Staggered entry part of return to school plan

Administrator | Aug 14, 2020 | Comments 0

(UPDATED) Students returning to the classroom will do so on a staggered basis.

“To assist in school re-entry and to support consistency in messaging for all schools in our communities—and in conjunction with the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board and the Limestone District School Board—students will return to school on a staggered entry,” said Kerry Donnell, the board’s communications manager. “By adopting a staggered entry, we will be able to identify potential classroom and school challenges we may not have considered nor planned for. It also allows for a gentle and measured return to school, with an emphasis on supporting our youngest learners and Grade 9 students who might already have a heightened level of anxiety after being out of school for approximately the last five months.”

A change has been made to the first day/staggered start dates for HPEDSB students.

Thursday, Sept. 3:
First day of school for all JK-Grade 4 students who have indicated they will return to school in person
These students will only attend school this day; their second day of school will be Tuesday, Sept. 8
For students in a 4/5 split class: the Grade 4 students attend on Sept. 3 and the Grade 5 students attend on Sept. 4
First day of school for all Grade 9 students who have indicated they will return to school in person
They will attend classes through a quadmester timetable

Friday, Sept. 4
First day of school for all Grade 5-8 students who have indicated they will return to school in person
Their second day of school will be Tuesday, Sept. 8
First day of school for Grade 10 students who have indicated they will return to school in person
They will attend classes through a quadmester timetable
Second day of school for Grade 9 students

Tuesday, Sept. 8
First day of school for all Grade 11-12 students who have indicated they will return to school in person
They will attend classes through a quadmester timetable
Full return to school for all students

“We will continue to do our best to communicate and inform of any changes,” said Donnell.

The HPEDSB plans differ for Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board students.

“With regard to staggered entry, our secondary dates vary a bit and elementary is still being confirmed and will be released this week,” said Communications officer Jessica Salmon .

All ALCDSB updates can be found by clicking here.

Thursday, Sept. 3: Grade 9 students in school, Grades 10-12 alternative programming

Friday, Sept. : Grade 9 & 10 students in school, Grades 11 & 12 alternative programming

Tuesday, Sept. 8: Grades 9-12 in school

For the Hastings Prince Edward District School Board, a 25-page Return to School document has been created to cover subjects from access to the main office, bell times, bus line ups, classroom set ups, cleaning, mental health, recess, drop off and pick up, food and drink rules,

For example, for classroom setups:
Students will remain in the same consistent seat in the class as much as possible. This area becomes
their personal bubble and will be 1 metre from the nearest student.
• Where possible, the same students will remain with the same teacher with minimized rotation
• Classroom design will vary from teacher to teacher but the same goal remains to keep
everyone 1 metre apart
• Physical barriers, such as unused desks, or visual markings, can be used to assist with the
separation
• All student belongings will be kept in their personal area; no no use of shared spaces, such as
coat racks or cubbies
• Desks and tables will not be removed from the classroom where possible; however the same
desk/table should be used by the same student each day
• Classroom educators will rearrange classrooms so that 1 metre can be maintained between
students where possible
• Students will not be permitted to share resources
• The teacher will maintain a table of items to be cleaned and these will be wiped off the
following morning when returning to class (using provided disinfectant wipes)
• Teachers will not bring furniture or other items from their home into the classroom
• Classrooms will be de-cluttered to facilitate effective and efficient cleaning
• Desktops and counter surfaces must be kept clear to facilitate disinfection throughout the day
and allow for nightly cleaning and disinfection by custodians