The new school year is approaching and schools of infant, primary, secondary and special education in Macao are going to start successively in a staggered manner in early September. The DSEJ urges parents to paying attention to the SAR government epidemic prevention measures, traffic conditions, weather and the physical conditions of their children, as well as to teach their children about the knowledge of epidemic prevention, and the importance of maintaining good hygiene habits; cross-border students must pay attention to the entry and exit policies before school starts, and take nucleic acid tests in due course in order to prepare well for school. To ensure a smooth start of the new school year, the DSEJ will also send staff to schools to learn about the situations on the first day of school.
The DSEJ keeps communicating with schools through meetings and letters about their preparation for the new school year, urges schools to pay attention to their epidemic prevention measures and implement them according to the DSEJ guidelines, as well as keeping the school campuses clean and hygienic. The DSEJ will continue to pay close attention to the epidemic development and announce any adjustment in due course.
As traffic is expected to be relatively busy on the first few days of school, the DSEJ has kept close contact with DSAT as well as other relevant departments in the hope of keeping the occurrence of students’ lateness due to unexpected traffic conditions as low as possible. Meanwhile, parents and students are suggested to leave home for school earlier. For students who take the school bus, their parents should also communicate with the school or school bus drivers in advance to get to know the pick up route on that day and should teach the children about transportation safety.
In response to the new “Rainstorm Warning Signal System” which is going to take effect on 1st September, the DSEJ will announce class suspension in case the Red or Black Rainstorm Warning Signals are hoisted. When the Yellow Rainstorm Warning Signal is hoisted, classes will continue as usual, but schools are asked to deal with students’ lateness, if any, with discretion. To ensure students’ safety, schools will remain open to students who have arrived school during class suspension period due to inclement weather. Students can stay at school until the weather is suitable for them to return home or until the end of regular classes of the school. Parents do not have to rush to schools to pick up their children (except when Typhoon signal no. 8 or above is hoisted). If class suspension is announced due to rainstorm at noon time, it is more appropriate for students to continue to stay at school.
The DSEJ hopes to continue to cooperate with schools and parents in the new school year to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for students to acquire knowledge, develop their potentials and let students enjoy a happy and healthy school life.
