Back to School during the pandemic ...a discussion thread

[quandrea]

I would tho zero experience but with DS8 having needs I don’t want to lose any although they can’t say what they are supports they may put in place.
gius I just don’t know I’m ready to teach two at home but being told the known evil is better than the unknown as teachers go how can I put him in class knowing he will be miserable and so will I and he will learn nothing all year..

You speak about making strides with at home learning. I’d focus on that and go forward from there. Good luck. Let me know if I can help at all!

 

[hdrolfe]

My oldest sons bestfriends mom is one of our schools breakfast club volunteers. I doubt they will be able to do the traditional hot breakfasts every morning in the gym but I am wondering if maybe they can hand out some sort of bagged packaged breakfast items to the kids that need them? I will have to get in touch with the school when it opens and find out if donations or gift cards for this will be accepted. I volunteered to help the kids in my youngest sons class last year with home reading. Every week I got to go to his class and listen to kids read levelled books to me. I will really miss doing that this year as I think they will be (understandably) limiting volunteers to the school.

No volunteers in our schools. They said breakfast programs will still run but no idea how that will work or what it will look like.

My sons school had “nutrition bowls” in every classroom that was filled with different healthy foods. The kids were told they could go and grab something from it if they were running late and didn’t have breakfast, or if they were extra hungry and didn’t have enough for lunch. It helped take the stigma away from kids asking for food if they didn’t have enough. Something like that could be an idea. Maybe with those little boxes of cereal, fruit cups or things like that.

My son's classes have had this as well, but we've been told it won't be happening this year.

Yeah im not feeling optimistic about this .. DD14 starting high school full size classes , capacity buses but in quads.so exposed to 40- 60 kids And whoever they associate with and then the bus .
Ds6 that seems Like a lot of screen time .
DS8 ASD was hoping he’d get in 3/4 split he didn’t 2:3 classes only Recommending masks but same teacher he was not a good fit with at all last year. He made such academic strides last year at home
Apparently the 3/4 teacher is less of a fit I was told. Take the known evil . I can’t be texted every day with he’s doing this or doing that or .. I wanted to beat my head off the wall last year. Do I want that stress level as a HCP in a pandemic ? But how do I monitor two littles online for 4 hours a day . I get the importance of love learning but if families have 1 laptop, or what if wanted to supplement with learning pods ? I almost would prefer taped classes at least part of that, then I could sit with one at a time ..
I don’t know about work, I currently work 8-2, I will be stepping out if my comfort bubble
And looking for an evening and weekend job I guess ..
This sucks Guys

I am expecting to get many phone calls about my son, he has ADHD and sitting for that long is going to be hard. I pray he gets a teacher he likes, I have the names of the ones who will be teaching his grade, 1 is new to the school and the other one, I am not sure if he knows who she is. Plus there will be a French teacher as well, not sure who that is yet. The only benefit is that his nemesis is going to be in the other class, they will have to split the French Immersion from the French Core kids, normally they mix them and the immersion kids go to one class and the other kids to another for one block. But they can't mix them like that now. My son's in immersion and the other boy is not... so phew! But I'm not clear on if they will be allowed to mix at Recess (I hope not).

You make a good point about taped classes. The synchronous learning was a deal breaker for dd. We are homeschooling for her last year. She loves online learning—has used it extensively since grade seven. The beauty of online studies is the freedom to do it where and when you want. The synchronous learning kills one of the main benefits of online studies.

I talked about this with my son as well, he was kind of wanting to do the online if he was allowed to do the work and if it didn't take him 5 hours then when he's done, he could be done. But once he heard the synchronous part he was "nope". So... my choice at the moment is to send him and see how it goes, but at the first sign of trouble I will be pulling him out.

 

[pigletto]

My oldest sons bestfriends mom is one of our schools breakfast club volunteers. I doubt they will be able to do the traditional hot breakfasts every morning in the gym but I am wondering if maybe they can hand out some sort of bagged packaged breakfast items to the kids that need them? I will have to get in touch with the school when it opens and find out if donations or gift cards for this will be accepted. I volunteered to help the kids in my youngest sons class last year with home reading. Every week I got to go to his class and listen to kids read levelled books to me. I will really miss doing that this year as I think they will be (understandably) limiting volunteers to the school.

Our board notice did indicate the pre packaged items would be given out for those who need or want breakfast club.

 

[uandmfan]

Breakfast club will continue at our school and there will be food for lunch.

No parents are allowed on property without special permission. This means we lose all parent volunteers. that's a huge blow to the school. I'm Chair of our school Council. it will be a really tough year in a lot of ways. I think that we can still do a lot to help teachers and kids but it sure won't be normal. And it will be next to impossible to raise funds!!

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Well, well. NS government changed their tune. Grades 4-12 = mandatory masks.

Students will be required to wear a masks inside schools except if they are seated at their desks while two metres apart ad facing in the same direction. They must also be worn in the hallways and other common areas if two metres cannot be maintained.

Kinda still not good and most kids will likely take them off at their desks. But if we cannot have inside groups of 50 or more inside without masks, why do they get to remove them in the classroom. I mean, IT'S THE SAME THING!

There is no way the classrooms will be able to space out the desks, so masks it is!

 

[bababear_50]

Breakfast club will continue at our school and there will be food for lunch.

No parents are allowed on property without special permission. This means we lose all parent volunteers. that's a huge blow to the school. I'm Chair of our school Council. it will be a really tough year in a lot of ways. I think that we can still do a lot to help teachers and kids but it sure won't be normal. And it will be next to impossible to raise funds!!

Online school fundraiser orders
-Family Friday (or any day) Pizza Night --time to talk to those pizza companies
-Potted Poinsettias for christmas--time to talk to those Nursery companies
-Christmas wreaths/planters--time to talk to the Nursery companies.
-Cookie Mixes--
This year is the year for Parents to get creative..
Hugs
Mel

Have a look here
https://doublethedonation.com/tips/fundraising-ideas-for-schools/

 

[Pumpkin1172]

I just went online to see what was happening in our district ( northern Alberta ) as all I could hear was crickets...nothing NO emails, no mail, no phone calls....nothing

Of course when I go online...there is some information. They are gathering information to see if there is interest in having online schooling...but have stated that it would be multi grade classrooms.

Looks like we have staggered re-entry. They are not guaranteeing buses for all the students needing buses due to limiting capacity. They will have staggered start times for classes, lunches, and end of day. They will keep the kids in small pods to limit their exposure to all the students. Hand sanitizer when they come into the school, upon entering classrooms etc. No microwaves ( which will bum out Ds, as he was that kid who would take his favorite left overs to school all the time ) There is no information about the cafeteria yet, but many of the kids go off campass to the fast food places that smartly opened up in the area.

They are also asking for the kids to come with their own laptop or cromebook. As well as masks are mandatory for gr 4- 12. Which was not a problem for Ds already as we had talked about it, and we had both agreed that for the safety of everyone around him, He would wear one whether it was mandatory or not. He does not like the fabric ones, so I have stocked up on the disposable ones for him to wear. If he has to wear a mask, the least I can do is make sure that his sensory issues are addressed. I will keep trying to find a reusable one that he likes. Our province is giving each student 2 reusable masks to keep and use.

I guess we will see how this all plays out, and how it looks once everything is starting. This is a fluid situation, for all of us. We have been very lucky so far in our community, we have not had many cases, although now we seem to have more active cases again We have only had 40 cases...and only 9 are active now the last I heard. I hope that with school starting we don't see a big spike. Time will tell.

There will be another release on Aug 24 with more information about school re-entry. Like I said...it is a fluid situation. There is nothing saying that after a month of classes that they will say no more classes in the classroom. I just hope that they are working on a plan B for when this happens. AND NOT what was presented to us in the spring. They have had time to prepare and come with a better system. I was expected to come up and execute different work methods to keep myself, co-workers, and visitors/client safe while they were in our building. I expect the same from them, and our school board

 

[uandmfan]

Online school fundraiser orders
-Family Friday (or any day) Pizza Night --time to talk to those pizza companies
-Potted Poinsettias for christmas--time to talk to those Nursery companies
-Christmas wreaths/planters--time to talk to the Nursery companies.
-Cookie Mixes--
This year is the year for Parents to get creative..
Hugs
Mel

Have a look here
https://doublethedonation.com/tips/fundraising-ideas-for-schools/

Thanks!! I have talked to our usual pizza provider and he will donate a certain amount (probably $1 or $2) per pizza if someone orders and says they are from our school. he's a small business and was really hurt by the pandemic. I think he's an amazing supporter of the school and hopefully this will also bring in some business for him.

Christmas is touchy at our school but the ideas are great!! Thank you!!

What a year this will be

 

[DiaryofaDisneyKid]

Our board notice did indicate the pre packaged items would be given out for those who need or want breakfast club.

Great I hope so! My 3 kiddos have been keeping me busy and I haven't had time to read everything yet!

 

[damo]

Thanks!! I have talked to our usual pizza provider and he will donate a certain amount (probably $1 or $2) per pizza if someone orders and says they are from our school. he's a small business and was really hurt by the pandemic. I think he's an amazing supporter of the school and hopefully this will also bring in some business for him.

Christmas is touchy at our school but the ideas are great!! Thank you!!

What a year this will be

One of our best fundraisers when I was school chair was a cookbook. Each kid brings in a favourite recipe and you compile them into a cookbook including the donator's name. It is done completely away from the school and made a lot of money. We still use ours years and years later. We still got requests for extra cookbooks for at least 10 years after we made them.

 

[DiaryofaDisneyKid]

My sons school had “nutrition bowls” in every classroom that was filled with different healthy foods. The kids were told they could go and grab something from it if they were running late and didn’t have breakfast, or if they were extra hungry and didn’t have enough for lunch. It helped take the stigma away from kids asking for food if they didn’t have enough. Something like that could be an idea. Maybe with those little boxes of cereal, fruit cups or things like that.

One of my sons teachers did this in the past and I thought it was such a great idea! My DD had to walk by the gym in the morning after first bell to get to her classroom and she said lots of kids seem to be coming out. I hope they will do something because I know if I'm hungry I can't think clearly!

 

[Silvermist999]

Thanks!! I have talked to our usual pizza provider and he will donate a certain amount (probably $1 or $2) per pizza if someone orders and says they are from our school. he's a small business and was really hurt by the pandemic. I think he's an amazing supporter of the school and hopefully this will also bring in some business for him.

Christmas is touchy at our school but the ideas are great!! Thank you!!

What a year this will be

It would be a great time to reach out to local(small) business owners to see if they want to partner up for fundraising, even with raffle prizes.
Our school did fundraising for the grade 8 Grad trip with our local COBS Bread, perfect timing for Xmas gifts with their bread basket vouchers, and also gift certificates for a local nut free cupcake bakery. For raffle prizes, reach out to local realtors and other small business for prize donations or contributions. I don’t think it will be an issue involving parent volunteers, who can contact these businesses for their help. They don’t need to be physically inside the school to participate.

 

[star72232]

For those who are self employed or work for large national corporations, have you thought of moving away to rural towns where there are almost no cases and class sizes are much smaller? It’s a possibility to rent an apartment for one year and bring the entire family there for a safer environment? I guess some people in GTA must have thought about that. Then in one year the vaccine would be out (hopefully) so they move back to GTA?!

I’m self employed, but don’t work from home. In fact, I started a 5 year lease the beginning of March. Moving away isn’t an option. My job is not only unable to be done remotely, it also requires close contact (I’m a chiropractor). I’ve made my office as safe as possible (I have quite the cleaning routine!), and thankfully there aren’t a large number of cases in my area (Waterloo region).

 

[Donald - my hero]

Just be careful asking for donations from small businesses please, there's a lot of treading water happening for everyone. While businesses were closed they still had to pay rent, utilities, taxes, any bills that came due for product they had already received and if they still had staff working those salaries had to be paid as well. Meanwhile they had no income and those who qualified for the wage subsidy didn't see the first payment until mid-may which meant 2 rent cycles, multiple pay-periods passed. Personal gripe here that's more important right now, please don't ask for something from a store you've never been to before.

I'm not sure how it works exactly but I know that Dominos is very involved with local fundraising, they are connected to Sick Kids once a year.

 

[MoreTravels]

Our kid school has published different plans, among those include these...

Outdoor Classrooms
Covered outdoor learning spaces have been created on our fields so that the teachers can take their classes outside to learn as frequently as possible, per recommendations from both the Ministry of Education and the report from SickKids Hospital have strongly encouraged all schools to take students outside to learn as frequently as possible. Teachers will be able to book these learning spaces throughout the year.

Arrival
Parents are not permitted to come into the building for pick up and drop off their kids. Kindergarten to Grade 6 teachers will walk their students to the exit door to meet their parents outside.


I thank the schools for trying to do something... This is a unknown territory so there is no "right answer". We need to support our teachers and school kids so they can feel confident moving forward.

 

[mshanson3121]

Just in case there was any question that New Brunswick is run by incompetent idiots...

They have decided to go ahead with an election this fall, AND, they announced today that because of the election, they will no longer be providing the scheduled twice-weekly updates on the return to school plans.

They said, "Department staff will provide updates regarding various topics [sometime] over the next few weeks, dates to be determined."


Um... Yeah, okay. After all, who really needs to know what the return to school plans and requirements are?

And they wonder why people refuse to move here, and keep fleeing the province for other parts of Canada.

 

[mort1331]

Just in case there was any question that New Brunswick is run by incompetent idiots...

They have decided to go ahead with an election this fall, AND, they announced today that because of the election, they will no longer be providing the scheduled twice-weekly updates on the return to school plans.

They said, "Department staff will provide updates regarding various topics [sometime] over the next few weeks, dates to be determined."


Um... Yeah, okay. After all, who really needs to know what the return to school plans and requirements are?

And they wonder why people refuse to move here, and keep fleeing the province for other parts of Canada.

Move out?? Hook me up im looking to move to there..or NS

 

[MamaLema]

So today I got an email from my son’s high school to confirm his registration for Sept.
The link doesn’t work, I tried to reply but it’s undeliverable and no one answered the school phone.
Not sure how to make sure my son goes to 12th Grade.

 

[FigmentSpark]

So today I got an email from my son’s high school to confirm his registration for Sept.
The link doesn’t work, I tried to reply but it’s undeliverable and no one answered the school phone.
Not sure how to make sure my son goes to 12th Grade.

Have you checked on the school website? Actually, isn't there a link in the email? Crazy stuff. Has your board had their meetings put on youtube? If so, you might want to see what plans they are making.

Our board has asked what we are doing, with minimal information. We are told there are 2 cohorts of 15 (HS, not Elementary) and they'd be in school "at least 50%" of the time and trading days in and out of school. The trouble is, if you actually listen to the many hours of the board meeting, you find out (and that's the only way to find out, mind you) that they will only be in class in the mornings of their in-school days, but the board is counting synchronous learning in the afternoon (ie: zoom meeting of the class) as "in school" time.

Also, the in-person teacher for Cohort A on M-W will also be the same teacher for in-person Cohort B on T-F. So if a kid in cohort A gets sick and gives it to the teacher, the teacher will then pass it to cohort B. I understand if we're talking about a class where there is only one teacher (foods, shops, art, music), but math, English, history, French? Why wouldn't you separate those cohorts completely? My understanding is that same teacher will also teach the fully remote Cohort C, as well, so 30 students plus the synchronous cohort C remote students. That's a big class.

Also, quadmesters and no finals. It would have been nice to see a summary of the changes posted, instead of just asking parents to choose which type of learning they want. Oh, and the switching from remote to in-class or vice versa can be done "in a timely manner", which really means after Thanksgiving, at Xmas break, or at quadmester end. So, not timely at all, but they haven't put that detail out on the website anywhere. And no one's discussed the second half of the year, yet.

They also mentioned that they're getting a lot of teacher requests for early parental leave (for pregnancy) and other leaves, so they might have a teacher shortage.

 

[MamaLema]

Have you checked on the school website? Actually, isn't there a link in the email?

They also mentioned that they're getting a lot of teacher requests for early parental leave (for pregnancy) and other leaves, so they might have a teacher shortage.

Yup, the link they sent doesn’t work.

Another problem is many lunchroom supervisors are quitting. It’s all a big mess, really.