Parents waiting to find out what to expect when their children return to school next month will get some answers on Wednesday.
B.C. Minister of Education Rob Fleming will be providing a public update on B.C.'s back-to-school plans at 1:45 p.m. tomorrow. In addition, the Prince George District Parent Advisory Council will be holding a "virtual town hall" event on Zoom, starting at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The event is aimed to answer parents' questions and provide details on what students and parents can expect in September. Parents can find out how to participate by going online to http://sd57dpac.ca/?fbclid=IwAR0cPdLkF9R1InAM-5RQgZxdyAtuJyCgCHeHXwAmg9a1D_ZrKc6aH-IKGR8.
"We will begin welcoming our students back to school for orientation Thursday, Sept. 10," School District 57 superintendent Anita Richardson wrote in a letter to parents on Monday. "Schools will provide every family with the specific information about when their child(ren) will be welcomed. During this gradual entry orientation, students will have the opportunity to get familiar with the new-look classrooms configured with health and safety measures as the top priority."
Parents should expect their children to only be in class part-time on Sept. 10 and 11, with classes starting full-time on Sept. 14, Richardson wrote.
All schools in the province will resume classes at Stage 2 of the provincial return-to-school plan. Under Stage 2, elementary and middle school children will be grouped in learning cohorts of 60 students, while secondary school students will be grouped in cohorts of 120.
"Members of learning groups won’t all be in the classroom at the same time and learning groups will be smaller depending on schools. The purpose of groups is to minimize general contact in school settings," information released by School District 57 says. "Most students will have access to full-time, in-class instruction within group limits. Parents of children with complex medical conditions or underlying risk factors should consult with their health care provider to determine their child’s level of risk regarding a return to school. Parents who do not want their child to attend in-person classes have the option to register their child for online and distributed learning (based on program availability) or home-schooling."
Physical distancing measures will be in place for staff and secondary students when interacting outside of their designated learning groups. Elementary school students will be asked to minimize physical contact within their learning groups and when outdoors, and maintain physical distances when interacting with people outside their learning group indoors.
"Non-medical masks or face coverings should be worn in situations where physical distance cannot be consistently maintained, and the person is interacting with people outside of their learning group (e.g. in hallways and common areas, specialist teachers or EAs working in close proximity to students across learning groups)," the statement says. "Wearing a non-medical mask or face covering in schools is a personal choice; re-useable face masks will be made available for staff."
Hand washing, daily health screening of children, signage and other enhanced cleaning and health measures will be in place. Seating on school busses will be assigned, and secondary school students will be asked to wear masks while on the bus.
In her letter, Richardson said the complete local Stage 2 plan will be available once it is approved by the Ministry of Education. A statement issued by the ministry said all school district will have their completed plans posted online by Wednesday.
School District 57's back-to-school plan will be available online at www.sd57.bc.ca.
