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School boards continue to work on back to school plans School boards continue to work on back to school plans Catherine Whitnall Area school boards are trying to start the new school year off as normal as possible, but there's no doubt things will definitely be different when the first bell rings. "Prior to the announcement of July 30, we were in a good place as far as our plans to reopen schools," said Trillium Lakelands District School Board director of education Wesley Hahn. "We know that kids want to get back to school and they want to get back to interacting with their peers. . . .Many pieces have to be in place before we can open the doors and we won't until that's done." Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board chair Diane Lloyd agrees, adding, while the social aspect of school is important, when it comes to such things as extra- curricular activities and clubs, extra-caution is key. "I understand the mental health issues for our students and everyone else. . . but we need to look very carefully at those types of things from a public health perspective," said Lloyd. "It's also very important that we work to outline exactly what school will look like so that parents can make the best informed decision for their children, whether it's sending them back to school or continuing with distance learning." In July, Trillium Lakelands parents, students and staff took part in a Thought Exchange questionnaire. More than 3,670 participants, offering 5,570 thoughts, were generated, emphasizing such things as enhanced cleaning and safety protocols, extra supports for mental health and well-being, cohorting and scheduling purposefully, and secondary student workload. Being an area with communities experiencing few or no active cases of COVID-19, local schools can start the year with full attendance. This will be done with a focus on such things as mandatory, self-assessment screening for staff and students prior to entering schools, limiting student interactions, staggered bell times and, in keeping with provincial guidelines, mandatory masks for students in grades 4 to 12 - optional for primary students - in class and on school property. Trillium Lakelands superintendent of learning Katherine MacIvor said high school students may participate in a 'quadmester', taking one course in the morning and a second in the afternoon for the first two months - 150 minutes each class - to help manage course load and limit interactions. Students will initially not have access to lockers to help minimize "touch points" and staff are looking at developing rotating cafeteria schedules. Back to school plans could change as boards await further direction from the province. School boards continue to work on back to school plans https://www.mykawartha.com/news-story/10131574-school-boards-cont... 1 of 2 8/6/2020, 1:50 PM