Back to school plan

My school is planning having our junior high kids stay in the same classroom and seats from 8-3 with the teachers switching. Not looking forward to this.

That does not sound like fun at all.

We were open all last year with some mitigations in place such as no lockers, 1:1 Chromebooks, 4 lunches instead of 3 with 2 lunchrooms, desks as far apart as possible, keeping doors open, and split hallways.  We had 0 cases traced back to the school.  

At this point I don't think we are using any of these other than separating desks and 4 lunches but that could change and we can do it with 1 days notice.  

I taught on the cart my first year and it \"f\"ing sucked.  My biggest piece of advice is check, double check, and triple check that you have everything.

we are back to normal. however, my school has a huge renovation project going on and involves a large pct of hallways, the main lobby, the cafeteria and bathrooms on multiple floors.

combine that with 6 new teachers and an admin asst.

oh, and no locker rooms or changing out for pe.

could be a looooooong year.

net wrote:
oh, and no locker rooms or changing out for pe.

Less than a week ago, our plan included locker room use and dressing for PE. With what the governor said yesterday, I'm sure that plan is in jeopardy.

19delta wrote:

net wrote:
oh, and no locker rooms or changing out for pe.

Less than a week ago, our plan included locker room use and dressing for PE. With what the governor said yesterday, I'm sure that plan is in jeopardy.

I feel like everything is in question for us now. I am just glad we are not doing any remote.

We got our long e-mail today. We are pretty much doing what we did last year with a few exceptions.

For the High School:
We will allow the student to use lockers and will eliminate the use of backpacks during the school day.
Students will not be issued Chromebooks, instead, we will utilize Chromecarts within the classroom
PE will begin the year with no locker room (this will change once we drop down in CDC case level)
We will utilize 1/2 of the competition gym for lunch and only 2 to a table (which usually fits
Cleaning of desks after each class period; cleaning of Chromebooks if used during class
Minimize group work where students face each other
Keep doors open to help ventilation
Students will be allowed to enter the academic wing at 7:35 rather than 7:45
Desks within the classroom should be at least 3 feet apart if possible and contract tracing will be used when a student tests positive.
Vaccinated students will not have to quarantine if they are exposed
On-site BinaxNOW tests (parental consent) will be utilized for students with symptoms, if the test is positive, they will be directed to go to their primary care provided for a PCR test to rule out false positive
**These are just a few of the various procedures we have in place**

As for the Junior High and Elementary schools, they are going to keep the students in Pods the best they can to minimize the exposure to students who may test positive.

For some these mitigations may seem like a lot but we all got pretty comfortable with them last year. Took me a long time to get used to having the door open. The students are familiar with the protocols so I do not think it will be an issue. The one big issue we will have will be the elimination of backpacks during the school day.

What is the reasoning behind eliminating backpacks? Specific to covid, how does making people go to their locker help anything? Seems like unnecessary movement/interaction throughout the school.

Separate from covid, my kids would be pissed. I have a son in college and twins that will be juniors in HS this year. Pretty sure none of them have ever used their HS locker. Everything is in the backpack. Larger school, and its easier than trying to get to a locker in between classes.

tm wrote:What is the reasoning behind eliminating backpacks? Specific to covid, how does making people go to their locker help anything? Seems like unnecessary movement/interaction throughout the school.

Separate from covid, my kids would be pissed. I have a son in college and twins that will be juniors in HS this year. Pretty sure none of them have ever used their HS locker. Everything is in the backpack. Larger school, and its easier than trying to get to a locker in between classes.

Many schools do not allow students to use backpacks throughout the day.   Last year because we eliminated lockers to prevent students from congregating. We allowed students to use lockers for coats in the morning and very few used them.  One nice part about it was that kids were always in class on time because they had no reason to go to their locker and get sidetracked. The only time students were late was if there was a vape line in the bathroom.

For me, I don't mind the use of backpacks because you eliminate the need for students to go their lockers.  The only reason kids left the room last year was to use the bathroom which was most likely to vape.

I had absolutely no idea that vaping in school was a thing.

I honestly have no idea but is that legal for a 17 year old, or supposed to be 18 like for cigarettes?

IF it is legal, that gotta be against school code right?

I try to learn something every day, but this just made me sad.

wilky wrote:I had absolutely no idea that vaping in school was a thing.

I honestly have no idea but is that legal for a 17 year old, or supposed to be 18 like for cigarettes?

IF it is legal, that gotta be against school code right?

I try to learn something every day, but this just made me sad.

No it is absolutely not legal for 17 year olds to buy any tobacco products.  

I would venture to guess that it is the #1 discipline problem in most high schools and it is very tough to stop. And if it isn't the #1 problem you probably aren't looking hard enough . You cant prevent students from using tht restroom and it's very difficult to catch them in the act.  

Almost every kid is doing in and it is also very easy for them to get THC vape juice so not only are  vaping they are getting high as well.  Also, it is not just the bad kids over 50% of kids are doing it and that might be a very low estimate on my part.

wilky wrote:I had absolutely no idea that vaping in school was a thing.

I honestly have no idea but is that legal for a 17 year old, or supposed to be 18 like for cigarettes?

IF it is legal, that gotta be against school code right?

I try to learn something every day, but this just made me sad.

Multiple vapes a week our found hidden in the girls bathrooms at our junior high.