Česky
Headmistress, it may seem that opening one class in kindergarten is no problem. But what really preceded this move?
We had already experienced the opening of one class in March this year, in the Pod Homolkou kindergarten, so we had some awareness of this work. But there were significantly fewer children. And maybe that's why the cooperation with the region worked faster. Unfortunately, there is a lot of work at this time. The system of mutual information cannot work effectively with the number of children registered now. One worker at the regional office cannot respond flexibly to the demands of employers and parents themselves. That is why the biggest problem I see in the current situation is that I receive information from the county about a child's admission to kindergarten two days after the child has already been placed. Simply because I have made direct arrangements with the employer.
Sometimes the problem is also with the employers themselves. Smaller employers did not supply us with all the information about parents and children, which then meant for me to track everyone down, call them, agree on placement dates for the children, and this for two workplaces at once. Because we opened the Vrchlický workplace, so to speak, only for the employees of the Beroun Rehabilitation Hospital who use it on their way to and from work. It is much more accessible for them than the Pod Homolkou workplace.
However, I have to say that even though getting in touch with parents was sometimes more difficult, it paid off later. Despite some operational complications, such as problematic connection to the system, delivery of test kits to both kindergartens, informing parents and their participation in the sampling, we managed to do everything perfectly. All our children were negative.
Hats off to them, that's a lot of work. And do you feel that it could have been done differently?
Yes, I think this procedure generates too many delays. It could also be done by having the employer contact the chosen school directly. The principal or headmistress there would make all the necessary arrangements and then report to the county. That way, it would be possible for one county employee to cover everything.
You mentioned testing of children. So how often will the children in kindergarten be tested?
According to the latest information, we will be testing after 7 to 10 days. So we anticipate that testing will take place during the next week (March 22-26, 2021). As soon as we know something we will pass on the information to parents. Either through our teachers or our website.
So, Principal, how's the day at school going? Is it like a normal day at a regular kindergarten?
The fact that there isn't a normal "group" of children here, not children who know each other and have been going to kindergarten together for a long time, makes it a little different. The difference is also in the age of the children. We have young children, three-year-olds, but also preschoolers, so we have to come up with a program for all age groups. But if I were to sum it up, it's like this:
7.00 arrival
8.00 free or creative games
8.30 exercise - movement activities
9.00 snack
9.30 guided activity on the theme - e.g. drawing Easter bunnies
10.00 Staying outdoors
Followed by lunch, half an hour to relax with a story and continue with planned activities and snack. Shortly afterwards, parents start coming to collect the children.
In addition, the teachers are still preparing online programs for our children who are now at home and you can see how much they miss the collective. The children are happy to see the teacher and the other children.
And the last question is more for the oracle ball, how long do you think this state of affairs will last?
The question is more how long we (principals and teachers) will be able to handle it. It really is a daily strain on the organization and the administrative requirements. Because all the time you have to work on the standard work of a contributory organisation, such as budgets, reports and on top of that the organisation and paperwork regarding the current state of childcare. You're actually dealing with two organisations in parallel.
I think, or rather I hope, that after Easter the situation regarding nurseries and schools might start to return to normal.
