School-specific re-entry plans posted online

Editor's note: This article has been updated since going to print to reflect the Aug. 24 decision by Aspen View Public Schools to move start dates to Sept. 2 instead of Aug. 31 as was originally planned.

 

ATHABASCA – School-specific details of how each school in the Aspen View Public Schools division will go about welcoming students back next week, and the precautions that will be taken, were released Friday and updated Aug. 24.

Ten different school re-entry plans were posted Aug. 21 on the main Aspen View Public Schools website and individually on each school website breaking down such things as which doors students will enter and exit by, if breaks, lunch times and dismissals will be staggered, or if there will be staggered start days. 

All schools are following the Alberta Education and Alberta Health Services re-entry guidelines with input from the division and data from re-entry surveys completed by parents, staff and students in June. 

For example, in Athabasca, all students have staggered start days, Grassland School has one start day and Boyle School has a staggered start. 

Students will not be allowed inside the school before 8:15 a.m. for Edwin Parr Composite (EPC), 8:20 a.m. for WHPS and 8:30 a.m. for Landing Trail Intermediate (LTIS), Grassland and Boyle schools. 

Key points for all Aspen View schools 

All Aspen View schools will have students entering and exiting through designated doors. Hand sanitizer will be readily available. All students must walk on the right side of the hallway and loitering around inside after school is discouraged. 

For all schools, parents are asked to remain in their vehicles and entrance to the school is not permitted at any time without an appointment. 

All schools will have cohort classes; a group based on grade or a range of grades that will be allowed to interact during breaks or option classes like music or food science. 

None of the students will be allowed to use the change rooms for physical education in order to maintain physical distancing and while Alberta Education has said masks are not needed for students in Grades K-3, Aspen View is recommending students wear them on bus. 

Whispering Hills Primary School 

WHPS is for Grades 1 to 3 and has some of the strictest pick-up and drop-off rules because they are a HUB school. 

“Students from other schools like LTIS or EPC get on or off buses here. As a HUB we can have up to 800 students in this area during those times,” WHPS principal Lorna Anderson said. 

There is a designated drop-off and pick-up zone at the north end of the school and students will be escorted to and from the zone by a staff member. There will also be a supervisor assigned to the zone. 

WHPS will have three consistent cohort and break times where one cohort is outside and the other cohort is having a snack or lunch. 

Morning recess times will be 10:35-10:50 a.m. for Cohort A, as an example, and 10:50-11:05 a.m. for Cohort B. Lunch is scheduled for 12:20-12:40 p.m. for one group and 12:40 to 1 p.m. for the other, and so on. 

WHPS will be contacting parents to let them know which day their child(ren) will attend; Sept. 2 there will be two classes each for Grades 1 to 3 and Sept. 3 will have two classes each Grades 1 and 3 and three classes for Grade 2.

Kindergarteners will be individually scheduled for a one-on-one with their teacher between Aug. 31 and Sept. 2, and then scheduled for a staggered entrance. 

The staggered entrance “will allow for direct teaching, reminding and modelling of safety procedures,” the plan says and regular Kindergarten classes will start Sept. 14. 

The nutrition program will still be running with packaged food delivered by designated people and students will be allowed to use assigned lockers inside their classrooms. 

Landing Trail Intermediate School 

Dates for the Grades 4 to 6 Landing Trail Intermediate School (LTIS) are staggered by grade with the new incoming students moving to Grade 4 from WHPS arriving Sept. 2. 

Grade 5 and 6 students will attend Sept. 3, while Grade 4s will stay home, and the entire student body will start regular attendance starting Sept. 4. 

LTIS will not be having staggered breaks as they have a lot of room for students outside, both on the playground and due to the proximity of the Muskeg Creek Trails," said principal Joe MacIsaac. 

“We’re lucky to have the trails nearby,” he said. “And the students are outside 75 per cent of the time anyway (on breaks) and that may be upped a little bit because being outside and that ventilation is important.” 

He added there will also be a dedicated staff member to deliver the food program which in the past was a grab-and-go set-up and lunch breaks will be with their own class. 

Lockers will also be assigned to allow for distancing and to keep clutter at a minimum. 

Edwin Parr Composite 

EPC will have a staggered start with Grades 7, 10 and 12 arriving Sept. 2 and having Sept. 3 off, while Grades 8, 9 and 11 attends. All grades will attend starting Sept. 4. 

EPC will have assigned social areas — places students can mingle with their cohort or wait between classes, Breaks will also be staggered.

The much-anticipated hockey academy has been put on hold and will be reassessed in November. 

There will be no use of lockers and while students are allowed off campus they are not allowed to go to the Multiplex on breaks. 

Boyle School 

Students in Grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 will attend Boyle School starting Sept. 2 with students in Grades 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 beginning their school year Sept. 3. All students will attend beginning Sept. 4, but the plan did not specify when Kindergarten would start. 

Grades K-9 will be allowed to use lockers but Grades 10-12 will have to carry their books and hang their jackets on the backs of their desks or other designated area. 

Grades K, 1, 3 and 5 will have recess from 12:14 to 12:30 p.m. then eat, and Grades 2, 4, 6 will eat during that time and have recess from 12:35 to 12:51 p.m. 

Grades K-9 can pre-order food from the cafeteria and have it delivered for K-6. Grades 7-9 will be able to pick it up in the cafeteria to eat in their home room. Grades 10-12 may use the cafeteria or the foyer as long as they ensure physical distancing and they are the only grades allowed off campus during breaks.  

There will be a staggered dismissal as well, with students who are being picked up leaving at 3:14 p.m. followed by students taking the bus. 

Grassland School 

The school will be divided into zones with Grades K-3 in the blue zone, Grades 4-6 in the yellow zone and Grades 7-9 in the green zone. The classes will be encouraged to stay within their zones. 

For now, classes will eat snacks and lunch in their rooms with their teacher and recesses will be staggered. The school will also be running its nutrition program with designated people serving the food.

All students will be allowed to use assigned lockers but the junior high students will not be allowed to leave campus on breaks. 

Information about all schools in the Aspen View Public School division can be found at www.aspenview.org, or on each school's individual website as well as information about the five education paths parents can choose, including homeschooling.

Similar school-specific details from Pembina Hills can also be found  on the division's website at www.pembinahills.ca

 

Heather Stocking, TownandCountryToday.com
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