Elementary and secondary school students in London and the surrounding area will be faced with many significant changes as they return to the classrooms in September amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board announced plans for students' return to school at separate meetings on Wednesday.
For both school boards, elementary students will return to school during normal hours, five days per week. However, in an effort to reduce unnecessary contact, students will be grouped together in cohorts for the full day. Lunchtimes and recesses will also be staggered to avoid larger groupings of students.
Records of student contacts between each other and teachers will be documented as well.
School life will be even more different for secondary school students with a learning model that combines in-person and remote learning.
Schedules will be timetabled using a “quadmestered” approach, which will have students take two courses at a time for a 10 week period. The students will then alternate to their next two courses for another 10-week period to complete the semester. The start and end times for the day will remain the same, but periods will be extended from 75 minutes to 120 minutes.
High school students will also be split into two groups at each secondary school -- Cohort A and Cohort B -- and each group will be limited to 15 students.
The Catholic and public boards are also requiring students in Grades 4-12 to wear a mask indoors. Masks will be encouraged but not mandatory for students in Kindergarten to Grade 3.
All students will be continually reminded to practice physical distancing, proper handwashing, and respiratory etiquette. Clear markers will also be present at all schools to support these practices.
The Thames Valley board is asking parents and guardians with students in elementary or secondary school to complete an online form to inform the board of whether or not their children will be returning to school in September. The deadline to complete the form on the board's website is August 18.
Elementary and secondary school students will return to classes on September 8.
