School Board Announces KAS Returns with In-Person Learning

Our Board met on Friday afternoon and made the decision to open school with in-person learning on campus on Friday, August 6. The authorities have been supportive, and other international schools on the island are also beginning to open their doors for face-to-face classes. The measures we’re taking and the status of the pandemic in Kaohsiung give us assurance of the health and safety of our community. We will be able to share more details later this week about adjustments we’re making on campus, and the protocols we’ll be following that will be new. For example, we’ll be serving boxed lunches for all students to begin, as we adjust to new restrictions and partitions that we’re adding in the cafeteria for health and safety. I know that we’ll be making many refinements to our practices and protocols as we settle into the school year. 

在上星期五的董事會中董事們已經作成決定，這個星期五-8月6日將以學生親自到校上課的方式開學。

有關當局一直支持，同時台灣的其他國際學校也開始為面對面上課的方式敞開大門。我們正在採取的措施以及高雄的疫情管控的情況使我們能夠保證學校社區的健康和安全。再過來這一週稍晚的時候，我們將能夠分享更多關於我們在校園內，會進行調整的細節，以及我們將遵守的新協定。例如，我們將開始為所有學生提供盒裝午餐，因為我們為了健康和安全及適應用餐新規則，而在餐廳中添加了新的限制和用餐隔板。我知道，隨著我們進入新學年，我們將對我們的做法和規定進行許多改進。

10 new faculty members will be teaching remotely from other time zones when we start the year. We are preparing TAs and substitute teachers to be in classrooms to supervise and assist with the remote lessons our new faculty will be teaching. Several returning teachers are also caught out of the country or will be in quarantine when the new school year begins, and will need the same support. All our students will be engaged in learning in all of our classrooms from Day 1, even if it looks a bit different than normal. Our principals will share more details later this week. 開學時，10位新的海外聘任老師將在其他的時區同步以遠端遙控的方式上課。開始上課時，教室內將會有助教及代課老師監督及協助老師遠端遙控上課。有一些海外回來的舊老師，因為檢疫隔離的關係或是其他因素滯留海外，也會以遠端遙控方式上課，同時教室內也有相同的人員協助模式上課。學生從開學第一天就會進到教室內學習，雖然這跟我們過去一般正常到校上課的模式有些不同。各部校長們會在這一週稍後跟各位家長分享細節。

I want to thank our three Principals and Curriculum/IB Coordinator for their excellent leadership last week for our new teacher orientation. 17 new teachers forged relationships, discussed our educational values and beliefs, and learned about essential KAS systems and practices. We’re all eager to begin working with our new colleagues this coming week, to prepare for on-campus learning. I’m thankful also that our school’s leaders were willing to work so many hours during July to prepare for a robust virtual KAS program. The pandemic creates a volatile and uncertain environment. If we need to close the campus later in the school year, we’ll be prepared to deliver a robust learning program virtually. 我要感謝三位校長及IB課程主任在過去這一週，在他們優秀的領導下所進行的新老師訓練。17位新老師鍛鍊彼此的關係，討論我們學校的教育價值和信仰，並學習高雄美國學校主要的系統和模式。我們都非常希望在這即將來臨的一週與新同仁一起努力，為讓學生親自到校上課做準備。我很感謝學校的領導階層，在七月的期間花了許多的時間，重新準備開始虛擬KAS課程。疫情對環境創造了許多的變動和不確定性。如果，在開學後的學年中我們需要關閉校園，我們也準備線上網路教授課程。

I know that parents will have many questions regarding the start of the school year. I will host an Open Forum for parents at 9:30 AM on Wednesday, August 4. The meeting link is HERE. 我知道各位家長對於開學有許多的問題。我將在星期三， 8月4日早上九點30分，舉行一個公開論壇。這個會議的連結在這裡HERE。