Moffat Creek Public School principal feels confident the building is ready to welcome students back next week.
"We had great plans in place last year," said Erica Gillespie, during a media school tour to showcase the measures in place.
"We've had lots of practice and opportunities to tweak and work with our families and keep kids and families safe. I'm happy about how things have rolled out this year and some of the changes that will allow kids to have opportunities for authentic play that we didn't have last year."
Also present during the tour was Kelly Paris, facility manager, who talked about the upgrades to the ventilation system.
"The ventilation systems have been upgraded with MERV (minimum efficiency reporting values) 13 filters on all of our rooftop ventilation units where we can," she said, adding the work was completed before the first round of reopening that happened last fall. "We've increased fresh air intake, minimized any recirculated air. The fresh air circulation will begin two hours before school time and end two hours after school closes. HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) units were supplied for our kindergarten classrooms."
The MERV 13 filter catches a much smaller particulate, noted Paris.
With the maximization of fresh air coming into the building through the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system and with opening windows where possible, she said, there will be more humidity and students and teachers can expect slightly cooler indoor temperatures in winter.
"But we're adjusting temperatures so that comfort and student safety is paramount," Paris said.
The set up of Grade 1 to 8 has been changed for additional safety in classrooms, Gillespie said.
"The ministry and public health direction is that the desks have to be spaced apart and all facing the same direction," she said. "In normal times, we wouldn't have the desks set up in rows because we encourage collaborative work. We still do but they have to sit facing one way, especially when they're eating."
There are further measures that teachers will be taking, too, said Paris.
"The (teachers) have an added level of goggles or shield protection if they're going to be in close proximity with students," she noted. "They'll still work with a student at a table and support them like they were able to."
Also for kindergarten classrooms, Paris added, all cloth surfaces or other hard-to-disinfect items have been removed. The items that children will play with, will be disinfected according to public health guidelines.
"We've always been careful of cleaning kindergarten toys and materials because kids are a little bit messier and this is where you catch all the colds and whatnot," said Gillespie. "We've upped our protocols, usually at the end of the day or if anything is being transferred between cohorts, it's cleaned. If the student puts anything in their mouth, it's cleaned. But kids are allowed to play together."
Students will not be allowed in the library, instead they will select books from an online catalogue and the library clerk will deliver their selections to their classrooms. Gillespie said the school eventually return to in-person library use once public health allows it.
The school, she said, is also equipped with technology in the form of Chromebooks and iPads that can be used in classrooms or lent out to families in case a decision is made to return to remote learning.
All Grade 7 and 8 students have individual Chromebooks, but students in Grade 1 to 6 will shared a machine in the classroom, Gillespie explained.
Along with all of that, there are floor and wall decals that are constantly encouraging and reminding students to physically distance and practice hand hygiene, Paris said.
Gillespie said it would take the first week to get settled into a routine of following the rules, but she didn't expect any non-compliance from students.
"Kids are terrific with compliance," she said. "When students understand the why and how to do it, for the most part they do it."
As for other school buildings, Paris said, they are all designed differently. However, she added, all systems have been and are being constantly upgraded to ensure maximum air circulation, either through ventilation system or by opening windows.
"The school board takes a multi-layered approach to all of our staff and students in all of our buildings, hand hygiene, physical distancing, masking, and wearing goggles and face shields," Paris said. "In addition to the protections that the ventilation system provides, I think we're in a really good position to support schools."
The school board's coordinating superintendent, Matthew Gerard, said at a recent board meeting that information about each school's HVAC system upgrade is available online for parents. He also added that all portable classrooms have mechanical ventilation systems, which has been fine tuned to maximize fresh air intake.
