ACTIVITY
Back to school – at Sekolah Nusa Alam
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t’s ‘back to school’ for Sekolah Nusa Alam students in January 2021 – and the smiles on faces of children, teachers and parents say it all. Schools have been closed in Lombok since the government imposed COVID-19 restrictions in April 2020. For nine months, classes have been held over the internet and in the homes of teachers and families. Now schools are allowed to reopen on the island – with COVID-19 protections in place.
Learning from home Across the world, governments and education specialists are worried that a generation of children will have missed up to one year’s schooling as a result of the pandemic. The good news is that, while remote learning is never the same as faceto-face classes, Sekolah Nusa Alam has continued to provide individualized and group instruction throughout the closure. When COVID-19 arrived in Lombok in March, teachers immediately made preparations to go online. And when class resumed for the final term after the March 2020 break, it was
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virtual. The creativity and hard work of teachers, parents and children ensured that the learning continued. Daily exercise and sport classes took place in lounge rooms and backyards across Mataram and West Lombok, academic lessons were held on Google Meet, assignments were submitted and marked online, art and science activities were in the kitchen, and individual coaching and counselling took place on WhatsApp or in occasional house visits. Tests and exams were held on the internet, and some classes even went on a virtual camp – with tents erected in backyards and activities coordinated over the internet. Accreditation The school was recently re-accredited by Cambridge International and by the Indonesian Government as an ‘international school’ (known in Indonesia as Satuan Pendidikan Kerjasama, or SPK). Established in January 2000, Sekolah Nusa Alam is the only SPK school in Lombok. This means it is the only school licensed to teach both a national and an international curriculum. Sekolah Nusa Alam is also the only school on the
