Kootenay Lake School District welcomes students for 2020-21 year
By Nelson Daily Staff
Day one of the 2020-21 school year is in the books as many students in Kootenay Lake School District returned to class amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
At Hume Elementary, staff welcomes parents and students outside the school for the first day of instruction at Kootenay Lake School District 8.
Classrooms were super clean and ready for the district’s newest students.
The health and safety measures that all school districts will follow include:
- masks will be required for staff, middle and secondary students in high-traffic areas, such as buses, and in common areas, such as hallways, or anytime outside of their learning group whenever physical distancing cannot be maintained (exceptions will be made for students who cannot wear masks for medical reasons);
- even when wearing a mask, staff and students will still be required to maintain physical distance from people outside of their learning group;
- increased cleaning of high-contact surfaces, such as doorknobs, keyboards, desks and chairs;
- increased hand hygiene with all students, staff and visitors being required to clean their hands before boarding school buses and entering school buildings, before and after eating, using the washroom and using playground equipment;
- school districts may also install transparent barriers for people who have more contact with others, such as front-desk staff, bus drivers or food services staff, where appropriate; and
- staff and students (or their parents/guardians) must also assess themselves daily for illness, including symptoms of COVID-19. If any student or staff member has even mild symptoms, arrangements will be made for that person to return home.
To mark a smooth transition into each school, staff welcomed part of the school’s students Thursday with the other students first day Friday.
ICBC is asking drivers to leave extra travel time now that school is back and stay focused on the road and watch for children, especially around school zones.
Every year in B.C., 380 children are injured in crashes while walking or cycling, and five are killed.
Last year, 11,700 drivers were ticketed for speeding in school and playground zones in B.C. Police and Speed Watch volunteers will be closely monitoring drivers’ speeds in school zones to help children get a safe start to the school year.
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