Schools will look different for many students in Castlegar next week as they return to in-person classes in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to an online document sent out by School District 20, parents will have the option of sending kindergarten to Grade 5 students to school two days a week and Grade 6-12 students once a week.
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According to health protocols laid out by the B.C. Ministry of Education, classes for kindergarten to Grade 5 students will be filled to 50 per cent of normal levels and classes for Grade 6-12 students will be filled to 20 per cent of normal levels.
According to the district, B.C.’s provincial health officer has indicated that most children and youth are not at a high risk of contracting COVID-19. The district said less than one per cent of children and youth have tested positive for the virus.
To help mitigate the risk of COVID-19, the district said it will be staggering pick-up and drop-off, recess and lunch times while students are at school.
Students and staff will also be required to wash their hands before they enter school and mounted hand sanitizer dispensers are being installed throughout schools and in all portable classrooms.
The district said it will try its best to let siblings of different age attend school on the same day and let them have the same teachers they had before the pandemic.
Students haven’t been able to attend in-person classes since mid-March after they were temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19.
It’s not mandatory to send your children to school next week.
For more information on how students will be returning to classes, you can visit SD 20’s website.
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