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By Dylana Kneeshaw

COVID PROTOCOLS

School District 73 prepping for full return to in-person learning, with updated measures in place

Jan 7, 2022 | 4:17 PM

KAMLOOPS — By Monday morning (Jan. 10), schools in the Kamloops-Thompson District will fully return to in-person learning, with masks, cleaning, and spacing practices in place to limit virus spread.

“Our whole district department has an operations continuity plan,” reiterates S.D. 73 Superintendent Rhonda Nixon, “And in that plan we know what we’re going to do, we have step-by-step what we’ll do if we’re short of workers in any one sector. So we’re as well planned as can be. Now we just need to be there for each other to see what actually happens.”

Face-to-face education is where resources are being prioritized. So if a student is absent due to illness, they will not be automatically switched to online learning.

“So we don’t want to start off with the impression of ‘just stay home and go online’, because we know that doesn’t work for most kids,” notes Nixon, “So we really want to make sure we invite people to go face-to-face and if they are sick and they have symptoms and need to stay home, we will be there to support with some communication but our hope is they come right back.”

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Staff and student absenteeism will be monitored closely to determine if a school can no longer operate in person, and online learning needs to be brought in.

A functional school closure may happen if there are not enough staff to teach one or more classes or a whole school. Nixon says if a school winds up in this situation then parents would be informed immediately that children wouldn’t be coming to school, and staff would then prepare to switch to online. Once staff have recovered, the goal would be to return to in-person learning.

And with the new variant spreading so quickly, exposure notices will no longer be sent out.

“So the way they explained it to us is it has a two to three day incubation period, so people who do get sick with COVID – with the Omicron variant – actually get sick and they recover, and by the time that you would have reported, ‘I was sick’, you would have actually have already infected a bunch of people and be well,” says Nixon, “So it’s too fast paced for contact tracing to actually be possible.”

Interior Health guidelines for anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 is to self-report a positive test, self-isolate, and notify close contacts.

In addition, the provincial health officer stated today in an update that rapid tests are on the way for schools to use to mitigate spread. Dr. Bonnie Henry says those rapid tests should be in place for use by next week.

And when it comes to PPE, use of N-95 or KN-95 masks has been touted as extra protective, but the school district will continue providing three-ply masks for staff and students.

Nixon says they were told by medical health officers that the three-ply masks are sufficient for kids and adults to use in these settings.

“It’s less about having a medical mask and more about having a mask that fits well and snugly, and also one that you can wear and not be taking it on and off,” she explains, “So as a child or as an adult there is mask fatigue, so making sure it fits well and snugly is actually the most important thing.”

Parents with questions about the return to the classroom are being asked to check their emails for updated resources and continue monitoring the District’s website.

To read more details about the return to class plan, click here.