The first week after the carnival holidays begins with good news for the Bavarian schoolchildren: they no longer have to wear a mask in physical education classes. “Many students wished that masks would no longer be compulsory in physical education classes and it is also very important to me personally. Because: Children need exercise and physical activity. And sports cannot always take place outside!” said Minister of Education Michael Piazolo (FW).
“We think it’s really good,” says 12th grader Naomi Hinkel, who is involved in the city student council. “It was exhausting to do sports with a mask.” When playing volleyball, for example, she couldn’t see the facial expressions of her teammates.
“I can imagine that this is a great relief for many children,” says Michael Kaaz, chairman of the working group of parents’ councils at the grammar schools in Munich and the surrounding area. There have been many discussions about wearing a mask in physical education. Jörg Roeber from the State Parents’ Association of Realschulen in Munich sees it similarly. “The children prefer to do sports without a mask. It makes it easier to breathe.” Since November 24, 2021, schoolchildren have had to wear a mask in closed rooms during physical education classes – only not in swimming lessons.
Making music is possible again at a distance of two meters
Pupil Naomi Hinkel chose the profile subject choir in high school, together with two others. For a long time they were only allowed to sing as a threesome, at a distance and without a mask. They were not allowed to rehearse with the students from the other grades. This is now possible again, and orchestras and school bands were also allowed to rehearse again in the week before the carnival holidays. Requirement: Everyone keeps a distance of two meters. Singing lessons and lessons on wind instruments can also take place again.
These easing are possible because the regular tests in particular ensure the high level of protection in face-to-face classes, the Ministry of Education announced. Not all protective measures in schools could be abandoned, the health protection of children and young people and school staff still has top priority.
Piazolo said he hoped that further relief would soon be possible, citing the lifting of mask requirements in primary schools as an example. After the Easter holidays, student exchanges and school trips lasting several days should take place again – provided that the infection process allows it.
Another new feature is that pupils in the fifth and sixth grades of secondary schools are now also taking PCR pool tests. So far, there have only been PCR pool tests at primary and special schools.
–
