The Community
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Volume 113, Issue 10
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
$1 Including GST
at Forestburg Mud Bog
LESLIE CHOLOWSKY PHOTO
Contestants and organizers alike enjoyed two days of good clean fun rolling through the mud over Saturday, Aug. 29 and Sunday, Aug. 30 at Forestburg’s annual ‘Bog in the ‘Burg event. Despite gale force winds, a hardy crowd came out to run their vehicles through the mud and test their driving skills on the track and the barrel racing. See more photos Page 18.
BRSD estimates 88% of students will return to in-class Leslie Cholowsky Editor
Battle River School Division (BRSD) Communications Coordinator Diane Hutchinson estimates that 88 per cent of the division’s students will return to the classroom this fall. BRSD is offering an At-Home Learning program for students of all grades that will accommodate families who choose to access it. Parents have until the first day of classes, Thursday, Sept. 3, to make their final decision. BRSD, like other divisions, will be providing instruction based on a quarterly system this year, to make it as easy as possible for students to transition between at-home and at-school learning at different points during the school year. These are Sept. 3 to Nov. 10; Nov. 16 to Jan. 29; Feb. 1 to April 20; and April 21 to June 29. Hutchinson says this will also facilitate an easier transition should Alberta Education move from the present ‘Scenario 1 Schooling’ model from the province. High School Students will take only
two to three courses per quarter, and will finish a complete course in each nine-week quarter. Grade 12 Diploma exams will be available at the end of each quarter. Hutchinson says that teachers met Aug. 28, Aug. 31, and Sept. 1 in different grade and subject level groupings to talk about which curricular outcomes they will be covering during each quarter. “That does not mean every elementary or junior high teacher will be teaching exactly the same thing every day, but it does mean they will all cover the same material in each nine-week quarter of time. “For high school teachers, they’re also talking about how a course can be delivered in a full morning or afternoon block of time.” Hutchinson says that the division’s bus drivers have been reviewing all safety protocols and learning the new cleaning requirements for school buses during learning sessions last week. She says bus routes are still being finalized as families make decisions about at-home or in-person learning, but that parents should have their individual
pick up and drop off times by now. All school staff are also undergoing training in safety protocols to prepare for students’ arrival at school. “Schools are clean, disinfected, sanitized, and ready. “School staff are designating specific entrances for specific cohorts of students, marking hallways or common areas with tape to help students remember their physical distancing, putting up signage, setting out hand sanitizer, and more.” She says the division has purchased more than 100,000 disposable masks in order to have supplies available for staff use to supplement what Alberta Education is providing, as well as for emergency use by students. The province is supplying about 10,000 reuseable masks, equal to two per school staff member and two per student in Grades 4 to 12, as well as a number of face shields for staff. Students will be able to wear their own masks, but they must meet mask guidelines as published by the province. The board has purchased 370 wallmounted hand sanitizer dispensers for its schools, 20 pedestal hand sanitizer
dispensers, 1,900 refill cartridges, and 3,000 pump bottles of sanitizer. The province is also providing divisions with a stock of sanitizer. If students choose to bring their own, guidelines recommend a hand sanitizer that is at least 70 per cent alcohol. As well, BRSD has purchased 220 cans of aerosol disinfectant, 1,000 microfibre cloths for classroom use, 1,000 spray bottles of disinfectant for classroom and office use, and supplies to make 560 tubs of disinfecting wipes for buses and high needs classrooms. The division is adding three hours of custodian time to every school to cover the extra cleaning and sanitizing necessary. The BRSD Board will start the new school year with a new executive. Karen Belich, trustee for Camrose North, is now Board Chair, and Zsuzsanna Hemperger, trustee for Beaver County West, is Vice-Chair. Belich has been Vice-Chair for the past two years, and this is Hemperger’s first year on the board’s executive. This executive will lead the board through its final year until municipal elections in the fall of 2021.