All 27 school divisions in Saskatchewan have developed contingency plans for the upcoming school year. However, aspects within the strategy for coping with the pandemic and ensuring a successful learning environment might fluctuate according to emerging health risk assessments as the school year progresses.
Education in Prairie South Schools is scheduled to restart in the fall.
The supplemental learning period from March to June 2020 will no longer be valid.
All school-based staff are expected to reconvene at their place of work on the date in the autumn of 2020 when the 2020-2021 school year begins.
Various methods of delivery will be necessary to ensure the full Saskatchewan curriculum is offered within the existing framework.
Teachers at Prairie South Schools were obligated to have online content management systems in place at the beginning of the school year on September 1, to permit efficient transitions from learning in school to learning at home.
Each student in the division will obtain their tutoring from teachers with support from other staff, irrespective of whether they’re being educated at school or at home.
Online learning might continue to play significant roles in learning, depending on risk evaluations relative to the rates of transmission during the school year.
Earlier, teachers in the division worked in cooperative groups, or as individuals, to create online materials to be shared with all Prairie South staff at the end of the 2019-2020 school year.
Staff at Prairie South Schools had access to Seesaw, Google Classroom, Moodle, Zoom and Google Meet to develop online learning strategies. Classroom IT support was redesigned to permit blended synchronous learning.
Hand Hygiene
Proper hand hygiene practices for staff and children will be enforced and must include the use of soap and water when hands are soiled. Hand sanitizer will be continuously used, even when hands are noticeably clean.
Although sanitizer will be available in schools, students and staff were persuaded to bring their own hand sanitizer to school.
Social distancing will also be part of the 2020-2021 curriculum.
For younger children, guaranteeing physical distancing will be prove to be less realistic. Instead, teachers were encouraged to concentrate on having their students minimize physical contact with each other by inventing games containing the basic standards of distancing, including keeping two-arms apart and avoiding hugs or handshakes.
Staff, parents and students must exercise precautionary actions to prevent transmission, such as regulating physical interactions during school days (i.e. during instruction, recess, moving to and from classes, nutrition programs and extra-curricular activities).
All teachers, staff and students are required to avoid hugging, handshakes and other close physical contacts.
Methods for entering school buildings will be modified to limit physical contact. Possible strategies to reduce physical interactions might include (but aren't limited to) alternated entries into classes and schools, separate group entrances and limiting pickups and drop-offs to one assigned parent or guardian.
The provincial government of Saskatchewan reported they were considering the introduction of compulsory masking in schools on August 7.
