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home / 世界杯决赛2022

'so many unknowns': parents anxiously prep kids for school despite covid

school is about to return nearly six months since classes were abruptly cancelled across alberta to stem the spread of covid-19

by calgary herald
published sep 01, 2020
read time 3 minute read
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read time 3 minute read
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this fall marks jennifer simmonds’ fourth time sending a child to their very first day of class — but it feels different teaching a kindergartener how to wear a mask.simmonds has been prepping her youngest daughter, who’s just four years old, with practice sessions for putting her face covering on, taking it off and storing it. it’s a necessary step during this year’s back-to-school season, when both the calgary catholic school district and the calgary board of education have mandated masks for kids from kindergarten to grade 12.it’s been almost six months since classes were cancelled across alberta as part of a broad shutdown to stem the spread of covid-19. the pandemic isn’t over, but parents and teachers are getting ready for kids to go back to school in uncharted territory.“every day i try to get my kids ready: ‘this is how it’s going to be.’ and the next day it’s changed all over again,” simmonds said monday. “finally i started telling my kids, ‘this is what i think it’ll look like, but be prepared to be different.’”the ccsd has an online handbook to guide parents through the school resumption process, and the cbe recently released videos showing re-entry measures at elementary, junior high and high schools. simmonds, whose kids go to public schools, said the videos have helped, but it’s still hard to picture how the precautions will work with crowds of students.this school year will be unlike any other and, according to sarah bieber, spokeswoman for education advocacy group kids come first, parents’ concerns are seemingly endless. everything from the school drop-off process to classroom rules to playground time has been transformed, and parents don’t know what to expect.“it doesn’t matter which parent it is right now — i’ve never seen parents this high-anxiety going back to school because there are so many unknowns,” she said.
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“some families are worried about covid, some families are a lot more worried about all the rules and regulations — there’s not consistency across the board and it varies from school to school.”students in public cbe schools start returning to class tuesday, while children at the ccsd begin their re-entry wednesday. both are staggering student attendance for the first week, with individual schools setting up their own systems to welcome them back.there’s still no final breakdown available for the number of students enrolled in online learning instead of returning to class in person. a cbe spokesperson said that as of aug. 24, a little more than 21,000 of their approximately 128,000 students were enrolled in online classes. for ccsd, more than 5,000 of their 59,000 students are registered in the district’s remote option.besides the mask mandates, schools will look different for kids coming back for in-person instruction. from markers on the floors and doors to enforce physical distancing, to rearranged classrooms and plentiful hand sanitizer, students’ experiences will be unlike anything they’ve been through before.high-touch surfaces in schools will be cleaned more frequently, and any child sick with cold or flu symptoms will have to stay home.calgary’s two largest school districts will also try to group children in smaller cohorts to minimize their contact with others, but both have acknowledged the size of the groups will vary. the ccsd says creating cohorts will be “difficult or impossible” for junior high or high school students, whose timetables require them to move between different classes.
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the cbe hosted a walkthrough of henry wise wood high school last week, where signs restricted the capacity of common spaces and some stalls in bathrooms were blocked off.simmonds said some of her children are feeling anxious about remembering and following all the new rules when they arrive at school again, but online learning just wasn’t an option for her family.two of her four children have special needs, and trying to help all of them learn from home, taking into account their different grade levels and need for internet access at the same time, was virtually impossible.“i can’t give them all the time and attention they need to teach them all the things they need,” she said.bieber said this year’s school anxiety might let up as parents and kids settle into their new, unprecedented routine. but it’s still difficult to prepare for what might be ahead, whether that’s an outbreak at a school or new public-health directives to help ensure student safety.“i think every week is going to be something new.”masmith@postmedia.comtwitter: @meksmith

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