Back-to-school choices
By Sue Tiffin
Five
months into an unprecedented global pandemic, you have likely learned
how to give a physically distanced hug – wrapping your arms around your
own body, or putting your hand over your heart, perhaps while smiling
from behind a mask. We’ve offered them to frontline health workers,
delivery people, grocery store clerks, neighbours and, via Zoom and
Google Classroom, to teachers pivoting to online classes in the spring.
Now, as parents and caregivers make a decision this week about whether
their children will physically go back to school in September, it’s time
to send some love and support their way.
months into an unprecedented global pandemic, you have likely learned
how to give a physically distanced hug – wrapping your arms around your
own body, or putting your hand over your heart, perhaps while smiling
from behind a mask. We’ve offered them to frontline health workers,
delivery people, grocery store clerks, neighbours and, via Zoom and
Google Classroom, to teachers pivoting to online classes in the spring.
Now, as parents and caregivers make a decision this week about whether
their children will physically go back to school in September, it’s time
to send some love and support their way.
Though schools have been
closed since mid-March, when the coronavirus began spreading more
significantly into Canada and forecasting suggested the pandemic would
encounter a second wave in the fall, it was only July 30 that the
provincial government announced its back-to-school plan, one that has
been heavily criticized for disregarding current public health
guidelines to prevent mass cases of COVID-19, as well as a report from
SickKids that called for smaller classes in order to ensure physical
distancing. The Trillium Lakelands District School Board held a meeting
on Aug. 4 to go over plans in place for September, sending an email to
parents on Aug. 7 regarding re-registration forms, which must be
returned by Aug. 13. Parents are now deciding (see story beginning Page
3) whether their kids will return to school physically full-time, study
through at-home remote learning or instead pursue a private option apart
from the public school system. Whether or not their students will take
the bus must also be decided.
In March, 1,550 students attended
local schools. For some families, it’s an easy decision to attend – the
numbers of COVID-19 cases in Haliburton County have been low, adults in
the family must leave the house for work and don’t have a childcare
option, and students are facing mental health challenges from being
isolated. For other families, it’s an easy decision to not attend –
someone in the household is vulnerable, opening social bubbles to other
classmates and teachers might require less contact with grandparents,
returning to school during a time of pandemic can result in mental
health challenges for those returning to a “not business as usual”
situation. And many families are dealing with the anxiety of not being
able to make a decision at all, never mind so quickly, requiring more
information about the plan for everything from what supplies students
will have to bring since sharing will be avoided, to what the plan is if
a student or teacher shows symptoms to worries their student will miss
out on a part of the typical school year, or face the stress of an
outbreak. (Archie Stouffer Elementary School is trying to answer some of
the questions parents might have via their Facebook page).
closed since mid-March, when the coronavirus began spreading more
significantly into Canada and forecasting suggested the pandemic would
encounter a second wave in the fall, it was only July 30 that the
provincial government announced its back-to-school plan, one that has
been heavily criticized for disregarding current public health
guidelines to prevent mass cases of COVID-19, as well as a report from
SickKids that called for smaller classes in order to ensure physical
distancing. The Trillium Lakelands District School Board held a meeting
on Aug. 4 to go over plans in place for September, sending an email to
parents on Aug. 7 regarding re-registration forms, which must be
returned by Aug. 13. Parents are now deciding (see story beginning Page
3) whether their kids will return to school physically full-time, study
through at-home remote learning or instead pursue a private option apart
from the public school system. Whether or not their students will take
the bus must also be decided.
In March, 1,550 students attended
local schools. For some families, it’s an easy decision to attend – the
numbers of COVID-19 cases in Haliburton County have been low, adults in
the family must leave the house for work and don’t have a childcare
option, and students are facing mental health challenges from being
isolated. For other families, it’s an easy decision to not attend –
someone in the household is vulnerable, opening social bubbles to other
classmates and teachers might require less contact with grandparents,
returning to school during a time of pandemic can result in mental
health challenges for those returning to a “not business as usual”
situation. And many families are dealing with the anxiety of not being
able to make a decision at all, never mind so quickly, requiring more
information about the plan for everything from what supplies students
will have to bring since sharing will be avoided, to what the plan is if
a student or teacher shows symptoms to worries their student will miss
out on a part of the typical school year, or face the stress of an
outbreak. (Archie Stouffer Elementary School is trying to answer some of
the questions parents might have via their Facebook page).
As a
community, we can offer support to keep our school community safe, and
offer kind words and creative ideas for parents making tough decisions.
community, we can offer support to keep our school community safe, and
offer kind words and creative ideas for parents making tough decisions.
Regardless
of what a parents’s decision on school is, know that it’s OK to be
tired, you’re not alone in feeling overwhelmed or anxious and it’s OK to
share that you’re feeling vulnerable to access care and help from
friends, family or counsellors and medical professionals. See our story
in the Times today beginning on Page 13 about where you can turn if you
or your family is in need of support in these exceptional times.
of what a parents’s decision on school is, know that it’s OK to be
tired, you’re not alone in feeling overwhelmed or anxious and it’s OK to
share that you’re feeling vulnerable to access care and help from
friends, family or counsellors and medical professionals. See our story
in the Times today beginning on Page 13 about where you can turn if you
or your family is in need of support in these exceptional times.
