BARRHEAD, WESTLOCK - A removal of area rugs and furnishings from classroom, water fountains shut off completely and only bottle-filling stations in operation, a return to students sitting in rows of desks, hand sanitizer at every entrance to their school and masks being worn by Grade 4-12 students are some of the things that Pembina Hills students can expect when in-school classes resume in a month.
All of these measures, plus a number of other restrictions, were discussed in length by Pembina Hills trustees during the Aug. 5 board meeting, when the board and administration reviewed the details of the division’s school re-entry plan.
Right off the bat, Supt. Dave Garbutt stressed that it is not Pembina Hills or administration choosing to resume in-school classes, as the division is only following the direction of Alberta Education and Alberta Health.
“(Trustees are) not making the decisions around it. We’re not making the decisions around it. We follow the direction of the experts,” he said.
Furthermore, it should be noted that details of Pembina Hills’ plan are available on the Pembina Hills’ website (www.pembinahills.ca).
Online re-entry plan
There are extensive documents spelling out the new expectations regarding school cleaning, handwashing, physical distancing during classes and at breaks, and the procedures that will be followed if a child becomes ill during the school day.
Those documents have been updated since Alberta Education announced on Aug. 4 that masks would be required for all Grade 4-12 students in public spaces and in the classroom if they wish. (Masks are optional for Kindergarten to Grade 3 students.)
There are separate articles spelling out the new expectations for students and drivers while riding the bus. Again, Grade 4-12 students will be required to wear masks on buses, while bus drivers will be provided face shields to use at their discretion while loading and unloading.
Garbutt said a mailout was going to be sent to families within Pembina Hills last week regarding the new health restrictions, as well as a magnet that contains the Daily Health Check screening questions. This checklist helps parents determine whether or not they should send their child to school each day.
Assistant Supt. Brett Cooper said administration had met with Alberta Health Services (AHS) that same day to confirm what happens if a student member is exhibiting signs of illness.
First, no matter what, the student is required to stay at home for 10 days or until symptoms subside, whichever is longer.
The parent may also choose to have their child tested for COVID-19. In the event of a negative result, they continue to stay at home, but in the event of a positive result, AHS will step in and begin contact tracing.
He added, “The same would apply to teachers, support staff, bus drivers, etc.”
Wearing masks
Trustee Judy Lefebvre asked how they would ensure students receive the two re-usable masks being provided to every student and staff member in Alberta. (The province is also providing each school contactless thermometers and about 466,000 litres of hand sanitizer.)
Garbutt said that once the division receives those masks, they will be communicating out to parents again how to take care of them and what the expectations for wearing them will be.
Trustee Jackie Carson asked what would happen if a child had a medical condition like asthma that prevented them from wearing a mask.
Garbutt stated that a parent whose child has such a condition should be in contact with their principal, as there are some specific parameters for such a situation. However, they basically boil down to “if you can’t wear (a mask) because of a medical necessity, then you can’t wear it.”
Garbutt said parents whose children regularly get COVID-like symptoms because of a medical condition, such as severe allergies, should also be in discussion with their principal.
“We’re going to be asking parents to identify those types of conditions so that we don’t misinterpret that as possible symptoms for COVID-19,” he said.
Disinfectant on buses
Eventually the discussion rolled around to the subject of transportation. Director of facilities Tracy Tyreman said buses will be disinfected between transfers and drivers will have a log sheet to track when buses are cleaned.
He noted he is providing drivers with a fast-drying disinfectant that can be simply sprayed on the buses. Students will also be expected to disinfect their hands when they get on the bus.
Trustee Kerry McElroy questioned whether Pembina Hills should have in-town transportation (ie. busing within Westlock, Barrhead and Swan Hills).
Tyreman said that currently less than half of parents who live in those communities have signed up for in-town transportation.
If the numbers remain low, a decision to cancel in-town transportation may be made, but they weren’t planning on cancelling it at this point.
McElroy then asked about substitute bus drivers, noting that Pembina Hills was running low at one point.
Cooper said it wasn’t an issue at this point, noting the division is always advertising for casual drivers.
Of course, depending on what happens, they could run into shortages again. In the past, they’ve utilized mechanics and other transportation department staff to drive buses in a pinch, but it’s hard to say what will happen until it happens.
Seating in class
Carson also asked if classrooms would continue to seat children around tables under the new social distancing restrictions.
Acknowledging there would be challenges in regards to social distancing in K-3 classrooms, Cooper noted teachers would look at physically restructuring classrooms as best they can.
Garbutt then went one step further and suggested that classrooms might revert to rows of desks so that students are at least not facing each other.
“We’ve gone away from having kids sit in rows. Well, it’s going to be coming back because of the situation we’re currently in,” he added.
Trustee Wendy Scinski asked what would happen to items like bath towels, rugs, books and games in the classrooms.
Tyreman said the province has recommended removing those items, so he will be speaking further to principals on that subject.
Once school resumes, he suggested that he will go room to room in schools and make recommendations to staff about what should go and what should stay.
Disinfecting during the day
When asked about increased cleaning at facilities, Tyreman suggested that caretakers are already required to disinfect common surfaces (ie. door knobs, light switches and so on) as part of their contract.
However, now caretakers will be coming in to schools once during the day to disinfect common surfaces. Tyreman suggested they will be in schools for perhaps an hour at smaller schools and two hours at larger ones.
It will still fall on teachers to do disinfecting of surfaces like shared computers; Tyreman noted it would be impossible to enter each classroom to spray and wipe down surfaces after every class change.
In regards to lockers, Tyreman suggested that while there are more discussions to be had with principals, some schools are preparing to prohibit them altogether, and instead have children bring their possessions to school in a big backpack that must stay with them.
“Quite honestly, it’s going to be a school-based decision,” he said.
Tyreman also suggested that water fountains will be shut off and instead students will have to rely on water bottle-filling stations or sinks in the case of those schools who don’t have them.
When asked about the costs of all these extra measures, Tyreman suggested he had purchased about $30,000 in disinfectant, which he believes will go a long way. However, there will be added costs relating to having caretakers enter schools on a more regular basis.
He noted the division was quite lucky that the province announced the new masking rules when it did, as he was just about to put in an order for face shields when the Alberta government stated they would be supplying them.
