The Scoop on School Opening

Physical Distancing

As you can appreciate, it will be near impossible for our learners and staff to maintain the recommended one or two metre physical distancing in our classrooms. We are committed to physical distancing “to the extent possible” as outlined in the school opening plan.

Staff

A complete directory of our staff has been posted to our school’s website, www.beachycove.ca, along with their contact information.

Staff assigned to homerooms will be in touch with you via e-mail on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.  This will give your child(ren) some idea as to where to go on the first day as they come to school.  We will have plenty of staff around on the first day to direct our learners to their classrooms for those who forget or who are unfamiliar with our building.

For our grade three learners, please note that their classrooms have been relocated to the elementary corridor (turn right as you come in through the main entrance; turn left if they arrive via school bus). 

Kindergarten families will receive an email today as we have to advise on the specific times for kindergarten classes to come to school on the first day.  This schedule is detailed in a different section of this document.

Covid-19 Screening

Prior to coming to school each day, families are required to screen their children for symptoms of COVID-19.  The screening tool can be found at: 

https://www.811healthline.ca/covid-19-self-assessment/

School Schedule

Our classes will begin at 8:30am on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 for all learners in grades one through four.  Our kindergarten learners will operate on a different schedule for the first day; please see the appropriate section for first day procedures for kindergarten.

Our doors open at 8:10am at which point teacher supervision begins.

For those families who will drop off their child(ren) on the first day (and subsequent days), please use the “Kiss n’ Ride” lane.  As you can appreciate, we have neither the time nor space in our lot for families to park and get photos – we suggest that “first day” photos be captured at home prior to coming to school.  Most of our parking lot will be taken up with staff parking and we kindly ask that you respect this by using the “Kiss n’ Ride” lane.

Parents and family members are not permitted in our school for the foreseeable future.

School Schedule

8:10am Doors open and teacher supervision begins;

8:30am Morning classes begin;

10:00am Recess begins;

10:15am Recess ends;

11:45am Lunch begins;

12:40pm Lunch ends;

12:40pm Afternoon classes begin; and,

2:40pm Classes end for the day.

Outside Play

Because we are expected to keep cohorts together (i.e., each homeroom), it will be impossible for our classes to go outside at lunchtime.

Homeroom teachers will be encouraged to bring their classes outside for at least one period per day to enjoy some fresh air (and hopefully sunshine).

Kindergarten

We are excited to welcome our newest learners and their families to our learning community, albeit under different circumstances than what everyone was dreaming of.

We will welcome our kindergarten learners and ONE family member at our main door according to the following schedule:

9:00am-9:20am Sara Ropson’s class;

9:20am-9:40am Lori Dicker’s class;

9:40am-10:00am Marie McGrath’s class;

10:15am-10:35am Sara Toope’s class;

10:35am-10:55am Terrilynn Morris’s class; and, 

10:55am-11:15am Mavis O’Keefe’s class.

As you gather on the walkway coming up to our main entrance, please respect physical distancing.  And, to avoid congestion in our corridor, you will exit the primary corridor where the classrooms are located, through the exit at the very end of the corridor.

As parking spaces are at a premium, please don’t show up on our parking lot too far in advance of your scheduled time.

We’re experienced enough to know that there will be some families who will want two adults or family members in attendance; however, we kindly ask that you don’t place us in the position of having to deny you entry to the school based on the foregoing.

Masks

While we encourage all of our learners to wear their masks all of the time while at school and on the bus, we realize that this might not be feasible; however, the following rules will apply:

  • All adults in the building will be required to wear masks while in the common areas of the school (i.e., corridors, staffroom, office, washrooms, etc.);
  • All of our learners who ride the bus to school must wear a mask while riding the bus and keep it on until they arrive at their classrooms; and, 
  • Based on the current low prevalence of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador, the province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has indicated K-6 students do not need to wear a mask while seated in classrooms, although students and staff may choose to wear them at their own discretion. Masks will be required on school buses for all riders. K-6 students who arrive by bus must wear their mask until they are seated in their classroom, at which point it can be removed, stored and hand hygiene completed. Masks are not required to be worn by K-6 students in common areas during the school day. K-6 students will also be required to put their masks on again, in their classrooms, at the end of the day prior to making their way to the bus. Mask wearing will not be required of K-6 students who do not take the bus. 

Sick Learners

If we observe your child(ren) falling ill at school, we will contact you to request that you come to the school to pick them up immediately or as soon as practically possible.  Sick learners will be placed in a supervised isolation area and will be required to wear a mask until they are picked up.  For those learners who exhibit Covid-19 symptoms, medical clearance will be required before they can return to the school.

You should also note that we can neither confirm nor deny any reports or rumors about who may be ill at school or at home with Covid-19 or Covid-19 like symptoms.

Dropping off Lunches or Other Items

As you well know, young children often leave stuff at home and call upon their families to have it brought to the school.  Ordinarily, this isn’t an issue for us; however, during these times, we have to establish a procedure that enables us to safely handle this aspect of schooling.

When you are called upon to drop off a lunch or other item to your child at the school, please ring the doorbell to the left of the main entrance. Once we determine who you are and why you’re here, we will unlock the door and allow you to place the items on a table inside the main door.  There will be a table there along with a pen and a supply of post-it notes.  Please record your child’s name on a post-it note and affix it to the item being dropped off and we will ensure that it is delivered promptly.

Bussing

Please look for a separate e-mail from the school with respect to bussing arrangements for your child(ren).  We understand that extra capacity may be added in the weeks ahead but until that happens, bus capacity will be limited to 46 learners.

Courtesy seats and stops have been eliminated for the foreseeable future.

Seats will be assigned and adherence will be strictly enforced.

All learners who ride our school busses will be expected to physically distance while waiting at their bus stops and while boarding and exiting busses.

Afternoon Pick-up

As parents/family members are no longer permitted inside of our school, we have to arrange an alternate way to have your child(ren) picked up at 2:40pm each afternoon.  To that end, when you arrive at school to pick up your child(ren) please group yourselves by grade level on the grass in front of our school.

If you are looking at our school, the area to the left of the main walkway should be for parents/family members of our learners in kindergarten, grades one and two (English).

Parents/family members of our learners in grade two (Early French Immersion) grades three and four should cluster to the right of the main walkway, in order from left to right.  

As always, please ensure physical distancing.

Our teachers will escort your child(ren) directly to you at your designated area.

Movement in School

We encourage everyone to follow the directional arrows on the floor and walk on the right hand side all of the time.

Cafeteria Service

Regular food service will resume on September 21, 2020.  Further details will be provided as we get closer to that date.

All of our learners will eat their lunches at their desks in their classrooms.  You may wish to pack a tea towel with your child(ren)’s lunches that can be used as a placemat.

Handwashing and/or the use of hand sanitizer will be expected prior to and after eating.

Curriculum/Meet-the-Teacher Night

Our annual curriculum/meet-the-teacher night will not go ahead.  Our teachers will instead provide paper or electronic communication about curriculum and classroom procedures.

Lockers/Coat Hooks/Shoe Racks

For the time being, we will not use lockers or our coat/shoe racks.  Instead, our learners will go directly to their classrooms and hang their jackets on the backs of their chairs.  Once we are up and running, we will be in a better position to determine how we can safely use these lockers and racks.

We have historically asked our learners to change into a pair of indoor footwear once they arrive at their classrooms; however, in light of our times, we are not requiring that this year.  Our learners can wear the same shoes throughout the day as they wear to school in the morning.  

When the snow begins to fly (hopefully much later), we will revisit this and inform you of our policy when it changes.

Toys

As classroom toys and other materials will have a very limited availability for the foreseeable future, we are encouraging our learners to bring along a toy from home to play with at recess and lunchtime when they are finished eating.  These toys should be small enough to fit into a ziploc bag.  And, as you might appreciate, these toys should not be expensive ones as they often get broken or go missing.

The sharing of toys will be discouraged.  We kindly ask that you reinforce this message at home, too.

Water Bottles

We encourage our learners to bring a filled water bottle from home each day.  They can be refilled at the water fountains but getting a drink from the water fountain is strictly prohibited.

Breakfast Club

Our breakfast club will continue to operate but it will be vastly different.  They will arrange to have individually pre-packaged food items available in classrooms for our learners to avail of when they arrive at school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays as per past practice.  Beverages will not be provided.

Recycling

All in-school recycling efforts will be discontinued for the time being.  Our learners will be encouraged to take home any recyclable beverage containers for your home recycling efforts.

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