Daily Procedures

Arrival of Students

Students will be designated a seat on the school bus that they must sit in each day to and from school. Siblings can be assigned the same seat. Students who arrive by bus will enter the school according to their designated class or cohort and will be expected to sanitize their hands at the building entrance before entering the school.

Arrival of Students By Bus

Arrival of Students-Before School programs

(Please refer to School Operations: Connecting with Our Partners)

Students will be expected to exit the child care program through the program’s designated outside doors and then enter the school with the rest of their classmates through their classroom/cohort doors. Every student will sanitize their hands upon entering the school.

Inclement Weather

In the case of rainy inclement weather, students will still be expected to enter the building through their designated doors. Front doors will not be accessible to students. Every student will sanitize their hands upon entering the school.

Late Arrivals

Students will enter the building through the front doors of the school if they arrive after the entry bell rings. Students will verbally notify the office administrator that they have arrived late and will proceed to their classroom through the school building, adhering to social distancing guidelines. (Paper late slips will not be handed out) Note: students may have to wait in line outside of the office; therefore, markers should be placed six feet apart so that students know where to stand. Parents will not be able to enter the school and wait at the office with their child at this time.

Entering the Classrooms

Teachers will stand at the entrance of the classroom and call each student one at a time to enter the classroom. This should be done quickly so as not to congest the hallways. When students enter the classroom, they will go directly to their seat or to their designated area on the floor. Learning carpets will be removed from all classrooms because they cannot be cleaned adequately. Student belongings i.e. backpacks, outdoor clothing, etc. should be placed under the desk/table or on the back of the chair.

Please refer to the Checklist of Items to be Removed from Classrooms

Travel in the Hallways

Students will follow directional arrows when traveling in the hallways. Students will walk at all times and stay within their cohort/class. Floor markings and posters to address traffic flow will be posted throughout the school. This may include one-way hallways and designated entrance and exit doors.

Classroom Environment

For classrooms that normally offer flexible seating, it is recommended that students instead be designated the same seat each day in order to limit exposure and allow for easy cleaning and sanitizing. Group work should be done in small groups where physical distancing can occur. Circle time can occur if physical distancing guidelines are adhered to. Students should sit at one designated spot on the floor at all times. Spots should be clearly marked on the floor. Note that learning carpets should be removed from classrooms where applicable as they cannot be sanitized properly. Schools should consider strategic seating in classrooms (e.g., if more than one student in a class with an exemption, they should be spread out) and identify on seating plans who has an exemption for wearing a mask for contact tracing and occasional staff awareness. See Appendix V for Mask Exemption Form.

Classroom Materials/Resources

Where possible, students will be provided with their own pack of materials/resources (e.g. textbooks, manipulatives, writing utensils, etc.) to use in order to limit exposure. Leveled readers must be cleaned and disinfected between users to limit exposure. Any independent work that is meant to be completed at home will be provided to the student in an electronic format where possible

Student Materials

The use of cubbies/lockers in elementary school is allowed, providing that the students can maintain social distancing while accessing their belongings. Principals need to develop their own school protocols for use of cubbies (i.e. access in small groups) in compliance with safe Covid-19 protocols, All belongings must be taken home at the end of each day to facilitate hallway cleaning. Students will not share personal items such as pencils, paper, notebooks, etc. with classmates. Outdoor shoes will be left in a designated area. Indoor shoes should remain at school where possible.

Hygiene Protocols

Student should sanitize their hands:

When they arrive at school.
Before and after any breaks (e.g., recess, lunch).
Before and after eating and drinking (excluding drinks kept at a student’s desk or locker).
Before and after using an indoor learning space used by multiple cohorts (e.g. the gym, music room, science lab, etc.).

After using the toilet.
After sneezing or coughing into hands.
Whenever hands are visibly dirty.

Time should be spent with students reviewing the importance of proper hygiene. Signs should be posted in the washroom and classrooms that include proper washing techniques.

Recess Breaks

Students will participate in recess with their cohort/classmates. Recess breaks may be staggered to limit the number of students in the school yard. Play structures, sports fields will be scheduled and open to one cohort/class of students at a time with cleaning by instructional staff in-between with the use of broadcast sprayers filled with disinfectant.

Snack/Lunch Breaks

(Please refer to Appendix M: Protocol for Food & Drink Handling)

Students will eat snacks and lunch in their classrooms and will remain in their designated seats. Students will wash their hands before and after eating, using the classroom or washroom sink. Placing older students in classrooms without sinks and having them wash hands in the washroom is recommended. Younger children can be more closely monitored washing hands properly if they are in a classroom with a sink. At this time, it is highly recommended that students bring their own litterless lunch to school. Schools should not allow homemade food items to be made available to other students at this time (e.g. birthday treats, bake sale items) and should continue to emphasize that food and beverages should not be shared.

To reduce contacts from outside of school, commercially delivered lunches should not be available, ie. Uber Eats, pizza delivery. Schools can offer hot lunch/milk programs at this time as long as the food establishment follows proper food and beverage preparation guidelines. Students should be encouraged to eat their lunch at school or at home and refrain from purchasing their lunch at a local restaurant.

Lunch drop-offs

Schools will need to find an area near the front entrance doors for parents to drop off student lunches during the day. Upon arrival, parents should sanitize their hands, press the door buzzer, enter the school, place the lunch on the table provided with their child’s name, then exit the school. Labels may need to be provided for parents to write their child’s name and to stick onto their child’s lunch. Students should only pick up their lunch at designated times in order to avoid congestion near the main doors.

Breakfast Programs

(Please refer to Appendix J - Visitor Restrictions)

Schools are encouraged to continue offering breakfast programs. Schools will need to provide breakfast program foods/snacks in individual containers to limit the number of contacts made each day. Individual containers can be assembled by volunteer staff member(s) and dropped off at classrooms in order to avoid student line ups and congestion in the hallways. If required, volunteers can be used to purchase and drop off the breakfast program food items.

Fountains/Water Refilling Stations

Fountains will be closed throughout the day. Students will bring their own personal filled reusable water bottle. At water refilling stations, older students (gr. 4 - 8) will use provided wipes from their classrooms to wipe touch-points. For younger students (K-3), times to refill water bottles as a class with teacher guidance to wipe touch-points should be scheduled during the day.

Assemblies

In-person assemblies will not be allowed; however, virtual prayer celebrations and gatherings are encouraged as conducted through a secure YouTube live stream channel or streamed through pre-recorded ceremonies. Please reach out to helpdesk@bgcdsb.org for support in creating virtual assemblies.

Students who fall ill During the School Day

(Please refer to Appendix C - Management of Students with Possible COVID19)

Teachers will report any student illness to the school administrator asap and brought to a predetermined isolation room/area. Parent/Guardian will be contacted to pick up their child. Parent/Guardian will wait outside of the school at the front doors and a staff member will walk the ill student to the parent. School staff will advise the parent to seek testing; and not to return to school until determined it's NOT COVID19 and is symptom-free for at least 24 hours. Parents will provide updated reports of the child’s illness, especially if the symptoms are similar to COVID19. Schools will contact the Grey-Bruce Public Health office if a student is diagnosed with COVID19.

Departure of Students - Walkers/Parent Drop-off

Students who walk home or are picked up by a parent will exit through their designated doors by cohort/classroom. and shall engage in hand hygiene prior to leaving the school. This group of students may be dismissed before the bus students are dismissed in order to limit congestion in the hallways if schedules allow. Parents will wait on the school yard or near their parked car. They will not be allowed to enter the school to pick up their child. Clear communication with parents as to the time of pickup will be necessary.

Departure of Students - Bus

Students will exit through their designated doors by cohort/classroom and board their designated bus. All departing students shall engage in hand hygiene prior to leaving the school. Students will sit in their designated seat at all times.

Departure of Students - After School programs

Students will exit the school through their assigned outside doors and enter the child care program through its designated door. Students will not travel through the school to enter the child care program. This group of students should be the last group to leave the classroom.

Picking up a Child During the School Day

Parents will contact the office administrator by telephone when they arrive at the school. The parent will wait at the front door. and must be physically distancing at all times. A staff member will escort the child to the parent. Parents will not be permitted to enter the school at this time. If a parent is required to enter the school to pick up their child, he/she must sanitize hands and wear a face mask at all times while in the school.

First Day of School Procedures

In most elementary schools, parents accompany their child on the first day of school. Schools must create a plan to welcome parents and students back to school so that social distancing can occur. Parents can wait outside with their child as long as they are adhering to the guidelines expected i.e. six feet apart, wearing of masks, staying within family bubble. Parents will not be allowed to enter the school.

Back to School/Meet the Teacher Nights

Many elementary schools host a parent night in September. Schools will need to adhere to government regulations in terms of large group gatherings e.g. 50 people inside, 100 people outside. Further consult with Public Health will need to occur if schools wish to proceed with the event; this may have to be staggered over several evenings or over a period of several hours if schools cannot adhere to public health recommendations for gathering in large groups. If the recommendations cannot be followed, the parent night will have to be cancelled or postponed to another date later in the school year.

Music

Most overall expectations for the Music strand can be met without the use of instruments in both the elementary and secondary Arts curriculum. A variety of delivery options may be considered to meet the music curriculum’s overall expectations, which could include fully distanced learning, in-person teaching and instruction with lower-risk creative performance opportunities (e.g., in-school instruction in larger spaces, restricting the type of instruments in a group setting) or in-person teaching and instruction with no live performance.

Refer to the Ontario Music Educators’ Association resource for suggestions on teaching music in line with current public health recommendations.

Health and Physical Education

In elementary and applicable secondary Health and Physical Education courses, efforts should be made to address the overall expectations of the Active Living and Movement Competence strands outside, whenever possible. Gymnasiums should only be used where physical distancing measures can be followed. Capacity in change rooms should be limited. Teachers should plan physical activities that support physical distancing while also limiting the use of shared equipment. Shared equipment should be disinfected regularly and students should be encouraged to practice proper hand hygiene before and after participating in physical activity and equipment use.

Refer to Physical & Health Education (PHE) Canada’s resource or the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (Ophea) website for suggestions on teaching physical education in line with current public health

Field Trips

To align with physical distancing, schools should not plan field trips and activities requiring group transportation at this time, until public health data suggests otherwise.

Clubs and Sports

Schools can offer clubs and organized sports if physical distancing is possible and equipment and spaces are cleaned and disinfected between each use.

Staff Meetings

Try to host virtual staff meetings,

If unable to host virtual, ensure physical distancing, masking when entering and exiting the room (mask can be removed when seated). A seating plan is required for all who attended the meeting for contact tracing as well as attendance and length of the meeting.

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