Regular handwashing, sanitizing of personal spaces, and carefully distancing oneself from others are now features of daily life.
The head of Queen Margaret School in Duncan, David Robertson, says these protocols will also be a feature of the daily activities of students.
Robertson says the private school plans to carefully manage interactions among students, along with plenty of daily reminders from teachers about proper physical distancing, as well as monitoring of activities to ensure protocols are followed.
He also says there will be no sharing of educational materials or equipment.
Queen Margaret School has its own thermal imaging system to measure the body temperature of students, staff, and visitors as they arrive, and he says the school has installed barriers.
“We’ve installed plexiglass in reception areas or where they have to check-in, so in those kinds of places we’ve put plexiglass separations.”
When Queen Margaret School opens in September, Robertson says they will also be using space more efficiently.
“Using spaces that may not normally have been small group instruction spaces, inside and outside.”
He adds that a small chapel and the school may be used for this purpose.
Robertson says they are not mandating the wearing of face masks at this time, but if someone wants to wear one he says, “we’ll respect that.”
He says they will be following the provincial education ministry mandate for cohorts, where groups of students will interact among themselves and will remain separate from other cohorts in the school.
