New school of Rotterdam philanthropists started online
The physical opening had to be postponed for six weeks due to the corona crisis. That is why Het Epos, the new Rotterdam primary school that is fully financed by the philanthropic foundation De Verre Bergen, has started digitally.
Source: The Epos
The 4-year-olds who have already entered receive a bag with learning materials delivered to their homes every week. Creative assignments are available online for every child and the toddlers make video calls twice a day with a teacher they have not yet seen in real life. The teacher reads a story, plays an educational game or just chats with the students. The Epic is off the starting blocks - at least online.
Not all houses have enough space to do schoolwork
Although online contact is going well, director Hidde Verkade will be relieved when Het Epos can use the spacious, new building on 11 May. The school is located in Zuidwijk, one of the poorest neighborhoods in South Rotterdam, where a relatively large number of children run the risk of starting primary school with a developmental delay. For these vulnerable children, the home situation is not always an ideal learning environment. "There is not enough space in all houses to do school work. It is often busy in the house because there are several children per household and parents do not always get home learning well organized."
Backlogs
Although the risk of persistent arrears is greatest for children up to the age of 7, Verkade is not immediately concerned about language or arithmetic arrears among the students of Het Epos at the moment. "The digital lessons are actually going very well. I am much more concerned about the social-emotional development of our toddlers and of all toddlers who cannot go to school in the Netherlands," says Verkade.
Eager
The teachers are happy to finally have their students in the classroom in the flesh in May. According to Verkade, they are eager to get started with the educational concept that has been worked on for months and in which cooperative learning and team teaching play an important role.
The Epos expects eight toddlers until the summer holidays, seven or eight 4-year-olds will be added during the summer holidays. During the following school year, 33 infants can enroll. The opening party scheduled for March 30, for which the snacks had already been ordered, has been postponed indefinitely. Large meetings cannot be organized until 1 September.
The Education Magazine of April featured an article about starting primary school. Read that article: 'Benefactors start primary school in Rotterdam' through this link. The founders talk about their vision in the article.
