May 29, 2020

This information is for parents / guardians regarding student return to school on a voluntary, part-time basis at Chalmers Elementary School.
 
Students must not attend school if they demonstrate any signs of illness.

Dear Parents / Guardians:

We are pleased to welcome your child(ren) back to school and provide you this information in order to inform you about the routines and protocols required to ensure the health and safety of all in our school communities. The BC Center for Disease Control, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education provided guidance for these measures. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.

By now, those students returning next week should have heard from your child’s teacher with regards to the schedule assigned to your child.  In order to provide more physical space for everyone we will be working with a staggered schedule.  Your child’s class has been scheduled as either a part of Cohort A or Cohort B.  These schedules are:

Please note that all schools in the Delta School District are being asked to schedule operating hours from 9:00am to 3:00pm Monday – Friday.  This means there will be no 2:00pm dismissal on Wednesdays during the month of June.

FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Everyone entering the school needs to make sure that they are healthy. Anyone who is feeling sick needs to self-isolate at home so they don’t get others sick.
• Parents and caregivers must assess their child daily for symptoms of common cold, influenza, COVID-19, or other infectious respiratory disease before sending them to school.
• Children who show any signs of illness should stay at home and parents must notify the school.All students and staff who have symptoms of COVID-19, OR travelled outside Canada in the last 14 days, or were identified as a close contact of a confirmed case or outbreak must stay home and self-isolate, including children of essential service workers who are ill.
• If you are unsure about sending your child to school, please refer to the BC COVID-19 SelfAssessment Tool, or contact 8-1-1, or the local public health unit to seek further input.

• If your child does become sick while at school, they will be isolated and you will be notified and asked to pick up your child immediately.
• Parents who indicated that their children would be returning to school on June 1st on the Stage 3 Return to School Survey, must notify the school if their child will absent or late on their assigned day.

PREPARING YOUR CHILD FOR A DAY AT SCHOOL

• Please ensure that your child washes his/her hands before school and when they return home. This will be a routine procedure throughout your child’s day at school.

• Your child will be asked to use only their personal items and not to share them.
• Please pack water bottles, as all water fountains will be turned off.
• Students should take home all food packaging, food scraps, utensils, etc. in the same container.
• Students will not share food.
• The school will not be handing out utensils to students.
• Send food in containers that your child can open independently. If your child cannot open the container, please use an alternative.
• Please apply sunscreen to your child before they arrive at school, or send sunscreen they are able to apply themselves (teachers will not be permitted to apply sunscreen to your child), and a hat for sunny days, and proper clothing for all kinds of weather, as we will be spending lots of time outdoors.

PHYSICAL DISTANCING

• Adolescent children should physically distance themselves where possible when outside the family unit or household.
• For younger children, maintaining physical distance is less practical and Provincial Health Office guidelines focus on minimizing physical contact instead.
• Students will be reminded to avoid close greetings (e.g., hugs, high-fives, handshakes, etc.).
• Students will be reminded about keeping their “hands to yourself”.

DROP OFF AND PICK-UP We ask that parents:

• Bring their child to school on time and pick up their child at the end of the day promptly at their scheduled time and location. Staff cannot supervise children outside of these times. This is a safety consideration.
• Students should lineup using the markers to ensure appropriate social distance.
• Please do not plan for your child to wait at the office for pick-up beyond the school hours.
• Not enter the school building or classroom unless pre-arranged with the office.
• Observe physical distancing and leave school grounds promptly upon drop off or pick-up their child.

ENTERING THE BUILDING

• Students will be invited in from the line up one by one.
• Upon entering students will either wash their hands and/or receive hand sanitizer from their teacher
• Each student will go to their desk/table in the classroom and wait there until all of the students arrive

CLASSROOM SET UP 

The classroom will look different:

• Desks/tables/spaces will be set up to leave at least 2 meters of space in between them.
• Many things in the classroom will be put away.
• Students will sit at their own table or desk.
• There will be tape/markers on the floor for one-way travel to avoid accidental close contact.

LOTS AND LOTS OF HAND WASHING

• There will be many hand washing times throughout the day.
• You may want to send hand sanitizer to keep in your child’s area for their personal use.
• Children will regularly wash their hands. Handwashing will occur and be facilitated by staff:

1.  Upon arrival and before departure.
2. Before and after any transitions within the school setting.
3. Before and after eating and drinking.
4. After using the toilet.
5. After playing outside.
6. After sneezing or coughing.
7. Whenever their hands are visibly dirty.

• Staff will teach, practice and model good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette (such as coughing or sneezing into the creases of elbows and throwing tissues out immediately after use).

WASHROOM USE

• We will limit washroom use to one at a time.
• We need to limit the things that we touch and keep it clean.
• Washrooms will be cleaned twice a day.

HALLWAY TRAFFIC

• There will be directional flow markers for students to follow in hallways so that physical
• distancing can be observed.

SNACKS AND LUNCHES

• Children should bring all food in a lunch bag and containers that can be packed in and all remaining food and wrappers will be packed out (you may want to send an extra baggie to pack the garbage in).
• There will be NO lunch drop off after school starts.
• Students will eat snacks and lunch in their assigned seat.
• Students will eat only their own food, and will not share with others.

RECESS AND LUNCH BREAKS

• There will be NO physical contact sports, but there will be more time outside with classmates.
• Playground structures will be open starting June 1.
• Students will not be able to share equipment at school.
• Students will need to find other things to do outside, and keep their distance from others. They may consider bringing an item to play with during breaks.  Any item brought to school must go home with your child each day.

INSTRUCTION

• There are many things that we will be able to do at school!
• Students will need to stay at their desk or table and do their activities on their own, keeping distance at all times.
• More time will be spent outside, with physical distance boundaries observed.
• Efforts will be made to keep students with their usual teacher. However, this may not be possible for every class or on every day. Staffing decisions will be made in consideration of the health and safety of students and staff.

SOME SPACES WILL BE OFF LIMITS

• Gym, Library, Music portables will be No-Go Zones

THE CUSTODIANS WILL WORK HARD TO HELP KEEP OUR SCHOOL CLEAN

• Students will be reminded to respect how we use all areas of our school.

• Students/Staff can make their job easier by making sure that we clean up after ourselves and leave our desk/table spaces clear.

• Our school will be cleaned more frequently, including classrooms and high touch areas.

Click on the link below to print a PDF copy of this information:

May 29th Chalmers Elementary INFORMATION Letter