(file photo/CKOM News Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

back to school

Face masks and survey: LLRIB preps for back to school

Aug 7, 2020 | 12:00 PM

Amidst the political debate in Saskatchewan over whether face masks should be mandatory at schools and if the government’s back to school plan should be more specific and expansive, the Lac La Ronge Indian Band’s (LLRIB) education department decided it will require face coverings for many students.

It will also directly engage families for their input in addition to the many elements that are already planned to help combat the spread of the novel coronavirus such as sanitization stations and self-monitoring.

“We are going to be implementing masks,” Director of Education Simon Bird told larongeNOW. “What grades we don’t know yet, but right now we’re looking at middle years and high school students. [For the] smaller kids it might be counter-productive… because the little kids might be constantly touching their face.”

Surveying families

Bird said a survey would be sent out to families in the days to come to get their feedback on various questions such as: how young is too young for a child to have a mask, are they OK with possible earlier dismissal times for some kids so they aren’t all on the playground together for example, and do they have enough information on COVID-19?

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Bird added they are also reaching out to parents before the Sept. 10 start date, to show them the efforts they’re making in the schools to keep things as safe as possible.

“Would they feel more comfortable if they had the opportunity to see the changes inside the school by way of video or a scheduled visit, just so they can see for themselves the priorities that we’re making?” he said.

Another protocol will see the teachers, not the students, moving from class to class and recesses will be staggered to help ensure groups of students remain in their set pods or bubbles, as per medical advice, Bird explained.

He said their education department was small – handling only four schools — so their administration could be nimble in making any changes and learning from others educational authorities elsewhere. A back to school plan will be shared with the community in the coming weeks once it’s finalized.

Recruitment

On another matter, teacher recruitment has been strong for the coming year Bird said, in part because the LLRIB education system earned a reputation for being a good place to work and for handling things well post-pandemic. Their distance education program continued, and educational packages were sent out, so that kept teachers employed and paid through to the end of June, he said.

The remaining positions they are looking to fill are for online specialists. Bird said they were seeking one teacher per school to support teachers with various online software programs that aid with virtual learning.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca