Dear Parents,

Welcome to Term 2 and a special welcome to the new families joining the College. 

As 2022 begins, we are surfing another wave of the global pandemic, this time labelled ‘Omicron’. Amidst it all, life, work and school continue at pace and despite the fact that this message is largely Covid-related content, there is much to look forward to in the term ahead. 

For those in the community who have travelled, some will have cared for elderly family members over the last few weeks. Others have introduced new family members to their friends and extended family. Unfortunately some who have travelled over the break are facing disruptions to their travel plans. Please travel safely, we are looking forward to your safe return.

As announced last term, Term 2 at the College begins on Monday, 10 January with Home Based Learning (HBL). This allows teaching and learning to begin again while creating a buffer for those serving stay home notices or following the 7-day testing regime to ensure that they are Covid-free before returning to campus on 17 January. Principals will be in touch directly regarding arrangements for HBL in their school sections.

Over the break we received CPE advisory #58, with an update to workforce vaccination measures in Private Education Institutes (PEIs) such as UWCSEA. The key message is that all staff and visitors to the College must be vaccinated from 15 January (with the exception of those who are medically exempt, who will have to continue with a regular testing regime). The College’s Health and Safety team has reviewed what this means for our hopes to welcome parents back to campus. For now, we will continue with the practice of parent visits by invitation only, but do be aware that from 15 January, even with the invitation, we will all have to show confirmation of vaccination from Singapore’s TraceTogether app to be allowed entry to campus.

As noted in our message to you on 13 December, you will no longer be required to check your child(ren)’s temperature prior to them leaving home in the morning. CPE regulations changed on 1 January 2022 requiring that student temperatures only be recorded once per day (formerly twice). Teachers will take on the responsibility of temperature checks during the first period at school. 

These new regulations serve as a reminder that the health of our community is our shared responsibility and we ask that you continue to monitor your child(ren)’s health daily. It is essential that you keep your child(ren) home if they show signs of being unwell. If your child displays symptoms of illness at school, you will be asked to collect them from campus immediately.  

With the vaccination regime now extended to younger students, we continue to monitor Singapore expectations with regards to vaccination in the younger population. So far, there is no requirement that students are vaccinated to attend school and parents can make their own decision regarding vaccinations.

We are receiving more encouraging news about the possibility of doing large scale events with fewer restrictions (performances, graduation and so on). This is also the term where we will review our position on overseas trips in light of the changing environment. We will keep you updated on developments in all these areas.

We had a remarkable end to Term 1, with Founders' Week celebrating 50 years of UWC in Singapore, the publication of our 50th anniversary book and over $460,000 raised in support of scholarships from our incredible parent, staff and alumni community. One of our favourite memories from that week was the group of High School students who organised an obstacle course in the gymnastics centre and raised $500 towards a scholarship for a young Afghan student to attend a UWC, observing all Covid restrictions and cheering each other on. As always, it is our students, your children, who inspire and motivate us all.

Wishing you all a peaceful start to the year and hoping that 2022 brings us our community back together with hope for the future.

Yours sincerely,
Nick Alchin, Head of UWCSEA East
Elizabeth Bray, Head of UWCSEA Dover