May 28, 2020
Dear Families,
Thank you for participating in the survey that was sent to families on Thursday, May 21st. We appreciate you taking the time to convey your intentions for your child(ren) regarding the re-opening of schools beginning June 1. We are currently in the process of ensuring that necessary preparations have been addressed to ensure a safe return for students and staff next week. If you have indicated in the survey that your child won’t be returning to school and your circumstances change, please contact me directly before sending your child to school. As well, for those not returning, please contact your teacher by email regarding the pick up of school materials if you haven’t already done so.
The safety of students and staff remains our number one priority, and measures will be in place to meet the requirements of provincial health and safety guidelines for schools. To accommodate these health and safety measures, including physical distancing, classes will be limited to a small number of students attending at any one time.
We will follow our “usual” day structure, 8:55 a.m. start and 2:48 pm dismissal, with students being assigned to a specific cohort to accommodate the smaller number of students in attendance at any one time (emails from teachers should arrive today regarding cohorts & days). Most students will attend school according to their assigned cohort. Children of Essential Service Workers and students with disabilities/diverse abilities have the opportunity to attend school up to 5 days per week, upon request by parents or guardians.
As in-person attendance is optional, in-school instruction will supplement remote learning which will continue until the end of this school year. Students who do not attend in class will continue to be provided with remote learning opportunities, however, as I’m sure you understand, remote learning will be reduced with the addition of in-class learning.
The general daily schedule for June is below. Students in Kindergarten to Grade 5 will attend one of two cohorts, two days per week and students in grades 6 and 7 will attend one of two cohorts, one day per week. Wednesdays are designated remote learning days and schools will not have in-person instruction for any students with the exception of students of Essential Service Workers and students with disabilities/diverse abilities whose families have requested this support.
ENTRY & EXIT
Students should arrive no earlier than 8:40 a.m. and are expected to enter and exit the building through their classroom outside door only, under the supervision of the teacher. We need to keep physical distancing in mind, and there will be markings outside each classroom to help students with this.
Students being dropped off will need to be dropped off in the EAST parking lot where Mr. Gurney will greet you with a hello, do a quick verbal health check, then direct students to their outside classroom doors. If parking, please do so on the street and not in the staff parking lot on either side of the school.
Before entering, teachers will conduct a verbal health check with each child one at a time to ensure students are not displaying any symptoms indicating sickness. They will then enter the classroom, wash their hands, and sit in their designated area with their backpack and jacket (coatrooms will not be used). Parents of primary students are to stay with their children until invited into the classroom. Parents are not to enter the school.
Students will be dismissed one at a time at their outside classroom door. Family members, please ensure you are abiding by the 2-meter distance and are far enough away from the doorway to allow students to move freely.
MATERIALS
Primary students will have materials provided for them. Please send only essential items such as a lunch kit, coat, and water bottle. No toys will be allowed.
Intermediate students will be asked to bring their own supplies (pencil/pen, paper, pencil sharpener, glue, scissors, pencil crayons, eBook or book, lunch, and jacket) unless they are still at school. It would also be VERY helpful if intermediate students brought their devices (laptops, etc…) to continue some of their online learning. Items will be secured in classrooms when classes are outside, etc… Students are not to bring their own sports equipment to the school.
WASHROOM AND WATER BREAKS
Students will be having regularly scheduled bathroom breaks to avoid congestion at school washrooms. Each classroom will also have a designated washroom to use throughout the day. There will be strict policies around students using the bathroom during the day to help students stay safe and healthy at school, with clear signage and stickers to promote physical distancing.
All water fountains in the school are closed and taped off, therefore each child needs to bring enough water for the day as they will not be able to fill them during the day.
STAGGERED RECESS & LUNCH
For Primary students, recess will be from 10:35 – 10:50 a.m. (as usual). They will eat their lunch in the classrooms from 12:00 – 12:20 and head outside from 12:20 – 12:40.
Intermediate students will have recess outside from 10:15 – 10:30 a.m. and lunch outside from 11:55 – 12:15. They will eat their lunch inside their classroom from 12:20 – 12:40.
While outside, students will be expected to limit the number of friends they are grouped with and continue to remain 2 meters apart. Only the back portion of the school will be open to students (no students out front or on the sides during recess and lunch in June). It would be very helpful if families discussed ideas of what students can do during these outside unstructured times, as this will be quite a change from the norm.
PLEASE PREPARE YOUR CHILDREN
We are hoping that all families returning next week can speak to their children (young and old) about how things will look and feel different for this partial reopening. Students will not be “interacting” in the same ways as before, and it would be helpful for families to prepare students and answer their questions the best they can.
We are very excited to see students returning, even in this limited capacity, and are grateful for your partnership and patience as we move into this next phase.
Further information can be found here – Elementary Letter with translation
Should you have further questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out by email at kurt.gurney@burnabyschools.ca
Kurt Gurney
Principal
Forest Grove Elementary
8525 Forest Grove Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 4H5
W: 604-296-9026 C: 604-760-5967
burnabyschools.ca | @burnabyschools
