BOTH junior high schools of UST will continue implementing a blended learning setup after the Department of Education (DepEd) backtracked on its earlier policy on full face-to-face (F2F) classes.
The UST Education High School (EHS) and Junior High School (JHS) were supposed to hold full F2F classes starting in November to follow DepEd Order No. 34 released in July, which required all basic education schools to conduct five days of in-person classes a week beginning Nov. 2.
However, DepEd released an amendment to the order in mid-October, allowing private schools to implement full F2F classes, blended learning modality, or full distance learning.
The EHS has decided to hold both in-person and online synchronous classes every week for the rest of the second quarter, EHS principal Assoc. Prof. Marielyn Quintana told the Varsitarian on Oct. 25.
Grades 7 and 8 will attend onsite classes every Tuesday and Thursday, while Grades 9 and 10 will come every Monday and Wednesday.
Sections will still be divided into two cohorts of 22 to 23 students.
For the next grading periods, the EHS is proposing to implement full F2F classes or retain the blended learning mode.
Meanwhile, the JHS has decided to continue with the blended learning setup in which students will attend in-person classes every other week, JHS Principal Assoc. Prof. Marishirl Tropicales told the Varsitarian on Nov. 7.
JHS students will attend five days of in-person classes and five days of online sessions in alternating weeks starting the third quarter.
Cohorts for UST JHS onsite classes will be abolished.
According to Quintana and Tropicales, EHS and JHS will implement the same health protocols mandated by the University.
Aside from the basic health protocols, JHS will implement a one-seat-apart rule inside the classrooms. Air purifier units would also be installed in the classrooms, Tropicales said.
JHS recorded three Covid-19 cases among students during its limited face-to-face classes, which started on Aug. 25.
“There were three students from different cohorts who contracted Covid-19, but it did not result in the suspension of classes for the entire school and the cohort where the students are were asked to have daily updates or monitoring of their health situation through ThOMedSS,” Tropicales told the Varsitarian.
Meanwhile, the EHS reported zero cases during the first quarter period.
“I think the cohort system is effective because there was no incident or report that there was a transmission of Covid in EHS for the first grading period,” Quintana said.
