Hello Parents,

Thank you for your assistance and patience over the last few months. This is a difficult and challenging time for everyone and we know that you are doing everything you can to help us get back into a regular routine at this point. Here are a few points of interest for you and, of course, there will be lots more information in the following days and weeks. There will be a link at the end of this memo that will lead you to the GNB website which will be updated on a regular basis.

OPERATIONAL PLAN

Every school is required to develop an operational plan that is unique to the school environment. This will be available for viewing by August 31, 2020. It will be posted on our website and Facebook page. We will also be sending it to the email you provided during home learning.

SCHEDULING

As noted in the Return to School Plan for the province, there are limited numbers of students in Grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8. We will be using those numbers for our school and, as usual, will be having combined grade level classrooms. We will have a homeroom class for each of the following groupings: K-1, 2-3, 4-5, and 6-8. Please note that each of these classrooms will be a ‘bubble’ and there will be no interaction between the students in these classrooms – Recess time in the morning and at lunch time will be scheduled separately for each group. Lunch time is scheduled so that there are only 2 groups in the lunch area at one time and the groups will be sitting at a distance from each other.

As indicated in the provincial Return to School Plan, students and staff in K-5 classrooms are not expected to physically distance. Students and staff in Grade 6-8 classrooms will be expected to keep a 1 meter distance in the classroom.

STAGGERED ENTRY

Even though we have a very small group, we have been encouraged to have a staggered entry for our students this year. This will give students in small groups time to learn about and practice new routines and safety guidelines. The schedule will be as follows:

Kindergarten, Grade 2, Grade 4, Grade 6 – Attend their first day of school for the 2020-2021 school year on Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Grade 1, Grade 3, Grade 5, Grade 7-8 – Attend their first day of school for the 2020-2021 school year on Wednesday, September 9, 2020

All students will attend school from Thursday, September 10, 2020, on.

MASKS

Please ensure that your child brings a clean facemask to school every day. Students in Grades K-5 will be encouraged to wear their masks when in common areas but it will not be mandatory. Students in Grades 6-8 will be expected to wear their masks when in common areas.

On the school bus: Students in Grades K-5 will practice physical distancing and will sit by themselves on the bus unless they sit with a sibling (siblings may sit together). Students in Grades 6-8 will practice physical distancing and will be required to wear a mask when entering and exiting the bus. They may remove their masks while seated on the bus. They will sit by themselves on the bus or they can sit with a sibling.

FURTHER INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

Please see the link below for more information from the Department of Education: https://www.welcomenb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2020.08.0443.html

We are very excited to return to our school and we will do everything we need to do to ensure the safety of our students and our school community. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at beverly.morris@nbed.nb.ca