Staff, students and parents are preparing for a school year that will be unlike any other.
Oilfields High School principal Chet Musgrove and his staff are working diligently to provide much of what the Grade 7-12 school has traditionally offered while following Alberta Health Services' ever-changing guidelines surrounding COVID-19.
“The government dictates what we can and cannot do so we’re trying to keep that sense of normalcy and keep that positive environment for the kids to come back to,” he said. “We will adhere to everything in the relaunch handbook sent to us by the government. There is so much information to digest.”
While core courses will remain a focus for students, Musgrove and his staff are determining which complementary courses to offer that will follow the Alberta Health Services guidelines.
“We haven’t finalized what that’s going to look like yet,” he said. “We’re going to try to give students a variety of learning experiences. It’s going to be a lot of rethinking of how that’s going to look.”
Musgrove said he’s unsure what the student enrolment will look like with some choosing to learn from home. Enrolment last year was around 400, he said.
While class sizes will remain the same, at an average of 22 to 30 students, Musgrove said plans are in the works to ensure staff and students will be safely distanced from one another.
Regulations posted on the Foothills School Division website state that students will have assigned doors to enter and exit each day, that those in Grades 4 to 12 are required to wear masks when physical distancing isn’t possible, that they must stay with their class for recess, which will be staggered throughout the day to allow for physical distancing, and that they must remain in class to eat lunch.
The website also states that families must screen their children for COVID-19 symptoms each school day and that extra-curricular activities are cancelled until further notice.
Musgrove said one of the biggest challenges for staff is the ongoing changes passed down from the Province.
“It seems like every day something changes,” he said. “As a staff we’re prepared to be flexible, we’re prepared to do what we have to do to make the best choices and best environment that we can. It’s going to look different, so we’re doing our best to create a sense of normalcy.”
The uncertainty of the new school year has some parents sending their children to school and others keeping them home to continue the online learning they began in mid-March.
Turner Valley parent Cindy Holladay, who has children entering Grades 4, 7, 8 and 12, has left the decision up to her children.
She said while a couple expressed interest in online learning, she suspects all four will choose to return to school.
“My Grade 7 girl really liked the home schooling option so she’s on the fence, but my guess is she’ll probably go,” she said. “My oldest daughter does better with in-person instruction and the ones in Grade 7 and 8 really considered it, but my Grade 8 girl missed her friends way too much. It’s been a long time with kids at home and they’re ready for a change.”
Holladay said she has no concerns about her children going to school and that her family is taking COVID-19 seriously.
“We wear masks everywhere,” she said. “My husband works as a teacher (principal at Senator Riley School in High River) and I’m a government employee. There is an individual risk we all have to be comfortable with.”
Holladay said she has confidence in the Foothills School Division.
“I trust in the system that if things get out of control they are going to shut it down,” she said. “I think they’re going to watch it very closely at a local level.”
Holladay understands that the school environment will be different, and said her children are most upset about not currently being able to play sports in school.
“That’s their biggest draw to school,” she said. “We’re really hoping things go well so they can loosen up with sports.”
The postponement of school sports is one reason 15-year-old Maya Perez Robinson is choosing to learn from home rather than attend Grade 10 at Oilfields High School. The other reason is the regulations around contact with others.
“I like interacting with people and giving people hugs,” said the Turner Valley resident. “We’re going to have to be separated so interacting with my friends is going to be a lot harder for me because I won’t be able to get close to them.”
While online learning started off rocky for Perez Robinson last fall, she soon got into the groove and noticed an improvement in her grades.
“In a home environment I can work on something for a few hours before going to the next thing,” she said.
Another deterrent to in-school learning for Perez Robinson is that the building can shut down at any moment.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “I would rather be set up in a home environment instead of having to start all over again like in March.”
Classes begin Aug. 31 for grades 7 and 8, Sept. 2 for grades 9 and 10 and Sept. 4 for grades 11 and 12.
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