(file photo/CKOM News Staff)

By Angela Brown

COVID-19 precautions

Living Sky School Division planning for schools to reopen

Aug 11, 2020 | 5:13 PM

Living Sky School Division has a plan in place to reopen schools for the new school year.

Education Director Brenda Vickers said Monday the plan is not carved in stone and can be modified at any time depending on the province’s COVID-19 guidelines and the Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer’s recommendations.

“We started planning before the last school year,” she said. “The province wanted [divisions] provincial plans handed into them by June 30. Our plan is aligned with the provincial plan, which was approved by the province. We have put everything into place that would be recommended by the province.”

Vickers said because the COVID-19 situation is fluid, the division’s plan includes a caveat indicating details can change depending on the situation.

“Within the pandemic atmosphere things are shifting sometimes multiple times a day, so that the plan is open for change,” she said.

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The division’s plan is available on its website.

“We have had each of our schools do a schools-based plan that is aligned with our plan,” Vickers said.

The divisions plan includes removing unnecessary items in classrooms to create more space, preventing physical contact, and social distancing as best as possible. Some schools are also considering staggered start times to reduce the number of people in common areas at the same time. Larger schools are expected to see staggered lunch breaks and recesses, depending on the size of the school building.

Division staff are watching to see if the province alters its plan, before making any further decisions.

“I’m 100 per cent sure that the [division’s] plan that is up now won’t be the final one, but it is our current one,” Vickers said.

In the province’s Saskatchewan Safe Schools plan released Aug. 4 it indicated schools will reopen as early as Sept. 1. The back to school plan would start at level one which is as close to normal with the new safety protocols. The province’s chief medical health officer would change classroom protocols if COVID-19 levels in the province worsen. If schools are bumped to level two, mask-usage for students will be required. If increased to level three, class sizes would be reduced. Level four would be mandatory remote learning, much like it was before the school year ended.

The province provided guidelines in a statement today for any school divisions that may wish to move to a level two plan to wear masks. The province did not mandate wearing masks however.

The Living Sky School Division is currently creating a parent resource that will be released as soon as the division feels confident there won’t be any further changes.

“For parents, I encourage them to watch our social media,” Vickers said. “In essence we will highlight some of the rationale and thinking behind our plan, and clarify some questions that people have.”

We’re always interested in hearing what people are thinking,” Vickers said. “We thought it would be a different way of communicating that allows it to be more interactive. It’s not exactly live, but it is certainly more interactive than an email or a newsletter.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW