1.1 Where can I get the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 in the Netherlands?

Please check the RIVM website for the most current information on COVID-19 in the Netherlands. This is updated daily at 2:00 pm for new positive tests, hospitalizations and reported deaths in the Netherlands.

Social Distancing

Coming back to school EY - Year 2

1.2 What is the latest information update from the school?

Practices and protocols for keeping us all safe

To enable students to return to school, we have had to make some very firm decisions to ensure the least adult to adult contact.

Parents and other adults cannot enter the school building unless by prior invitation from the school leadership team.

Any meetings that need to be scheduled should take place outside the building and after the school day has finished.

Please make contact in the following ways only

• Primary office - please email primary@ishthehague.nl or call 070-338 4567
• Health Office - please email healthofficers@ishthehague.nl  or call 070-338 4567
• For coronavirus related questions or to share your views on how school is managing the situation email covid-19@ishthehague.nl
• Teachers/Leadership team please email the staff member.

Social Distancing

• All adults are expected to adhere to social distancing in the car park, walking routes into school, during drop off and pick up and for staff within the school building.  We kindly ask parents to recognise that staff in the school have the right to a healthy and safe working environment as do the whole ISH community. We all have a part to play in this.
• Parents are kindly asked to respect the instructions of the security guards and traffic wardens and to avoid gathering too closely together at the gate. Please exercise patience and adhere to the government guidelines on social distancing. The school will endeavour to ensure this happens within the campus but we kindly ask parents to use common sense and when they arrive early for collection and to wait at a safe distance from other adults.

Toilets/ handwashing and sanitiser

• We will encourage children to only use the toilets in the corridor they are working in. 
• Handwashing at regular intervals will be encouraged
• Facilities will be cleaned regularly and soap and sanitiser will be provided in all areas.

Students, Staff and Parents stay home when:

• They have mild cold-like symptoms, such as a sore throat, a runny nose, sneezing, a mild cough or a temperature above 37.5 degrees Celsius.
• A member of the household develops symptoms like a fever above 37.5 degrees Celsius and/or shortness of breath.
• Anyone displaying symptoms will be sent home immediately. We expect parents to pick up children promptly should their child be symptomatic.
• For further details please check the Health Office Protocol

Whilst adults are expected to continue to adhere to a 1.5m distance between themselves and between them and children where possible, it is not expected that children will keep the 1.5m distance, however we will encourage children to try to do this as much as possible. 

2.1 How do I  keep a balance between work and family life?

During the post-confinement phase in this crisis, we might feel we are still struggling as new routines and regulations for coming to school are in place and might be frequently changed, which requires more time and effort. Here you have some suggestions on how to achieve a work-life balance by providing more structure.

1. Use a family calendar - it can help to make a weekly calendar with your children, to keep a feel for the time. It is also important to continue to distinguish between weekdays and weekend days.
2. Go outside - for the time being, we can still go outside (provided no one is ill), so as a parent you can play a game or cycle around with your own children in the parking lot. Build in regular exercise moments in a day where you do ten minutes of exercises or games. If necessary in the garden.
3. Expect boredom! - children will probably get bored, whine or make noise. Every parent knows the difficulties, in which you hear yourself say a hundred times: take it easy, be quiet, it usually makes little sense. What we recommend to parents in such situations: create one place in the house, it can be a mat or in the hallway, where your child can breathe when it goes completely crazy. Often that anger just has to get out, then you can continue again.
4. Adjust your expectations - you can explain to older children that they have to do something for themselves. However, you cannot expect a toddler to not cry or need you when you are in consultation with colleagues. For example, set the kitchen timer when they have to do something for themselves for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Create a schedule - tailor your routine to your family needs and make it visible to everyone. Talk regularly about how the schedule is going and what might need to be adapted.

Resources

• First Then visual Schedule
• Good Karpa Applications, Inc
• Forest - stay focused - helps manage screen time and task management. Grow a virtual forest with friends.
• Goodtime  - helps manage time. Can be used with the pomodoro technique.
• Study Bunny  - study with a friend and earn rewards. 

2.2 What strategies are there to cope with feelings of isolation?

We are able to go outside and meet more people, however we have new rules regarding social distances, traveling and meeting with others. In doing so many international families are far away from significant people in their lives.This still might create feelings of isolation.

The following points might help:

1. Maintain your contacts through video chat! Closeness to family and friends even if they can't be there physically, still provides stability, a listening ear and relatedness through the distance. Call or video chat with your family and friends. What made you happy today?
2. Understanding of why we need to keep a distance. Knowing that social distancing is still necessary to keep yourself and others safe can help us cope with a lack of social contact.
3. Maintain a daily routine! Structure helps against chaos, provides security, and gives strength in stressful situations. Our daily routine is comparable to a ritual: don't stay in your pajamas all day. Instead, get up, get dressed, and stick to your normal eating, sleeping, work, and/or learning times. Adjust your daily routine to the current situation.
4. Plan your day as precisely as possible! Planning your daily actions prevents loss of control and helplessness. Precise planning helps one to feel that they are actively shaping their day, as opposed to being at the mercy of the situation and feeling helpless.
5. Consume media deliberately and purposefully! Facts help against emotional overload. Serious and clear information provides orientation and security. Be careful and avoid unlimited media consumption, dedicate a limited time to it every day.
6. Reflect on your strengths! Inner resources can help one to get through crisis situations. Inner resources are all of your positive life experiences, all the problems you have already solved and overcome, your strengths and talents, all of your available skills, aptitudes, etc. Inner resources are a source of strength. What gives you energy? Activate and use them!
7. Move your body! Movement works wonders for the mind, and has a scientifically proven, positive effect on our psyche. Sport is also possible in small spaces. There are lots of training programs and suggestions on the internet. Every sore muscle is a victory!

For further information and tips

Coronavirus (COVID-19): tips and link to help families manage physical distancing or self-isolation.

How to manage family tensions whilst self isolating together.

3.1 It is very difficult to deal with the feelings of uncertainty originating from the present situation , how can I learn to cope with uncertainty in the Coronavirus Crisis time?

Uncertainty is the main cause of anxiety, the Coronavirus crisis is making us learn new ways of dealing with it. Our brain tries to adapt to uncertainty in several ways, it is good to know which way can help us to adapt. Here is some well researched advice.

• Disengage from the situation, recognise you do not have control over the unfolding events but only your response to it.
• Take low and slow normal size breaths, belly breathing is best. Use the seven-eleven formula, inhale air slowly mentally saying , then exhale slowly mentally saying , the three syllables in eleven will make it longer.
• Be kind to yourself, talk to yourself the way you would talk to a good friend.
• Trick your brain into some type of certainty by arranging things you can control, household chores, planning meals, once completed, these activities provide a sense of control and success that can help.
• Gain some clarity instead of gaining certainty, decide what your values are and respond according to these values. Find some gains in the situation, think of some possible opportunities the crisis has brought to you: more family time, joy in some activities or hobbies: gardening, cooking, decreasing Feeling Of Missing Out.
• Remember the global nature of this crisis has also positive sides, every single person on the planet is going through the same, we are alone but all of us together in this crisis, this is a unique opportunity to build tolerance in the face of uncertainty.
• Shut down whenever possible! Art, music, films, offer opportunities to "escape and recharge" in the comfort of our own home.

For further explanation you might be interested in watching the video Six tips to deal with uncertainty.

3.2. My child is not sleeping well, and feels quite worried. My child(ren) is overly concerned about getting the virus or passing it onto others, what can I do?

Children process the information in different ways, they have a natural curiosity that needs to be satisfied but in getting the information they might have difficulties processing it, keeping a balance between giving too much or too little information is very important. You might need to think about the following:

Process your own anxiety before talking to children. Review your understanding of the facts based on reliable sources and  what are the things you find difficult, what helps you to deal with it? Who can help you? What do you need to make it easier? What are the new routines you need to implement?  Strong emotional reactions happen in a crisis, this is a natural reaction in exceptional situations, none of it is ridiculous or wrong it needs to be accepted.

Do not be afraid to discuss, avoiding the subject can make children worry even more. Find out what their understanding of Coronavirus is. Also if they know the rules to return to school. Assessing what your child knows and answering their questions helps you to give the right amount of information, allowing you to correct any misconceptions or false ideas the child might have about it, giving you the chance to clarify any questions they have.

Do not dismiss your child's fears, allow them to name them and respond with honesty sharing what works for you and encouraging them to find what works for them (I feel better when...). Very important: do not assume children have fears, some of them will not, wait to see them expressing before addressing them.

Talk at an age appropriate level, the use of storytelling adapted to their ages is highly recommended

Frame school rules in place as positive, reiterating that rules are helping us to overcome this situation.

Choose a specific time to discuss Covid-19 and rules so that the day is not dominated by this topic.

Resources

There are many online resources to help explain COVID-19 to children of different ages. This is a good place to start. More resources here. Please contact the Health Office if you have specific questions about resources.

• Family support in Dutch
• How to talk to your child
•  4 Ways to cope with Fear
• Book for EY - EY1. Dave the dog is worried about coronavirus
• Book for EY1 - Year 3 (maybe). #COVIBOOK
• Book for Year 4 to Year 6 (maybe) My hero is you It is available in 80 languages.
• Corona Virus a Book for Children

General strategies and resources that might help your family or yourself when copying with anxiety feelings

Movement is a great way to improve your mood, reduce stress and anxiety. 40 ways to exercise without realizing it: FUN EXERCISE!. Below you will find different sports and strategies that perhaps you'd like to try.

• Dance: City Academy
• Just Dance Videos
• Go Noodle Get Moving
• Zumba Love
• Fitness: Fitness Studio
• BeFIT
• Pilates: Blogilates
• Popsugar Fitness
• Yoga: Fly master yoga
•  Cosmic Kids Yoga

Meditation/mindfulness apps

• Headspace
• Breathr App
• Smiling mind app

3.3 Dealing with grief

The death of any people in the family circle needs attention. Families have been deprived of necessary social and cultural rituals to process the loss. Think of the following:

• Create a sense of connection (as it would have happened in a funeral)
• Connect digitally with relatives and friends to share memories and create ideas together.
• Plan shared sessions to read poems or play songs they would play in the funeral.
• View isolation as an opportunity to provide more support to each other than we could before due to the fast pace of everyday life.
• Use creativity and technical skills to create and share stories and pictures of your loved one (memory boxes, scrapbooks etc.)

Adults supporting children need to look after their own grief as well.

Resources

• For parents: How can I help support a grieving child? 
• For Year 6 :  A part of me
• In Dutch: Troost voor tranen
• Grieving in Exceptional Times