Face to face classes will begin starting October 16th, after a myriad of meetings and research. Yet, student attendance will be at the discretion of each individual family. 

With the intent of balancing academics and student mental health, TCS will reopen classes; however, this will be a gradual process, that will follow the conditions established by the government and ensure the physical health of every single student. 

“What we have on one side is the mental health of our students. They all want to see each other, and on the other side we have the (physical) health of our students,” Juan David López, HS principal, said. “What the school is trying to do is to have some measures to say that we are at a point in which we can tolerate this level of risk.”

Even though the school is doing its best to guarantee the well-being of all, its a secret to nobody that current times are a challenge, and as a consequence, no matter how elaborate and prepared the school’s plans are, reopening will be a learning process. 

“I think that it would be naive to say that we have everything under control and that everything is going to be flawless. There will be some adjustments we will have to make as we learn through this process,”  J. López said. 

Although the number of students is going to be smaller, the reopening of classes does not mean that everything has returned to normal. In fact, these will now consist of an alternation method, which will work by dividing courses into small groups, alternating their days of classes.  Paula Andrea Lopez, TCS Health coordinator, is one of the key administrators on the reopening plan.

“Alternation (School) will divide courses in x and y. In elementary groups will be distributed alphabetically, In middle and high, principals will be in charge of doing the distribution as they consider appropriate. There will be a determined amount of students that can be at school every day,” P. López said.   

No matter the amount of research, or safe spaces the school provides, ensuring students and staff health is a task of everyone, and will only be guaranteed if safety measures are being followed at verbatim. 

“It’s mandatory to walk along the safety zones. The use of masks is fundamental. We will request the use of masks at all times, and to give them proper use. Finally, we will request for everyone to comply with social distancing,” P. López said.