GUELPH – Officials at the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) are feeling more prepared to provide a safe return to school for students, having built on what they learned last school year.
On Sept. 2, UGDSB representatives and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health officials were taken on a tour through Elora Public School, where they were shown the multi-layered COVID-19 precautions being taken as schools prepare to reopen next week.
During the tour, officials explained many of the same safety precautions will be carrying over from last school year, including masking at all grade levels, regular hand washing and sanitizing, and physical distancing.
In addition to these safety precautions, standalone HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter units will be included in all kindergarten and elementary classrooms.
In an interview with the Advertiser, Elora PS principal Curt McQueen noted there will be more flexibility this year in terms of the types of programming allowed.
He explained rooms like the library, music room, and science and technology room were converted to traditional classrooms last year. However, this year they will be converted back to their proper use.
“That’s a shift in a good direction,” McQueen said.
“We’re glad we can have those specialized programs in place, even still not quite back to normal, we’re heading in the right direction which is great for kids.”
McQueen added that, with greater assurance from public health, schools will also able to allow shared items with masking and hand washing/sanitizing in place.
“Those items, from books to exploratory toys to science materials, are okay for them to be shared which is another change in the right direction,” he explained.
“It means we’re getting things out again that can be used and we’re happy to put in the time to bring some of our programs back.”
One of the more noticeable differences students will see this year is activities being reintroduced in school settings.
Board spokesperson Heather Loney said there will be an opportunity for extracurriculars like sports and clubs, although not everything will return all at once.
Also new this year: mask removal will be permitted outdoors when in classroom cohorts, but they must remain on when mixing cohorts.
McQueen was hesitant to say it’s a return to normalcy, but noted things are heading in the right direction.
“We have structures in place so that we can bit by bit return to normal when it’s okay,: he said.
“However, out of abundance of caution … we are heading into the year very much the same as last year.”
He added, “And that’s absolutely okay because if it can get us back to normalcy sooner and doing more and more things with kids in the school that we love to do then we’re happy to be very cautious about it.”
McQueen said officials do feel more prepared this year, adding protocols have become routine at this point.
“It is more comfortable. We were learning almost day to day and that’s why so many things did change because best practice did change,” he said.
“At this point we’re familiar with the fact that things might change and we have done things so many different ways – from remote learning to brick and mortar learning with protocols in place – that my goodness, the kids, the parents and the teachers can pretty much do anything.”
