Yes, some small modifications to the calendar have been made related to the current staged reopening.  The half day on Sept 11 has been changed to a full day for students.

Yes, some times will be slightly different this year. Please find the 2020 School Day Hours here.

The school has adjusted arrangements for drop off and pick up in order to reduce the gathering of groups.

• Arrival at school begins at 7:45 for everyone
• Students will enter and exit campus at designated access points and proceed directly to their classrooms under the supervision of teachers on duty
• Adult entry is not permitted beyond entry points
• Adults must wear masks and maintain physical distance at all times.

Please see more information here. 

Yes, parents of Early Childhood may drop off their child starting at 7:45am.  Classes officially begin at 8:20am at all grade levels in Early Childhood.  Please see the school hours here.

As per government guidelines, access to the school site will be restricted during the school day  for anyone other than immediate school staff, students and emergency/essential service workers.  If you need to visit the school office, please call in advance for an appointment.  When you arrive, a staff member will greet you at the door.  Please wear a mask and follow posted hygiene protocols before entering.

Unfortunately, not at this time.

In-person meetings with the teacher are not permitted and must be conducted using video conferencing.

At the beginning of the 2020/21 school year there will be no after school care.

After-school activities are scheduled to begin on Monday, September 28th upon agreement that the school can safely accommodate them.  Further information will be provided in mid-September. 

Large group assemblies, gatherings and performances will be suspended.

We understand that travel may be complicated at this time. As families are making their way back, the school will provide an adapted home learning for a reasonable period of time. Details of provision will depend on capacity. 

If you will be late returning to the island, please contact your division principal as soon as possible. Advance coordination and planning between teachers and departments will be required.

In addition to social-emotional wellbeing, teachers will prioritize benchmark assessments and responsive differentiation for all students, both of which are already inherent characteristics of many of the programs and pedagogies we use to deliver learning.

Under current regulations we are permitted only to use the government-mandated model of staggered return dates for different grade levels.   It is important to note that this may change at any point in accordance with government guidelines.

Hot lunch food service will be suspended to start the year and students will eat in classrooms or other designated spaces (not the ARC). Students should bring their own lunch, snacks, water bottles, and eating utensils from home. Water fountains will only be used to fill water bottles. Food items should not require refrigeration or heating. Lunch service will be reinstated as soon as possible.

For now, students will eat in classrooms or other designated spaces.  Food delivery will not be permitted.  Hand-washing, cleaning protocols and food waste removal protocols will be adhered to.  Sharing of food is strongly discouraged.

Recess times will be staggered as usual, with smaller groups of children gathering in assigned areas, and greater distance between each group.  All play spaces will be in use, including the structures, playgrounds, football pitch, courtyards, courts and paths. A rotation will ensure that each group of children has a range of different play opportunities each week. Students will not be required to wear masks while playing outside.

Yes, there are space limitations with the High School building being delayed.  Issues were resolved by reallocating spaces assigned to specialists.  Space will be most limited for PE teachers, who will have to collaborate closely on their plans.

 The delayed High School will not affect enrollment. 

On Friday, August 21st, all parents will receive a welcome email from their child’s homeroom teacher.

On August 25th, all MS and HS students will receive their full schedules from their homeroom teachers. 

Uniform swaps will take place on August 19th, 20th and 21st, and quarterly as usual.  Reasonable flexibility will be given to families who were unable to acquire the uniform, either in full or part, for August 26th.

The school is obligated to follow current government guidelines, which mandate a staggered start to the year. The Ministry of Education has designated how and when each grade level will return to school. Ministry mandated start dates and procedures are as follows:

*Note that Cayman Government communication refers to grade levels using the UK term “Year.”  The equivalent to Year 3 is Grade 2 in our system, Year 4 is Grade 3, etc.  Please refer to this chart for details.

Information about materials distribution will be sent by individual departments and published in the Current

While we will be reopening campus August 26th for face to face instruction, some of our students will be unable to make it back on island by that time.  In spring, we stated that “we will provide an adapted home learning program for students for a reasonable period of time while they return to the island”.  Some of the details of this provision will be worked out when teachers return for in-service week (August 17-25) but will likely be primarily asynchronous learning with some synchronous sessions.  This will look different from the Home Learning Program as teachers will have full time in-person responsibilities on campus.  It is imperative that if your child will require adapted home learning you contact your division principal at the earliest, as it will take a great deal of advance coordination and planning between teachers and departments.

Health and safety policies and procedures will align with the policy-in-action at the time of school’s re-opening. 

Procedures will mirror official practice in the community at large, as per the guidance from the Ministry of Education, the Public Health Department and Chief Medical Officer, John Lee.  These are described in our Protocols and Procedures document and may vary between grade levels due to the children’s varying ages.

The wearing of masks will be as per the guidance from the Ministry of Education, the Public Health Department and Chief Medical Officer, and may vary by age group. Full details for each grade level can be found HERE.  

Key points:

• Masks must be worn when entering/exiting campus, in corridors, and where distancing is not possible.
• EC students are not required to wear masks.
• K-5 students are not required to wear masks when seated quietly in classrooms, at play time, or in PE.
• Grade 6-12 students will wear masks throughout the day.
• Faculty/staff will wear masks throughout the day.

Parents are required to take their child’s temperature at home prior to coming to school. If the child is ill, experiencing a temperature of 37.8°C or greater, or experiencing other symptoms, the child must stay home.

Daily health screening procedures have been established for Early Childhood as required under government regulations. This includes daily temperature checks for children and faculty prior to school entry.

Elementary and Secondary students' temperatures will be taken on entry to the classroom each morning.

We recognize that physical distancing is difficult in schools and will need to reflect the age and developmental needs of children. The government guidelines acknowledge, for example, that distancing is difficult, if not impossible, in Early Childhood.  

In Elementary, Middle and High School, space in classrooms will be maximized and physical distancing will be maintained in corridors  Where physical distancing is not possible, the school will make use of alternate strategies, such as physical dividers, staggered movement schedules, and masks. In Nursery through Grade 5, students will learn and socialize in smaller cohorts until distancing is no longer deemed necessary.

Regular hand washing routines are established for all persons who are present on site for extended periods of time.  Hands will be sanitized on entry/exit to campus and/or classrooms.

A regular cleaning schedule will be adhered to throughout the day to include the cleaning of high touch surfaces at least twice a day, using detergents and disinfectants recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and a deep cleaning/general disinfection daily. Items not easily cleaned, such as soft furnishings and area rugs, will be removed from learning spaces.  Hand sanitizing stations will be readily available at key points on campus, and children will receive personal learning supplies rather than sharing.

Our PE teachers are planning engaging, physically active learning for our students that respect physical distancing guidelines and hygiene protocols.  

• If headache, cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, body pain, difficulty breathing, or fever are present, please stay at home.
• If symptoms such as fever or other COVID-19 related symptoms are found at home, notify the school Nurse and division principal by email or phone as soon as possible.
• Medical evaluation and diagnosis should be taken and the school notified.
• Students and employees must present medical certification of clean health prior to returning to school.

At school, the CIS Nurse will supervise the health of all CIS students and employees, supported by the front office staff, administration, and the crisis management team.

• If headache, cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, body pain, difficulty to breathe, or fever are present at school, CIS follows established health response procedures.
• If there are suspicious cases with fever, respiratory symptoms and other symptoms, the nurse will report these immediately to the Principal and Head of School as well as the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority.
• Parents will pick up the student at the school entrance as parents are not allowed inside the campus. The nurse escorts the student to the parents.
• The school must report any confirmed case of COVID-19 associated with the facilities to the Public Health Department.

Government guidance states that when a confirmed or suspected outbreak is connected to a school or early childhood center, the facility “must close as per the advice of the Public Health Department, to allow contact tracing and deep cleaning. The advice will include the length of closure.”  

The school has prepared plans for an enhanced Home Learning Program with additional synchronous time and greater alignment with on-campus learning schedules. Should the school campus need to close under emergency circumstances, we are ready to respond.