NO CAMPUS ACCESS for ELC through Gr. 10 on Feb. 10

Primarily we are guided in all these decisions by the local public health department, and the guidelines below may change as the official advice does. Please know that our commitment to our community is that we will strive to stay on campus as much as possible. This means that while safety is always the priority, we will always choose the option that provides the best chance of the maximum amount of on-campus learning for students. 

In reality, this means that at the current time:
 

• If the spread of COVID within a particular grade or class appears to be contained, then generally we will close the grade/class for a day or so to allow for contact tracing before bringing the majority of the class back to school with the impacted students studying in ‘Quarantine Learning’ from home. (e.g. the source of infection appears to have come from outside of school and is limited in terms of infections/close contacts) 
• If we gather evidence of in-school spread (or risk) within a class/grade, we may decide to have a longer period of online learning for the entire class/grade (e.g. there are multiple cases within the class/grade and/or there appears to be evidence that these cases have been contracted from within the school with a significant risk posed by numerous ‘close contacts’) 
• If we gather evidence of in-school spread (or risk) across classes/grades as a whole, we may decide to have a period of online learning for an entire section of the school or even the school as a whole (e.g. there are multiple cases within multiple groups across the school and significant evidence of in-school spread and in-school risk) 

 
There are two other reasons why we might need to move online:

1. Staff absences due to the campus access policy mean we can no longer safely run learning on campus. 
2. The government decides to recommend public health measures that involve the closing of school campuses, or guidelines that are inoperable in an international school context and in which learning can be better delivered online. 

Level 4 is our highest level of response to COVID risk and we enter this level when one or more sections of the school are at home in online learning and/or there is a very high probability that this may be necessary. 
 
We entered Level 4 when we experienced cases in the Elementary school a couple of weeks ago and asked Grades 1 & 2 to move online. At the moment, all classes are back on campus, but we will remain in Level 4 as long as there is a likelihood of online learning taking place at short notice. 
 
We will move back into Level 3 when it is clear that the risk of further cases is receding. For example, we will look to see that the sixth wave has definitely peaked and is declining and that the ‘R number’ nationally and locally has been consistently below 1 for a sustained period. We will also be looking at our own community and the number of families reporting cases or close-contact cases to us. 
 
While some internal guidelines are in place for staff in Level 4, from a student and parent perspective there is no difference between Level 4 and Level 3. The same campus access policy is applied and the same expectations are held on campus. It simply means that we maintain the tightest possible focus on our COVID protocols to minimize risk and it means that we may need to remove certain non-essential activities to reduce the risk of creating ‘close contacts’ and community spread. 
 
We aim to get back into Level 2 as soon as we can and begin to once again welcome parents back to campus. We remain hopeful that this will be possible once the sixth wave is fully flattened and the risk of close contact community spread is once again low. 
 
While in Level 4, we do ask for your family's help while off-campus. Please see the section below (Is there any guidance NIS has for families? How can we help?) for details.

“Quarantine Learning” is a specific learning plan for students who are healthy and able to learn but who are required to remain at home for an extended period by either the school, the government, or, as advised by a doctor in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. 
 
It is not for students who are unwell themselves, or who are absent for reasons initiated by, or under the control of, the family, or for short term covid-related absences.
 
Details about “Quarantine Learning” are posted HERE.  
 
Students may be required to remain at home by the government, a doctor, and/or the school for several reasons. These include students who are:

1. Diagnosed with COVID (and in home isolation) 
2. In ‘quarantine’ by order of the government due to international travel or being designated a ‘close contact’
3. Asked to quarantine by a doctor (e.g. your family are awaiting PCR results OR your child has been diagnosed with a high-risk condition)
4. Asked to remain off campus for an extended period by the school due to the requirements of the NIS Campus Access Policy. For example:

• They are the sibling of a student in cases (1) & (2) above
• They are home for an extended period (longer than 3 days) due to ongoing symptoms in the family (e.g. a symptomatic parent or sibling) 

Reasons that would NOT qualify for quarantine learning are:

1. When the student themselves is unwell with COVID or COVID symptoms (they should rest)
2. Short term absences caused by symptoms within the family (#C on the NIS Campus Access Policy) (‘Long term’ typically means starting no earlier than from the fourth day of absence and when it appears likely that the student will be absent for at least two more days) 
3. The single day of quarantine following illness (i.e. students remain home symptom-free without medication for one full day after the final day of symptoms before being allowed to return to school (#B on the NIS Campus Access Policy)
4. Any reason which is initiated by the family – i.e. It is not requested by the school, the government, or as advised by a doctor. 

 
Typically, Quarantine Learning can start no earlier than 24 hours after the school is notified of a government or doctor-required quarantine/isolation and no earlier than the fourth school day of absence caused symptoms from family members/siblings in the home. This is because it takes time for teachers to prepare a quarantine learning plan and ensure that it will be successful. 

 
Enrolling your Child in Quarantine Learning 
 

To have your child enrolled in Quarantine Learning, parents must make this request to academicoffice@nis.ac.jp and explain the reasons why your child is unable to come to school (as listed above). It is hard for the school to know whether or not a child should be enrolled in Quarantine Learning simply from their absence record unless this is specifically requested with reasons. Please also note that your child’s teacher is not able to register them for Quarantine Learning - this can only be done by the Academic Office. 
 
To request Quarantine Learning, write to academicoffice@nis.ac.jp and explain:
 

• The name(s) of your child(ren) and their class/grade
• Who is requiring your child to remain home (doctor, government, school campus access policy) 
• Why this absence is required ((i) positive case, (ii) close contact, (iii) school campus access policy reason as listed above)
• For how long do you expect this to last (an estimate if you do not know exactly)

 
The Academic Office will consider your request against the criteria for Quarantine Learning and reply back to you as soon as possible. 

We understand that, especially at this time, some families may choose to keep their children home as a precautionary measure. We support every family’s right to make that choice, and such absences will not count ‘against’ your child in determining whether or not they are eligible for completion/promotion. In these cases, however, while your child can access some of the assignments and see some of the tasks on google classroom, and contact teachers for advice, they would not be assigned to “Quarantine Learning" and may not join the specific ‘googlemeets’ established for that purpose. 
 
We appreciate your understanding that in order to ensure that our staff has the capacity to deliver both On-Campus Learning and, to those who are eligible, Quarantine Learning, only students who are prevented from coming to school due to a government, doctor or school directive are eligible for the Quarantine Learning plan. This decision is made by the Principal.

This is a difficult question to answer since in each case an evaluation will be made based on a range of factors, following the specific criteria and advice of the public health department. 
 
Our COVID policies and approaches acknowledge that, particularly in the era of omicron, it is not possible to prevent COVID-19 from coming on to campus. However, we are committed to doing all we can to limit the number of ‘close contacts’ that any single case might produce. 
 
Our Level 4 guidelines on campus are designed to limit the chances of any community member being designated as a ‘close contact’ (and therefore reduce the risk of infection and school closure). Specifically, our guidelines reduce the risks in the following areas: 
 

• Adequate ventilation - ensuring ventilation is maintained while still keeping students reasonably warm; thank you for sending your children to school with lots of warm clothes!)
• Mask wearing  - wearing a properly fitting mask at all times is essential to reduce the risks of close contact transmission; the Ministry of Education strongly urges all of us to wear non-woven masks (e.g. a paper/surgical mask) as these have been shown to be less effective in reducing the risk of transmission
• Physical Distancing - we know that even short conversations with masks at a very close distance (less than an arms-length) have a strong chance to create a ‘close contact’. We urge staff and students to try to keep as much distance as they can when talking and to do so in quiet voices
• Crowded spaces - all the rooms at NIS have a maximum capacity to be followed to mitigate the risks of ‘close contact’
• Mixed groupings - the more children mix, the more opportunity there is to create close contacts. During Level 4, teachers and students are doing the best they can to limit the number of different groups and partnerships in which students work over the course of the day

 
If your child is designated as a close contact then do not be alarmed. They (and any siblings) will be asked to remain at home for the period of quarantine (currently seven days starting from the day AFTER the last date of contact) and will be placed in Quarantine Learning. Please remember that the risk of serious disease in children is very small, and the risk to vaccinated household members is also small, and much reduced from that of the fifth ‘Delta’ wave. 
 

Since our student cases to date have been in the Elementary school, as a precaution we have suspended Elementary School ASAs for the time being. Teachers are being very careful to minimize the number of different groupings during the day and we do not, at this point, wish to have children mix in very different groupings for ASAs. We also know that younger children are less able to identify who they have been in close contact with and want to limit the different individuals that they might interact with throughout a school day.
 
To date, we have not had any cases in the Secondary school. Should that happen we will evaluate the situation there also. 
 
We are mindful that holding after-school sports and activities provides important well-being and learning benefits for students. We therefore will strive to continue with after-school activities as much as we think it is reasonable to do so. 

Most of all, we are simply grateful to all our parents for the incredible support you have shown to your children, the teachers, and our staff throughout this pandemic. 
 
During Level 4, you can help us by doing the following:
 

• Follow the campus access policy in full - and write to academicoffice@nis.ac.jp should you feel your children need to be enrolled in ‘Quarantine Learning’
• Keep us informed by telling us as soon as you can if:
  • Your child is diagnosed with COVID (PCR or Antigen)
  • Anyone else in your household is diagnosed with COVID (PCR or Antigen)
  • Anyone else with whom your child (or any other household member) has come into close contact is diagnosed with COVID (PCR or Antigen)
  • Your child or any household member is designated officially as a ‘close contact’ by the health department (note that the school will treat cases as a ‘close contact’ even if the public health department has not had the capacity to do so, provided that the public health criteria for a close contact are met. Therefore please contact us if you feel any family member is at risk of being a ‘close contact’ and we can advise you)
• Send your child to school every day with warm clothes and a properly-fitting mask. Any good-fitting mask is OK provided your child is comfortable and wears it throughout the day. However, as much as possible please consider following the ministry of education guidelines to avoid woven or polyurethane face coverings and opt instead for surgical/paper masks which are shown to offer increased protection. Note that an N-95 mask is NOT recommended (these are hard for children to wear all day), and masks with valves or which do not fully cover both the mouth and the nose with a tight fit to the face are prohibited)
• Do all you can to limit the risk of infection in your family. Please follow the guidance of the government and try to limit your activities to those that are low-risk. Please try to:
  • Avoid unnecessary travel or any activities that take place in closed/crowded or close-contact spaces. 
  • Avoid holding parties or other large-group gatherings of NIS students.
  • Avoid sleepover parties 
  • Consider postponing playdates; if these are arranged we request that:
    • These be between a small number of students who already work and play together in school.
    • Masks are worn at all times and physical distancing observed as much as possible
    • Ventilation in the home is maintained (or play outside if possible)
    • The children follow the NIS protocols for eating and drinking (in silence and as distanced as possible). 
• Get Vaccinated - the data on vaccination is convincing. NIS strongly recommends all eligible community members receive the covid vaccine and booster shots as an important part of our strategy to stay safe and stay open. Vaccines for children are due to start in Japan in March and we strongly recommend you consider this for your child.
• Reassuring your child that they are safe and their family is safe. These are difficult times to understand. From a public health perspective, we all need to do the right thing to protect the Japanese health system so that it has the capacity to cater for vulnerable patients. However, it is equally true that on an individual level, for the vast majority of children and healthy, vaccinated adults, this omicron variant poses a very low risk, and children and adolescents do not, in almost all cases, need to be fearful for themselves or their parents. We recommend that you open the door for conversation with your children and help them understand this current COVID wave from a perspective of balanced risk and relative safety. For older children, be aware that whatever social media feeds they are accessing may not be providing them with a balanced view. Know that our counselor Ms. Ngugi (jngugi@nis.ac.jp) and our teachers and staff are here to support you.