Classes evacuated after storm and flood

STUDY AT YOUR SCHOOL

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu, Principal of Tan Dong Primary and Secondary School (Tran Yen District, Yen Bai), said that the hill behind the school collapsed, causing the first floor wall of a two-story building with six classrooms to collapse, so the risk of the school collapsing is very high. All eight classes studying in these six classrooms had to be relocated to three different locations, including the kindergarten and the commune People's Committee headquarters.

Some classes of Tan Dong Primary and Secondary School (Yen Bai) have to study at the commune People's Committee.

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY SCHOOL

According to Ms. Thu, because the school was severely damaged, a new one is estimated to cost about 5-6 billion VND, so the repairs cannot be done as quickly as other small schools. That means students will have to study temporarily while waiting for the locality or benefactors to invest in the construction.

At Ca Thanh Primary School (Nguyen Binh District, Cao Bang), the storm caused a landslide in front of the schoolyard and a long crack behind the school, with the risk of further landslides. To ensure the safety of both teachers and students, the school bought a tarpaulin to cover the stage of the kindergarten next door and turn it into two classrooms for primary school students, while the remaining classes study in the kitchen area on the porch with a corrugated iron roof of the kindergarten.

According to information from the Lao Cai Department of Education and Training, as of this week, the province still has 3 schools that have to temporarily suspend classes due to severe damage, landslide risks, and unsafe conditions, including: Bat Xat District Secondary and High School in Muong Hum Commune; Phin Ngan Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, Bat Xat District and Nam Luc Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, Bac Ha District. These are all schools that have been severely affected by natural disasters. Currently, some schools in dangerous areas have also temporarily transferred students to cultural houses, other schools, and people's houses, arranging for students living with their families in temporary residences to study conveniently at their new places. On the other hand, the Department requires schools to continue to review risks to ensure absolute safety for teachers and students.

Mr. Luong Sy Duong, Vice Principal of Phin Ngan Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities, said that for now, the school will send 9th grade students to study at the district's Vocational Education Center to ensure the progress of the program for final year students. At the same time, the school will coordinate with local authorities to find a new study location to ensure safety for the remaining grades. According to the plan, the school will try to bring students back to school this weekend or early next week.

Students in the flood-hit area of ​​Huu Van commune, Chuong My district (Hanoi) go to school by boat on September 23.

PHOTO: NGUYEN TRUONG

1 SESSION/DAY ALTERNATIVELY

Right in Hanoi, the flood-prone district of Chuong My also had to be flexible in its solutions so that students would not be absent from school for too long. Teachers and students of some schools in Nam Phuong Tien commune (Chuong My district) had to go to other schools to study to keep up with the program. The leaders of Nam Phuong Tien A Primary School shared that due to the high and prolonged water level, the school had made a report and was approved by the Department of Education and Training of Chuong My district to let students of the school go to Nam Phuong Tien B Secondary School in Doi Mit village to maintain the learning rhythm. The neighboring school lent 3 classrooms, students only studied 1 session/day and took turns. Mornings were for grades 3, 4, 5; afternoons were for grades 1, 2. Each grade had to combine two classes into one with about 40 students, taught by 2 teachers. The school arranged to teach on Saturdays as well, so currently, students have basically kept up with the program. Many families of students were flooded, so they had to pick up and drop off students by water with the support of teachers and parents.

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Ba Thang, Principal of Nam Phuong Tien A Secondary School, informed that due to the deep flooding, all of the school's more than 200 students had to switch to online learning for many days. However, some students were not eligible to participate because their homes had power outages and unstable internet. After receiving approval and direction from the Department of Education and Training, from the afternoon of September 23, all students of the school were moved to Tan Tien Secondary School (about 3 km away) to study in person.

Many families of students in the flood-prone area of ​​Chuong My District (Hanoi) were flooded, so they had to pick up and drop off their children by water with the support of teachers and parents.

SINGLE RIVER, BORROWING HOUSES...

At Pho Rang Primary School No. 1 (Bao Yen District, Lao Cai), many subsidence cracks are appearing, with a high risk of landslides. Principal Ma Thi Xuan said that the school has reported to the local authorities and temporarily moved all desks, chairs, and school supplies of 20 classes and functional classrooms of the school to the old Hoa Hong Kindergarten. By September 23, Pho Rang Primary School No. 1 welcomed students back. This school year, the school has 648 students in 20 classes. However, the new location only has 10 classrooms, so the school has organized 2 shifts. In the morning, 10 classes of grades 3, 4, and 5 are taught with a maximum duration of 5 periods/session, but students in these grades have to study on Saturday to complete the number of periods according to the program distribution. In the afternoon, grades 1, 2, and 2 grades 3 are taught with 4 periods/session.

The school leaders also said that the new curriculum requires primary school to have 2 sessions per day. However, in the context of overcoming unexpected difficulties, the school must have flexible solutions such as temporarily cutting experiential activities, when organizing 2-shift teaching, the school requires teachers to apply information technology to support students studying at home. In the immediate future, the school will have difficulty with IT because there is no computer room.

At Bat Xat Secondary and High School in Muong Hum Commune, a landslide occurred on the night and morning of September 9, causing the entire parking lot and 16 boarding rooms for students to collapse completely. The slope area behind the 5-story boarding house also collapsed about 6,000 cubic meters of soil and rock. Many cracks appeared behind the 4-story classroom building, with a high risk of landslides... Mr. Vu Xuan Que, the school's principal, said that on September 26, the school welcomed students back to school and resolved the situation by organizing 2 shifts to use classrooms as accommodation for 200 female students. The remaining 300 male students were arranged to stay in the multi-purpose building.

Not only is there a model of temporary study at other schools, Mu Trang Phin Kindergarten, Can Cau Commune, Si Ma Cai District (Lao Cai) is also lent by local residents to organize teaching. Specifically, while the school with 35 students from 2 to 5 years old had to temporarily stop teaching and learning for a while due to the risk of landslides, Mr. Ly A Nha's family in Mu Trang Phin village voluntarily cleaned up all the furniture, giving up their 2-storey house (with an area of ​​nearly 50 m² of floor space) to use as a classroom for the children. In addition to lending their house to be used as a classroom, Mr. Nha's family members also help teachers cook and take care of the children.

Teachers find "a thousand ways and means" to maintain students' learning

There are places where schools are not affected, but the roads to school for students are flooded and unsafe, and teachers have to resort to "hundreds of ways and thousands of plans" to maintain students' learning.

In some places, students are picked up to stay at temporary schools, and teachers also act as nannies, teaching, cooking, and taking care of children to limit the need for them to move around in an unsafe manner. While calling students back to school after the storm and flood, teachers at Ban Mu Primary Boarding School (Tram Tau District, Yen Bai) saw many areas of high, dangerous water, so they coordinated with local authorities to inform parents about how to pick up and drop off students safely. Accordingly, teachers pick up students at difficult-to-reach areas, carry students across flooded streams, and teachers are responsible for waiting at the other end to bring them back to school safely.

At A Lu Primary and Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities (Bat Xat District, Lao Cai), due to landslides in many sections, traffic congestion, and relief goods for students could not be transported to their homes. What teachers are most worried about is that due to difficulties and lack of food, students will drop out of school after the floods. In recent days, teachers at the school had to walk 5 km across landslides to bring relief goods to students, including about 200 students staying at the school's dormitory who are in dire need of support. Thanks to the enthusiasm and dedication of the teachers, the rate of students attending school regularly after the floods reached more than 98%.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-lop-hoc-so-tan-sau-bao-lu-18524092522241497.htm