranged by EIB to maintain communication between the students who were on site and those who stayed at home. The teachers have done their best to combine onsite classes with distance learning classes. Students who stayed at home were able at certain times to connect on Zoom to attend classes at the same time as their classmates.
One event made all the students particularly happy: Wear It Wild Day, which is part of the fundraising project for the WWF association. Children were asked to wear the wildest hairstyle and they enthusiastically played the game. Coloured hair, hats or make-up: everyone showed great creativity and children of each class were able to share together on screen this fun experience.
End of the school year: a peaceful reunion in compliance with the health protocol
Nursery/primary and middle-school children have been going back to school with no anxiety and the learning programme has remained on schedule.
"We are satisfied that all the students had been back because it was important for their mental health to conclude all together this very special year," adds Amel Fayache.
In addition, although the high school was closed, the "Graduation Ceremony" has been carried out for the final year. The event has been organised differently from the previous years: it took place outside with parents as the only guests, but it has been maintained, to the great satisfaction of all.
Throughout this second semester, ICS Paris teams have been continuously committed and adapted to confront this unprecedented crisis. The entire educational community is more united and connected than ever before, and has been fully committed to the success and well-being of its students.