Dear members of our English School community,

Greetings to you all at this challenging time. 

Obviously, we are all optimistic at the moment especially as in Bogotá we are witnessing a rapid decline in the incidence of COVID-19 after a second peak.

Right now, as a result, we are setting our hearts and minds on getting our wonderful TES students and employees back on campus in a safe and secure educational environment in which they can express themselves and engage with each other in our traditional manner, “The English Way”.

We have, of course, waited patiently for almost a full calendar year and with immense self-discipline and support for each other. As we start to come back together on campus, everyone deserves to receive a warm smile and kind, encouraging words, especially those of us who have suffered family bereavement and loss in an existential, personal, spiritual, social or economic sense. We especially thank the carers and medical workers in our TES community and beyond who work so hard to keep us healthy.

As we are all watching the news avidly, we all look ahead and hope that we can now settle in to life in its fullest sense. 

In educational communities across the country, including here in Bogotá, we are readying ourselves and implementing our delayed Return Plan. Our English School campus has been upgraded during the COVID-19 crisis and it is an absolute delight just waiting for our students and employees to arrive and enjoy. A sparkling new set of STEAM and English Nursery buildings are ready for occupation, an impressive 21st century health and well-being approach at our main entrance has been installed, the student bathrooms in our Coliseo have been modernised, there are new park facilities for our younger students and we haven’t forgotten to refurbish facilities in our administration block. 

We are mindful of the economic situation and we have done all of this because we recognise and respect the desire and the decisions taken by our families and employees to live The English School dream and provide first-class facilities for everyone. These plans have been long agreed and I thank everyone involved for their vision and sheer hard work resulting in these fantastic achievements!

But the real priority for us all is that we are all asking about our grand return to a new normality. What exactly is The English School doing?

Well, we have had our Return Plan in place for a long time now after a great deal of thought and planning, and we have always cast a watchful eye on national and local government announcements and decrees.

We have also shared proposals and ideas with our friends and colleagues in the Bogotá private school and corporate sectors whilst researching the good examples set by similar leading international schools across the world. 

We thank each and every member of the TES community hugely for your ongoing feedback, support and understanding during this difficult period and we re-commit to our Guiding Statement, “The English Way”, actively upholding our core values of respect, trust, integrity and the principles of the IB Learner Profile. 

Our current and developing decisions for the return to school plan, therefore, continue to be based on recognising the following factors:

• That COVID-19 is not yet fully controlled in Bogotá and there continues to be a health and safety risk for students and employees. 
• Key information and steps required for private schools to reopen have been issued by the health and educational authorities for Calendar B private schools. 
• Deliverable health and safety protocols and social distancing expectations are being clarified for schools with The English School operating a higher level of safety and security than the norm in Bogotá. This will, of course, continue for the foreseeable future. 
• We consider the need for safe transport to and from the home to our campus to be fundamental, especially for students and staff. 
• In the first phases of reopening, our school will change dramatically affecting all learning and teaching engagement and on-site movement in the positive manner that you would expect.
• We will be evaluating once again the success and the lessons of our TES Distance Learning Plan, and how the reopening of our campus will affect life for everyone in the community. 
• We will also be analysing how we can continue our lives together as a unified TES community, The English Way, especially for Generations 2020 and 2021.

As always, please do feel encouraged to continue to engage with our school leadership and representative groups through official channels and meetings with any feedback or questions that you may have.

Keep positive and engaged. We live and work together caring for all of our students, The English Way!

With kind regards, 

Jeff Shaw
Head of School y Rector

Dear Member of the TES community,

Greetings to you all!

As you will be fully aware, this week, we initiated our long-planned and thoroughly professional mixed Return Plan.

While many of our families correctly exercise their right to continue educating their children through our successful TES Distance Learning Plan, a large number of our families have chosen to re-engage with their children’s on-site learning.

Alongside our academic and administrative teams, I have witnessed a fantastic week of education with our teachers, in particular, excelling in their demonstrated ability to teach young people online and on-site. Our teachers deserve immense praise from us all as they go the extra mile in planning exciting and stimulating learning activities, attending to individual needs, and evaluating successes and challenges. Well done TES teachers – all of you!

Our students, from Pre-School to our ‘veterans’ in Grade 11 who at long last were able to file into school in celebratory mode, were able to show their enthusiasm and commitment to learning… and, of course, to renew their relationships with teachers and friends. It really has been a joy for us all to see their smiles and, in fact, how tired they were at the end of exhausting days packed with learning and fun.

And, of course, I must recognise the immense commitment of what I sometimes call our ‘Support’ employees. Our teachers are very capable but we all know that without the support of our administrative staff, our campus would not be functioning at such a high level. Thank you to you all, and, especially so, for your commitment to quality in a Comprehensive Culture of Excellence. Our delightful campus, with so many new attractions, is a credit to you all.

So, dear families, whichever choice you have made, distance or on-site, The English School community is committed to providing an appropriate and first-class education for each and every young person, The English Way!

Best regards,

Jeff Shaw
Head of School and Rector

Dear Member of the TES community,

Our thoughts are with you at this challenging time, especially with regard to your health. We, therefore, send our best wishes and an ‘abrazo virtual’ to everyone but with a special thought to those of you quietly and bravely suffering from illness.

So, what are we doing in terms of TES decision-making?

Our school leadership continues to monitor closely and follow the latest COVID-19 health and safety decrees and recommendations laid out by the government and the education and health ministries. We also share proposals and ideas with our friends and colleagues in the Bogotá private school and corporate sectors whilst examining the good examples set by similar leading international schools in Europe and Asia as they return to school.

Here in Colombia, we are hopefully approaching the same stage and next week we will be sharing our plan for a safe and well-organised return to school.

More obviously, as you will know from numerous online meetings, we do things guided by The English Way. Our school leadership with SELT (Senior Educational Leadership Team), SALT (Senior Administrative Leadership Team) and parent representative groups, especially the Junta de Dirección and Consejo de Padres, are dedicating many, many hours of our work and time in mutual support and guidance. As our TES parents especially will know this is a very strong and special feature of our school’s decision-making structure and it is to be valued and used appropriately.

We, therefore, thank each and every member of the TES community hugely for their ongoing feedback, support and understanding during this difficult and extended period of campus closure. Our aim is quite clearly to fulfil ‘our mission statement The English Way, actively upholding our core values of respect, trust, integrity and the principles of the IB Learner Profile’.

Our current and developing decisions for the return to school are based on the following factors:

• The virus is not yet fully controlled in the Bogotá city region and therefore there is a health and safety risk for students and staff at school.
• Key information and all steps required for private schools to reopen have not yet been clearly communicated by the government and education ministry for Calendar B private schools for the next academic year. Official forecasts as indicated on this particular site (http://saludata.saludcapital.gov.co/osb/index.php/datos-de-salud/enfermedades-trasmisibles/modelo-covid/) are for peak infection to be passed in time for a projected return to school in August. I am ever optimistic but also realistic.
• Deliverable health and safety protocols and social distancing expectations for schools need to be in place with TES operating a higher level of safety and security than the norms in Bogotá for the foreseeable future.
• The need for safe transport to and from the home to our campus, especially for students and staff.
• Measuring the requirements for the first phases of reopening, our school will change dramatically affecting all learning and teaching engagement and on-site movement.
• The success of our current online TES Distance Learning Plan and how the reopening of the campus will affect that.
• Keeping together as a TES community, because We are all one, The English Way.

During the current extended campus closure, we will continue engaging students and guiding student learning through our established plan. We will continue to actively develop this programme based on our student, staff and parent feedback and we will motivate our students. I continue to be impressed with the level of dedication of students, teachers, support staff and parents across all grades and areas of the school.
In the short term, we hope that everyone in the TES community will do their part to help prevent the spread of infection by following the measures and the guidelines as directed by the authorities and by the school.

Please note that we are looking to re-open our campus in August and we will communicate our plan next week after a thorough consultation phase. Much will depend on the progression of COVID-19 and governmental decisions but our TES community will continue to plan ahead of the game situation.
As always, please do feel encouraged to continue to engage with our school leadership and representative groups through official channels and meetings with any feedback or questions that you may have.
Keep positive and engaged. We will get there together for the students, The English Way!

With kind regards,
Jeff