MONTY SCHOOL SAFETY PLAN

August 28, 2020

Dear Parents,

Our school is getting ready to welcome students back to school in a safe and controlled manner.  The Ministry of Education has announced that schools will open in Stage 2. Students are encouraged to attend daily as schools will not be able to provide the remote learning options that we did in June. 

The first day of school for students is Thursday, September 10^th.  Both September 10^th and September 11^th will be partial days to provide students with important safety training/ orientation and to welcome them back into school.

We have worked under the guidance of public health authorities and the Ministry of Education to develop a plan so that students and staff can learn and work together safely.  We will strive to keep learning as the focus, but school will look different as health and safety are critical factors in our planning.  Some of the many actions taken to safely restart school this September include:

Health and Safety

• Daily health screening check for students (by parents) and staff before arriving at school.
• Students who are ill (cold, flu or showing Covid-19 symptoms) must stay home.   If a child becomes ill during the school day, they will be isolated from their Learning Group/class and the parents contacted to come and pick up as soon as possible.
• Families arriving from outside of Canada must self-isolate for 14 days before entering school.
• Enhanced cleaning protocols especially focused on high touch points (doorknobs, faucets, etc.)
• Teachers will be encouraged to take their class outside more frequently.
• A staggered schedule for school start, breaks and dismissal to promote physical distancing at drop off/pick up; and nutrition and lunch times.
• Students will wash or sanitize their hands
• Upon entering in the morning and before exiting the school at 3pm
• Before eating
• After being outside or using any shared equipment
• After using the washroom
• When hands are visibly dirty
• Monty has over 70 sinks available
• Increased supervision at nutrition break and lunch
• After eating in class, nutrition break and lunch breaks will be largely outside
• There will be no large gatherings (assemblies, special events, open house) at this time. 
• Masks will be available are expected in hallways and all common areas at the middle level. The only exception is for staff and students with a medical condition that precludes them from wearing a mask.
• No sharing of food or drink. 
• Lockers will not be used; students are asked to bring a cardboard box or hard plastic large container to fit under their chair.
• Students will not change for PE, they are expected to wear comfortable clothing and running shoes, (shoes can be changed).
• Parents and visitors must make an appointment to meet with staff.  There will be limited access to the building by parents and visitors.  All visitors must sign in for the purpose of contact tracing.  Virtual meetings will be an option for staff and parents.
• We ask parents to practice physical distancing (staying apart 2m) when on school grounds.  This is for your safety, the safety of staff and students and is good modeling for our students. 

Learning Groups

• A Learning Group is defined as a group of students and staff who remain together for an extended period of time and who interact primarily with each other. 
• In the Coquitlam School District, the Learning Group will be your child's advisory or homeroom class and any staff assigned to work with the students on a regular basis, like your child's teacher.
• Within the learning group, while there will be fewer opportunities to physically distance, students are expected to not make any physical contact.   
• The learning group will stay together in the same classroom space.  Students will learn, eat and play together.  There will be no switching between advisory teachers.
• Class size limits have not changed therefore grade 6-8 classes will have no more than 30 students in the group.

• The Ministry of Education has stated that Learning Groups cannot exceed 60 people at elementary and middle school.  SD43 Learning Group sizes will be well under the provincial limits outlined in Stage 2.

• All food/ snack will be eaten in the student's classroom after handwashing/ hand sanitization.
• Nutrition break and lunch breaks are outside, are staggered and students from each class have 10 designated spaces. These spaces will rotate each day to provide a variety of play opportunities.
• Learning Groups will be apart during break times thanks to our large campus.
• If children interact with students or staff from other learning groups, they will be expected to practice physical distancing.  Specialist teachers who work with children from different learning groups (ie. Learning assistance or English as a Second Language) will wear a mask if they cannot maintain physical distancing.
  
  

ADVISORY CLASS = LEARNING GROUP

Educational Programming

• Our school will be focused on in-class instruction during Stage 2.
• Students will spend most of their educational time in their classroom, as there will be reduced movement of students between learning spaces.
• Student well-being will be guiding educators in planning and supporting the successful return of students to school.
• Explorations teachers will continue to offer programming, but this will look significantly different as these classes will be provided in the advisory classroom space.
• Students with disabilities/diverse abilities will continue to be supported by the goals outlined in their IEP
• Regular health and safety practices (frequent hand washing) will be part of the educational program.
• Students will continue to receive report cards.
• Parents of children who are medically diagnosed as immunocompromised by a physician should contact me by Tuesday, September 1^st.  The following links are provided for your reference:
  
  http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Info-Site/Documents/COVID-19-IS-Children-FAQ-BCCH.pdf 

          http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Professionals-Site/Documents/COVID19-easing-social-distrancing-IS-children.pdf

    School Drop Off/ Pick Up

• Students will need to arrive on time to school, please have your child walk to school or drop them off 1-2 blocks. The addition of parents and cars will make social distancing very challenging.
• Students be assigned a specific door to enter for their safety orientation days and a perhaps a different door once their learning group is assigned.
• Staff will be outside to welcome and help students especially those new to the school.
• All outside doors have been numbered in large yellow numbers #1-13 (main door #1 moving north around the school).
• Learning groups will not change due to the Public Health Order.

We look forward to welcoming students back to school on Thursday, September 10^th.  Following is the district plan for middle students on Thursday, September 10^th and Friday, September 11^th: We will be sending out further information regarding the times and room that students will attend on Thursday, September 10^th and Friday, September 11^th. 

Thursday, September 10^th

English Program Students will attend for a safety orientation.                 Duration:  60minutes.

LFI and Montessori Students will attend for an enrollment count           Duration:  10-15 minutes.

Friday, September 11^th

English Program Students will attend for an enrollment count.               Duration:  10-15 minutes.

LFI and Montessori Students will attend safety orientation sessions.     Duration:  60 minutes.

Monday, September 14^th

Students placed in learning groups/ advisory classes – full day of school

Students should bring basic supplies, all food/ water bottle, wear running shoes to participate in PE/ outside activities

An email will be sent before Monday morning with a meeting location and time (either 845am or 9am).

Student attendance on Sept 10 and 11^th will determine if we need to adjust/ rebuild classes over the weekend.

Students masks will be available and students are asked to wear it when in common areas.  If a student already has a mask, we ask that they wear it to school on Sept 10^th and Sept 11th

Parent Survey

We need to know how many students are returning to school or what your plans are, if you are considering an alternative educational plan.  It is critical that you complete the survey to give us this information. Due to limitations in staffing, if you are choosing to make other plans we cannot guarantee that your child can return to our school if you re-evaluate your decisions later in the year.  Please contact me if you are undecided.

 If you know someone who has school-aged children and has moved in to our neighbourhood, please encourage them to contact (call or email) the school as soon as possible to arrange registration.