Hand sanitizer, badminton, and repeated calls to stay six feet apart were among the features marking the first day of in-school instruction at Chatelech Secondary School on June 1.
“It’s amazing, when you’re in a building that’s empty, it just feels vacuumous and wrong. As soon as the kids came back today, it just felt like everything livened up,” principal Mark Sauer told Coast Reporter while walking through the halls of Chatelech on Monday.
The high school, along with the rest of schools on the Sunshine Coast and beyond, officially reopened for in-person instruction for the month, on the advice of B.C.’s public health officer. They have been closed to regular instruction since March as a result of COVID-19-related public health restrictions.
Across the province, almost 60,000 students returned, or about 30 per cent of expected enrolment, according to the Ministry of Education.
At Chatelech, about 30 Grade 8 students – 30 per cent of the cohort – walked through the doors, likely in unprecedented orderly fashion.
They followed chalk marks demarcating distances on the pavement outside, stopped at hand sanitizer stations, signed in at building entrances and followed arrows taped to the hallway floors. Desks were arranged in the airy foyer where students received instruction on math and science. Teachers stood by, arms outstretched, to point at homework on paper and tablets. As with students, they’re adapting to physically distanced instruction.
The library was converted into another spacious classroom, where humanities class was underway. Face masks were rare. When asked whether they were happy to be back, one student said he was fine doing work at home. “I wasn’t,” said another. Another student despaired she couldn’t be with her regular classmates. “It’s weird,” said one student. Mostly, chatter and giggles wafted through the air, punctuated by reminders not to share phones.
In another classroom, students continued their automotive course.
Every Breath You Take pumped from the speakers in the gym as students leapt to strike birdies – the school got the go ahead from public health for the physically-distanced sport of badminton.
At SD46 overall, about 14 per cent attended the first day, according to superintendent Patrick Bocking. “We need to re-learn that our schools are safe places and that’s going to take some time,” he said.
About 24 per cent of enrolled students from kindergarten to Grade 5 attended. Thirteen per cent of Grade 6 and 7 students and six per cent of high school students attended.
As with the provincial numbers, the SD46 percentages only reflect the first day of class – and overall attendance is expected to climb as students return throughout the week.
“This has not been easy on families,” said Bocking. “Whether it was to come to school or to stay at home, they made the right choice for them.”
Class sizes will remain smaller than normal this month. Elementary schools across the province are restricted to welcoming back up to 50 percent of their student population on a given day. Middle schools and high schools, meanwhile, can only welcome up to 20 per cent of their students back per day.
The restrictions – intended to support physical distancing – mean a secondary student who has returned to school will only receive up to one day of in-class instruction per week. Education Minister Rob Fleming said the density of kids in schools will be kept at a “very low, gradual level, no matter what,” adding that 90 per cent of teachers have returned to schools.
Most teachers at SD46 are expected to return, though certain exceptions will be made for teachers who may have compromised health, according to Bocking.
It’s only one month, but Bocking says opening in June allows students to reconnect with teachers and to prepare for September, when they anticipate a larger number of students returning for in-class instruction.
Sauer, who has been coordinating his school’s return, admitted the transition hasn’t been easy. “There’s a general anxiety on everybody – families, staff – but I think we’ve been collaborating and communicating as we’ve gone along,” he said.
On Monday, at least one teacher had pushed past the anxiety. “I’m happy to be back,” he said. “The [students] that are here seem happy, happy to connect with each other.
It’s so much better to have face-to-face time. It’s been really frustrating to do everything at a distance.”
It would be great to see more students return in the coming weeks, but for now they’re waiting to see whether parents will sign up, said Sauer. “It’s just good to see kids.”
- with files from Hayley Woodin
