Got kids? Here are the London region's back-to-school plans

With just four weeks to go before students return to class, the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) have released their back-to-school plans.

Trustees from both boards are set to go over their plans during separate special meetings Wednesday evening, but here are some of the highlights. Unless otherwise stated, the plans apply to both school boards.  

What happens if someone is showing symptoms of COVID-19 at school? 

• Students must not come to school if they have symptoms, if they feel sick, or if they have come in close contact with someone with a suspected or positive case of COVID-19 in the past 14 days.
• All students and staff will undergo passive screening for COVID-19 symptoms prior to arriving at school or work, the plan says. 
  • Parents and guardians will be given a checklist to perform daily screenings of their child before arriving at school. 
• Any student or staff with symptoms of COVID-19 will be placed in a separate supervised area away from others and they will have to be picked up as soon as possible, along with any other children of the same family. In the case of staff, they will have to go home immediately.
• Parents and guardians will be expected to get their child tested for COVID-19 if they have symptoms or self-isolate them at home for 14 days. 
• If a child or staff member get assessed for the virus and receive a negative result, they will still have to stay home for 24 hours after symptoms subside. 

What happens if there's a confirmed case of COVID-19?

• The school and the board will follow directions from the public health unit as to who else in the school may need to get tested or go into isolation, the plan says.
• The person infected will not be able to attend the school until they are given notice by the public health unit. 
• Schools must maintain class lists, bus cohort lists and a visitor log for thorough contact tracing. At the Catholic board, those lists include children and staff who are in adjacent "bubbles." 

Recess and lunch

• Elementary school students with the TVDSB will be able to use the playgrounds during recesses and lunch as long as they wash their hands before and after each recess or outdoor time. Catholic school board kids won't be allowed on playgrounds, but they'll get access to equipment such as balls. 
• Elementary students will be grouped together in one designated larger group for outdoor recesses and lunch breaks.
• Recesses and lunches may be staggered depending on the size of the outdoor space and the availability of supervisors.
• Principals will develop schedules that allow for students to maintain appropriate physical distancing while still having an opportunity for fresh air and physical activity.
• Students will be encouraged to stay at school for lunch and eat in assigned desks or classrooms. 
• Secondary school students will also be encouraged to stay at school for lunch and to eat lunch at desks or in designated areas.
• Students will be asked to bring home all lunch and snack containers and to recycle in their own home rather than at school

Field trips, assemblies, clubs and sports

• Children won't be going on field trips any time soon. 
• Students will also be skipping any type of large gatherings, including school assemblies or masses, during the early stages of school reopening. Instead, schools are being encouraged to consider virtual options. 
• School clubs that can run while maintaining physical distancing or those that can run virtually will be able to continue at the TVDSB. As for clubs in Catholic schools, no plan was outlined.
• Both boards are still waiting for more direction from the Ministry of Education, the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) and regional health units on intramural and extra-curricular sports
  • Low and no-contact sports and activities may be considered for a shortened season if approval is granted, the Thames Valley plan says.

Other things to know 

• Staff will limit the sharing of supplies, equipment, and textbooks that cannot be easily cleaned. Kids should bring their own supplies, where possible.
• In the Catholic system, kids will be "bubbled" with other classes and those bubbles will try to use the same doors, washrooms, hallways and recess areas. 
• Students will be encouraged to bring their own labelled water bottle to school each day. There will be scheduled opportunities for TVDSB elementary school students to fill their water bottles.
  • All drinking fountains will be shut off at all schools. TVDSB refilling stations will be open. 
  • The LDCSB is reviewing water bottle filling stations.
• Personal belongings brought to school by students should be minimized.
• Secondary students with the TVDSB may not have access to lockers and may need to keep all belongings with them. The LDCSB said it will not permit locker use. 

Quadmester approach for secondary school

As directed by the province, secondary school students will be in an adapted model of learning where they will be divided into two cohorts who will alternate between attending school in person and engaging in remote learning.

Additionally, both the TVDSB and the LDCSB have adopted a quadmestered approach meaning that students will take two courses at a time for half of the semester, and then take two other courses for the following half in order to complete a full semester. Each course will be delivered during a 120-minute block per day, with a 40-minute lunch break in between the two courses.

For TVDSB students, the instructional day would end with a 60-minute study hall period, which will provide an opportunity for the classroom teacher to connect with students during their at-home learning time. There was no mention of a study hall period in the LDCSB's plan. 

Other things to know about the quadmester approach: 

• Students will be assigned into groups as either "Cohort A" or "Cohort B" and each cohort will have approximately 15 students. 
• Students will potentially be a part of two cohorts, one in each of the two courses they attend in each quadmester, a type of scheduling that is supported by local public health units.
• Start and end times for the day will remain the same, but class periods will be extended to 120 minutes, instead of 75 minutes.