Wednesday 21st April 2021

We never thought the day would come and kids would be able to go back to physical school as Covid-19 is still a big issue worldwide.  The Sri Lankan government gave permission to open schools on 25th March, but Sinhala & Tamil New Year on 13 and 14th April meant some schools opened only on Monday 19th April.

Our kids were excited, but also nervous at the same time after being home schooled for the last 6 months, having attended physical classrooms in Year 9 for only 3 weeks in the past 13 months. 

New shoes for Misa (size 9 vs Steve size 8.5!) and new trousers for him too as he only has 3cm to go to be as tall as Steve!).  Emi has new shirts. 

Making a lunch box the evening before by themselves and having everything ready too is a must. Getting up at 5.30 to catch the school bus, which picks them up downstairs under the canopy at 6.10, is a killer, but so far they are doing good.  No more daily stress with taxies like when they first went to school and they are back home at 15.15, again being dropped off at our apartment block. They go to bed at 20.30 and are asleep by 21.00; no more 23:00 nights. 

They are both liking going to school and managing ok with all the rules and regulations, despite a huge change in their daily routine. No testing yet, but temperature checks, masks on all the time, staying in a class bubble and frequent hand sanitizing. 

Emilka is loving being at school with her friends and told me she feels confident answering questions in class. Today Misa said: “I can honestly say for the first time in my life, I actually enjoyed my school today!”

There is always a silver lining around each cloud so perhaps the Covid-19 pandemic will teach them to be grateful for the opportunity to be at school and not to take it for granted.

Rennie