After a long wait, fourth and fifth graders in Shanghai Changning Experimental Primary School finally return to their campus on Monday. Photo: Chen Xia/GT

Zhou Yuchen, a fifth grader at Shanghai's Changning Experimental Primary School, excitedly waved hello to her teachers and classmates at the school gate on Monday morning, her first day inthe school since the COVID-19 pandemic befell. 

"I can finally meet my classmates on campus. I feel more motivated to study in school," Zhou told the Global Times.

About 600,000 students from the fourth to seventh, and 10th grades in Shanghai returned to school on Monday as COVID-19 visibly wanes in the city. This is the city's third batch of students returning to school. The first and second batches of students resumed classes on April 27 and May 6, respectively. Shanghai over the weekend announced the last batch of students of grade one to grade three would return to school on June 2. 

This year's academic session, however, won't be long for Shanghai students. The city's educational authority announced Monday that the current primary school semester would end on June 30, and the summer vacation will start from July 1. Besides, junior and senior high school students will start the vacation from July 8 and 15, respectively.

School days amid COVID-19 are different compared to usual days. Students at the Changning Experimental Primary School are required to wear masks in classrooms. But, considering the potential health risks, students can take off their masks during PE classes.

Pan Zongjuan, president of theChangning Experimental Primary School, informed the Global Times the school has designed PE classes with a proper exercise plan so students can gradually get used to physical workout, considering that these students had been staying at home for about three months.

Speaking highly of the school's fitness routine, Zhao Wenjie, father of a fifth grader, said, due to lack of sports, some students have gained weight during their stay at home and developed unhealthy habits. He hoped that children would be able to adopt a healthier and regular lifestyle as the school resumed. 

The school has designated separate entry-exit routes with staggered timings for different grades. Temperature screening, hand sanitizing, and maintaining social distance are among the mandatory precautionary measures on the campus to avoid risks of coronavirus infection.

Xie Jian, mother of a fifth grader, told the Global Times that each day parents will volunteer to guide students in epidemic control on campus."The school convened a meeting among the parents before reopening. They also shared and circulated several videos about epidemic control on campus to guide parents and the children; we feel safe by seeing this," Xie noted.

On the first day of school reopening, Shen Jiajia, a Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital nurse, who served in the COVID-19 frontline in Leishenshan Hospital of Central China's Hubei Province, taught the students how to wash their hands.

Her daughter, a second grader at the school, is returning to school on June 2. "It is reassuring to see how well the school has prepared to receive students, with strict procedures and adequate epidemic supplies," she said. 

Pan added some children asked her if there will be a graduation ceremony this year similar to the previous years. "We really want to present an unforgettable graduation ceremony to our students but it will depend on the actual situation by then."  

Public kindergartens in Shanghai are also scheduled to resume classes on June 2. Private kindergartens will also resume, starting from June 2, after they get approval from local educational authorities.

Whether to send their children to kindergartens is at the discretion of the parents, according to Shanghai educational authority.