Learning goes on during a pandemic

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/12/2020 (1960 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As you drive around Ward 4, you will see students playing outside (either at recess or during gym class) wearing masks and even though you can’t see it, there are big smiles underneath.

You will see new infrastructure popping up on school grounds, including tents, bales, snow hills and other new additions in the weeks ahead. Even if we are in a pandemic, students are still learning, interacting and having fun!

During the summer, the Louis Riel School Division committed to ensuring our schools were as safe as possible for staff and students. To achieve that, staff spent their days measuring spaces, cleaning schools and preparing a new learning environment for our children. The goal was to have all students in LRSD two metres apart while in the classroom. This required creativity, patience and change.

Class sizes needed to be reduced and new spaces created in order to accommodate all the students. This meant that libraries, gyms, music rooms, daycare and preschool spaces would all be needed for classroom space for students; which required reorganization.

There was not enough space at École Sage Creek School or École Van Belleghem to house all the students. This meant that space would need to be found elsewhere. Grade 7 and 8 students from École Van Belleghem now attend classrooms at Island Lakes Community School. Grade 5 and 6 students from the English program at École Sage Creek School now attend classrooms at Shamrock School.

You may have noticed some gym and music classes being held outside (weather permitting). Every day is a new day and teachers are being creative in delivering their lessons and organizing their classrooms. Each student has a large bin beside their desk, in which they keep their school bags, lunch kits, coats and ski pants. Sinks have been installed in LRSD classrooms for washing hands. In addition, all schools now have water bottle filling stations, as students can’t use regular fountains.

Not only do we have students learning in schools, we also have students learning from home through the Learning from Home School/L’École Apprendre-chez-soi.

This is a fully staffed online school with programming in both English and French. It supports students in kindergarten to Grade 12 who are required to learn from home due to medical conditions that affect them or a member of the household.

Just recently (Dec. 1), we opened the Temporary Learning from Home School. This school supports students whose families have chosen a remote learning option instead of in-school learning. It is also a fully staffed online school with programming in both English and French for kindergarten to Grade 8.

Most students are adapting to this new normal — it is just something that is done in order to be able to be with friends and teachers. It isn’t a chore or a bother; it is routine.

The pandemic has nothing on our kids — they are resilient and will continue to thrive — it’s all about perspective and of course, making learning fun in a safe environment

Pamela Kolochuk is the Ward 4 trustee for the Louis Riel School Division.