Keeping classes separate, coming and going only at designated times and places and changing or cancelling some services altogether - the first day of school in Flin Flon this year is going to be very different.
The Flin Flon School Division (FFSD) created a wide-reaching plan based on provincial restrictions earlier in August, but left some responsibilities including creating cohorts up to the division’s four schools. Most of the schools have released at least partial plans for how they will carry out classes once school is back in session Sept. 8.
The FFSD will host a virtual town hall to discuss the plan Sept. 3. A link to the meeting can be found on the division’s website and social media pages.
Hapnot Collegiate released its own school plan August 28, posting a 10 page document online detailing the school’s own response. The plan, as of August 31, is currently the most extensive plan released by a Flin Flon area school.
The school will group students together in grade-based cohorts, with each using a different entrance and exit to the school and having their own classrooms, restrooms and other amenities while not being allowed to cross over into other cohorts. Students will not be able to use lockers due to provincial rules. Signage will be posted in all locations, pointing students to where they should and shouldn’t go.
School slots will be changed for the year, with slot one going from 8:45 a.m.-9:50 a.m., slot two from 9:53 a.m.-10:58 a.m. and slot three from 11:01 a.m.-12:06 p.m. Lunch will take place from 12:06 p.m.-1:10 p.m. Following that, slot four will go from 1:10 p.m.-2:05 p.m. and slot five will continue from 2:08 p.m.-3:13 p.m. All breaks between classes have been cut to three minutes, causing a number of odd, non-round number class times.
On the first day of school, all students will have to enter through one of five separate entrances and exits. Handwashing and sanitizing will be mandatory on entry and students will not be allowed to gather in the hallways or common areas.
Grade 9 students will start their high school experience by using the school’s east doors at the back of the school, near the Hapnot band room and computer labs. Students will be restricted to using the washrooms opposite the art room and will eat their lunch in the home ec lab.
Grade 10s will use the school’s north doors near the basketball courts. Lunch will be eaten by students in room 103, while the washrooms in the basement change rooms will be the ones used.
For Grade 11 students, the main doors will be the primary entrance and exit. After coming inside, the pupils will turn left, go down the hallway past the school library, go up the stairs to the top floor and use classrooms 310-316. Room 312 will become the lunch room, while the bathrooms in use will be the ones next to room 313.
Grade 12 kids will come in using the shipping doors at the cafeteria, then head upstairs via the main staircase to the science classroom area. The main floor bathrooms near the gym will be the ones used by this group, who will also be the only group to eat their lunch in the school’s cafeteria.
Life Skills students will have their own set of rules, coming in using the rifle range doors on the basement level on the school’s west side. The bathroom in the Life Skills area will be the one used, with lunch being eaten in the Life Skills classroom.
Inside the school, classes will be configured for social distancing of two metres. All Hapnot students, staff and visitors must screen for symptoms before coming inside and anyone with possible COVID-19 symptoms is asked to steer clear of the school. Contact tracing will be in effect in case of any positive COVID-19 cases at the school.
Any visitors to the school will need to enter via the school’s main entrance and sign in at the office. Visitors are asked to only enter the school when necessary. If at all possible, students are asked to go home for lunch or for any spare periods.
All extracurricular activities at the school, including school sports, have been cancelled. Many shared areas within the school, including the library, benches, weight room and cardio room, have been closed until further notice. Only Grade 12 students will be allowed to eat their lunches in the cafeteria - food will not be available for students to purchase.
The Hapnot band program will continue, with students able to use their own instruments or rented instruments at home. Due to provincial regulations, all wind instruments are banned from being played within schools during COVID-19, with a possible risk of transmitting the disease via droplets while playing being cited. Choir and jazz band will be halted for the year for similar reasons.
Grade 9 band will take place in the band room every other day during the year - the band room is located within the Grade 9 cohort space - but other grade levels will not be able to use the room. Each grade level in band will need to be taught within their own cohort area.
Senior band students will likely need to participate either by themselves or virtually for at least September while long-term plans are finalized.
Masks or face coverings will be mandatory for all students and staff, as well as on buses. Students are asked to bring masks from home when possible, but masks will be available at the school as a secondary measure.
The full school plan can be found on the Hapnot Collegiate Facebook page.
McIsaac
At McIsaac, classes have been split up into eight separate cohorts, each colour-coded and having different entrances and morning and afternoon pickups and dropoffs. Most entrance and exit times will be staggered every five minutes.
Three cohorts - red, green and blue - will use the Kindergarten doors to enter and leave the building. The red cohort will consist solely of the Kindergarten Neill class and will enter the building at 8:55 a.m., leave for lunch at 11:40 a.m., return from lunch at 1:05 p.m. and leave for home at 3:50 p.m. Cohort green, made up of the Grade 1 Beauchamp/Nawrocki and Johnson/Larouche classes as well as Grade ½ Williams, will enter the school at 8:50 a.m. then go for lunch from 11:50 a.m.-1:15 p.m. and head home at 4 p.m. Blue cohort will go into the school at 8:45 a.m., leave for lunch from 11:45 a.m.-1:10 p.m. and go home at 3:55 p.m. The blue cohort will be made up of Kindergarten Larouche, Grade 2 Frederick and Grade 2/3 Reitlo.
Two cohorts, orange and yellow, will use the middle doors for all comings and goings. The orange cohort will include Grade 3 Turbide, Grade 4 Lee and Grade 5 Senyk. Orange students will come in at 8:50 a.m., go for lunch from 11:50 a.m.-1:15 p.m. and go home at 4 p.m. Cohort yellow, consisting of Grade 3 Drimmie, Grade 4 Sparling and Grade 5 Mouthe, will go inside at 8:45 a.m., have lunch time from 11:45 a.m.-1:10 p.m. and go home at 3:55.
A cohort for Grades 5 and 6 students based in the McIsaac annex will come and go exclusively through the annex doors, located near the main doors of the school. That cohort, coded as cohort pink, will enter at 8:45 a.m., go for lunch from 11:50 a.m.-1:10 p.m. and go home at 4 p.m. Grades 5/6 Hernandez, Grade 6 Areias and Grade 6 Mengue Ndzana will be part of the pink cohort.
Two cohorts - brown and purple - will cover the junior high grades and use the main doors. The two Grade 7 classes - Barteski and Lytwyn - will come in at 8:50 a.m., go for lunch from 11:50 a.m.-1:15 p.m. and go home at 4 p.m. The final cohort, coded as cohort brown, will include Grades 7/8 Sapergia, Grade 8 McGraw and Grade 8 Wright. That cohort will come in at 8:45 a.m., go for lunch from 11:45 a.m.-1:10 p.m. and head home at 3:55 p.m.
The school’s playground will be closed to all students in the morning, at lunch time and after school.
Ruth Betts
Start times at Ruth Betts Community School will also be staggered, with most students entering the school at 8:45 a.m.
Classes that will enter the school at 8:45 a.m. and at 1 p.m. include Grade 1 Idiris, Grade 1 Stephen, Grade 2 Bryson, Grades 4/5 Guthrie, Grades 5/6 Santos, Grade 6 Dodds, Grade 7 Krouse, Grades 7/8 Paramor and Grade 8 Kennedy.
Three classes - Grade 2 Baker, Grade 3 Lawrence and Grade ¾ Hershmiller - will come into the school at 8:50 a.m. in the morning and 1:05 p.m.
The morning Kindergarten class will come in at 8:45, while the two afternoon Kindergarten classes will both enter the building at 1 p.m.
No timelines or cohorting information has been released for Many Faces Education Centre.
