The Ministry of Education released its Guide to Reopening Ontario’s Schools on July 30, 2020. The document provides directions to school boards and was approved by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario, and was developed in consultation with the COVID-19 Command Table and pediatric experts. The current plan has also been endorsed by our partners at KFL&A Public Health.

As always, our plans are based on the advice, guidance and directives of provincial and local public health officials. It is important to note that a safe school reopening is contingent on limiting community spread of COVID-19. If circumstances change, and we experience an increase in regional cases across KFL&A, we may need to adjust our model. We encourage everyone to follow public health guidelines and remain vigilant in helping to keep our communities safe.

The Ministry document provides guidance on safety and cleaning measures to help keep students and staff safe at school such as the use of masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE), additional school custodians, enhanced cleaning supplies and protocols and additional health and safety training for school-based staff. In addition, the government is providing funding for additional public health nurses to assist schools in local health protocols.

Some of the protocols are detailed in other questions on this page. More information will be shared with our community in the coming days.

No. Public health officials have indicated that tests are only accurate for one day. The use of active screening and contact tracing is more reliable.

All students and staff must self-screen every day before attending school using a checklist before arriving at school. If a student or staff member is experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, they must stay home from school and should seek testing and appropriate medical attention. If a student or staff member feels sick, or develops symptoms while at school, schools will follow the following protocol:

• Students or staff who develop COVID-19 symptoms will immediately be separated from others, and the family will be contacted to arrange pick-up.
• Staff and families will be directed to consult their health-care provider and should be provided with information about COVID-19 testing locations.
• Staff and/or students who test positive may not return to school until they are cleared by KFL&A Public Health.
• Staff and/or students who test negative can return to school once they are symptom-free for 24 hours.
• Limestone schools will immediately report any suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 to the KFL&A Public Health.
• Limestone schools will participate in contact tracing through keeping records of classes, transported students, and visitors to schools.

Contact tracing is a way for schools and public health to keep track of positive or suspected cases of COVID-19. Schools will keep daily records of attendance of all persons within the school building. These will be made available to KFL&A Public Health to facilitate contact tracing in the event of a confirmed COVID-19 case or outbreak.

If a COVID-19 positive case is identified in a school, the KFL&A Public Health will provide further instructions on who else in the school may need testing and/or monitoring/isolation at that time. Staff/children who are being managed by public health (e.g. confirmed cases of COVID-19, household contacts of cases, etc.) must follow their instructions on when they can return to school. Further information will be provided once the provincial school outbreak protocol is released. 

All students in Grades 4 to 12 are required to wear non-medical or cloth masks while indoors at school (including classrooms and common areas such as hallways) and on the school bus unless there is a necessary exemption (medical conditions or special needs) that would prevent them from wearing a mask. 

The Board of Trustees expanded this mandate to Kindergarten to Grade 3 while indoors and on the school bus following a unanimous motion at a Special Meeting of the Board August 26, 2020. The provincial directive/guidance is clear that masking is not mandatory for Kindergarten to Grade 3 students,  and the medical evidence regarding the efficacy of masking for this age group of students is mixed. Staff will be patient and gentle in working with Kindergarten to Grade 3 students to wear and use masks properly unless there is a necessary exemption. There will not be any punitive measures taken against students struggling to comply. Face shields may also be explored as an alternative.

Families are expected to provide non-medical or cloth masks for their student(s). A supply of non-medical masks will be available at schools for those students who require one. For those students who choose to wear a cloth mask, families will be responsible to ensure that it is appropriately cleaned.

Staff are also required to wear masks while indoors unless there is a necessary exemption that would prevent them from wearing a mask. 

Public health nurses will be assisting students and staff on how to properly wear, take off, and store masks.

Learn more about face coverings in schools from KFL&A Public Health

Families should provide their students with non-medical or cloth masks. Should students forget or damage their mask, schools will be equipped with non-medical masks to supply to students in need.

No. This is not good mask protocol. Masks should be stored in a paper bag or container that does not promote moisture. Also, lanyards pose a potential choking and safety hazard.

Learn more about face coverings in schools from KFL&A Public Health

High-touch surfaces in washrooms will be cleaned throughout the day. The use of washrooms will be staggered where possible to support cohorting (grouping) of students. Signage will be posted to indicate the maximum number of people using washrooms at any given time. Depending on the size of the school and the location of washrooms, schools may assign students to specific washrooms. 

Ensuring the mental health and well-being of students and staff remains a priority for Limestone. We will continue to use a tiered approach for mental health supports that will capture all students and target intensive help to those who have been most affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. We have several programs and initiatives in place to support students and staff and school based mental health supports will be available. School Mental Health Ontario will also provide school boards with a professional learning framework and toolkit to focus on building students' social-emotional learning skills so that they can build resilience, manage their stress and build positive relationships. Professional learning will be provided for system leaders, educators, support staff and mental health professionals to support the approach to school re-entry, as well as throughout the school year. The Ministry announcement did provide more funding for mental health supports for the 2020-2021 school year and we will share how this affects Limestone once funding amounts have been confirmed.

Additional supports in the area of mental health and well-being are being provided to students Over the summer months including:

• Social Workers (SWs) are providing ongoing support to students from their 2019-2020 caseloads (elementary and secondary) in the form of one-to-one counselling support via telephone and/or secure virtual meetings. The continued connection to school-based regulated mental health clinicians will help facilitate a smooth transition back to school for students for whom a return to school would be challenging.
•  Social Workers (SWs) and Clinical Consultants (CCs) will provide short-term mental health support to any students registered with the Limestone District School Board via a non-crisis telephone support line (and/or the use of a virtual platform).
• SWs and CCs can also provide consultation services to families/caregivers regarding the mental health of their children.
• SWs and CCs are available to consult, complete well-being check-ins, and/or assist students and/or parents/caregivers in navigating community resources from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday - Thursday until August 27, 2020. This is not an emergency crisis support service. The telephone number for the LDSB Mental Health Support Line is 613-417-3375.
• Short videos will be available by August 24 on the LDSB website that are targeted at parents/caregivers of children with mental health needs designed to enhance parent capacity in supporting students with their mental health and well-being, as well as their return to school. Topics may include: anxiety, and transitions and re-establishing routines
• Student Support Counsellors (SSCs) and Adolescent Care Workers (ACWs) will be available at the end of August to support school-based teams with the transition of students to school.

School staff are well equipped to deal with the unique needs of our students. Educational Services staff will continue to work with school staff to ensure that adapted or differentiated levels of instruction are available to those who need it, that additional PPE is available as required  and that a wide range of innovative special education supports and services remain accessible to meet the needs of our students. The Ministry has also announced more funding for special education supports and we will share how this affects Limestone once funding amounts have been confirmed. 

Over the summer months additional supports for students with special education needs are being provided to support a successful transition back to school including:

• Student Support Counsellors (SSCs), Adolescent Care Workers (ACWs), and School Attendance Counsellors (SACs) will work with school-based teams to prioritize those students who are currently on their caseload and require support to transition back to school; schools will also establish transition meetings, or class/school visits as deemed appropriate that would normally take place in May or June but due to school closures, were unable to occur. 

• Targeted work may involve:
  • Supporting students with meeting or reconnecting with school staff: teacher, EA, Administration if available
  • Supporting students with  becoming re-acquainted with the school building: classrooms, washrooms, entry and exit doors
  • Reviewing and practicing hygiene rules, social distancing, and safety practices with students and re establishing routines for school readiness

• The Summer ABA Transition Program for students placed in District Autism Classrooms (August 24-28) will use the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) to teach skills to students and will also focus on establishing new routines which may be required as students re-enter buildings during the 2020-21 school year (i.e.,  transition skills, wearing masks, hand washing and physical distancing). 

If your child completed Grade 7 in June and missed their hepatitis B, HPV9, or meningococcal vaccines due to school closures, you can schedule them for a KFL&A Public Health Grade 7 Catch-Up Immunization Clinic on Friday mornings in August and September by booking online.

Elementary: The Ministry has directed that elementary school students in Kindergarten through Grade 8 will attend school in-person, five days per week, with one cohort (the same group of students) for the full day, including recess and lunch. Enhanced health and safety protocols will be in place and schools will provide the full range of elementary curriculum.

Secondary: The Ministry has provided two models for secondary schools, depending on whether a board is considered to have a high or low risk profile. Limestone has been identified as a lower risk profile board which means secondary school students in Grades 9 to 12 will attend school in-person, five days a week with an emphasis on cohorting (grouping) students and limiting student contacts as much as possible. This may mean a change to the current schedule and the number of periods attended by students each day.

Opting out of returning to school: The board is establishing an LDSB Virtual School to accommodate students who have decided to opt for remote learning for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. The LDSB Virtual School (for Kindergarten to Grade 12) will use the same content and expectations set out in the Ontario Curriculum as regular in person learning.

No. Parents/guardians will have the option to opt students out of returning to in-person school, and have them learn remotely from home via the LDSB Virtual School. The current plan has been deemed safe by provincial and local public health officials who underscore the need for students to return to school for their overall well-being.

On August 13, 2020, Dr. Kieran Moore, Medical Officer of Health for KFL&A Public Health, and Dr. Alexa Caturay, Acting Medical Officer of Health for Hastings Prince Edward Public Health, released a Statement of Support from Local Medical Officers of Health Regarding the Return to School indicating they "completely support the local school boards in the reopening of our local schools as students and staff return to the classroom in September.” 

Adjustments to school routines/movement: Limestone is developing strategies that will support general physical distancing throughout the school day. Students, for example, will notice visual cues, such as directional arrows through corridors and stairwells and signs on walls, to guide appropriate distances in lines and at other times.  Classrooms will be organized in such a way to reduce face-to-face interaction between students.

Drop off/pick up: Student entry into the school may be staggered according to their classroom to provide physical distancing and less congestion in hallways and corridors. School parking lots and drop off areas will be closed off with pylons to all non-bus traffic during the arrival and departure of buses. It is strongly recommended that any non-bused students walk to/from school. If there is a need to drive students, vehicles should be parked off site in a safe location and the student should be walked to school. Students will be dropped off and picked up outside of the school to limit visitors into the school building. 

Use of outdoor spaces: Weather permitting, some activities (classes, lunch breaks) may be held outside.

Large gatherings/assemblies: These will be postponed for the immediate future.

Lunch Breaks: Elementary students will eat in their classroom and staff/students will need to bring their own lunch/snacks from home. Secondary school cafeterias will not be operational during first semester. Secondary students can eat within their classrooms as a class cohort or other designated areas where they can physically distance. Secondary students will also be encouraged to eat outdoors where possible. 

Water fountains: Water fountains will be closed but water refilling stations will be available.

Non-essential visitors to the school will be limited including families. Visits to ensure school safety (by health and safety authorities) will continue under current health and safety protocols. All visitors will be will be required to self-screen, wear a non-medical or cloth mask while indoors, and present themselves to the school office where they must sign in and out (for contract tracing purposes) and wait for further direction. In the exceptional case where families must enter the school (in an emergency and as approved by the school administrator), they will be required to follow the same protocols above: self-screen, wear a non-medical or cloth mask while indoors, and present themselves to the school office where they must sign in and out (for contact tracing) and wait for further direction. Families will not be permitted to attend classrooms or other common areas of the school. At entry and dismissal times, families are to remain outside the school in designated and identified areas and adhere to physical distancing protocols.

Yes. Students should clean their hands after use.

All Child-Care Centres and Before/After School Programs housed within our schools are operated by third party operators. Students attending these programs would be included as part of two separate cohorts, or groups (Child-Care/Before/After School and classroom). Student attendance lists and information will be maintained and available to public health for contact tracing purposes in accordance with all applicable legislation, including the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act . Please submit any inquiries about child care directly to the operator. Please check with your child-care provider for more information about their re-opening details.

School boards are to adopt secondary timetabling methods that emphasize cohorting (grouping) of students as much as possible, to limit the number of student-to-student contacts. To reduce risk of transmission and to support contact tracing, school boards are to develop timetables that:

• Limit indirect and direct student contacts to approximately 100 students in the school.
• Are encouraged to keep secondary school students in a maximum of two in-person class cohorts.
• Efforts to cohort secondary school students may impact the traditional four course delivery model in a semestered school and as a result, boards may need to adjust the school day for students.

In Limestone, the secondary learning model was revised on August 26, 2020. Secondary schools will move to a “blocked timetable” with one class occurring at a time. This model will further reduce the number of direct and indirect student contacts and enhance existing safety protocols at the secondary level. The blocked timetable will see students complete one class (period) at a time. Each block will include 300 instructional minutes per day for 23 days (22 instructional days plus one day for culminating activities/exams). Students will still attempt four credits between September and January as they would under a normal semester system in the order: period 1, 2, 3 and 4. Breaks and lunches will be staggered throughout the day, based on school timetables.  

Granite Ridge Education Centre and North Addington Education Centre will not follow this new model. Due to their smaller student populations, they will cohort all classes by grade level and follow the traditional semester model of four courses per semester.

Classes will be conducted outside, weather permitting. Gyms should only be used where physical distancing measures can be followed. All activities should support physical distancing while limiting use of shared equipment. Shared equipment should be cleaned regularly, and students should practise proper hand hygiene before and after participating in physical activity and equipment use.

Read more about subject-specific delivery guidelines in our Family Reference Guide.

Co-operative Education:  In-person community placements can be arranged, and co-op placements can also be offered virtually, where feasible. Students will be provided with PPE for co-op placements as needed, and pre-placement must include a safety component related to COVID-19 precautions.

Technology/Foods Classes: Technology shops should only be used where physical distancing measures can be followed. Activities should support physical distancing while limiting use of shared equipment . Shared equipment should be cleaned regularly, and students should practice proper hand hygiene before and after participating in equipment use. Students should have individual safety equipment where possible, and if shared, must be cleaned between use.

We would treat this the same as any other absence due to illness. The teacher(s) would work with the student/family to determine a plan for the makeup of work.

If you wish to opt out for remote learning in English, you will need to register with your home school.

The minimum amount of time per day that elementary students, depending on their grade level, must be provided with live (synchronous) learning as part of their scheduled or timetabled learning is below:

• Kindergarten: 180 minutes
• Grades 1 to 3: 225 minutes
• Grades 4 to 8: 225 minutes

An important piece of our return to school planning includes knowing which students will not return to in-person school in favour of remote learning.

School staffing is funded and completed based on student numbers so choosing to move from one mode of learning to another is complicated. Depending on the number of students who opt out of returning to school, flexibility to move from remote to in-person school may be dependent on space availability and other factors. 

When making your decision, it is important to note that families who choose remote learning may not be able to easily move back to in-person learning, and vice versa. We will do our best to accommodate requests, but school staffing is funded and completed based on student numbers so choosing to move from one mode of learning to another is complicated. Moves may be dependent on space availability and other factors.

Deadlines to make a change:

• Elementary students wishing to move from remote learning to in-class learning or vice veresa will need to notify their home school by September 14, 2020 to begin in-class instruction September 21, 2020.
  
• UPDATED Aug. 26, 2020 - Secondary students wishing to move from remote learning to in-class learning or vice versa should notify their home school anytime in the preceding  block for the next block.

While efforts will be made to accommodate requests for a change, families should expect that they might need to be wait-listed if they change their minds due to capacity challenges at their home school, or the LDSB Virtual School.

Deadlines to make a change:

• Elementary students wishing to move from remote learning to in-class learning or vice versa will need to notify their home school by September 14, 2020 to begin in-class instruction September 21, 2020.
  
• UPDATED Aug. 26, 2020 - Secondary students wishing to move from remote learning to in-class learning or vice versa should notify their home school anytime in the preceding  block for the next block.

While efforts will be made to accommodate requests for a change, families should expect that they might need to be wait-listed if they change their minds due to capacity challenges at their current school.

Technology will be provided for students who are learning remotely and require it.

Internet access will be provided to students who are learning remotely and do not currently have access (where service is available).

The Ministry document provides guidance for busing. Our bus provider, Tri-Board Student Transportation, will be working with local public health officials to optimize the health and safety of student riders and bus drivers. Tri-Board will work with KFL&A Public Health to ensure increased disinfecting protocols for frequently touched surfaces (e.g., handrails, seatbacks) to at least twice daily. Riders in Grades 4 to 12 will be required to wear non-medical or cloth masks as in school. Students in Kindergarten to Grade 3 will be encouraged to wear masks on student transportation. Exceptions will be made for students with medical conditions or special needs that prevent masking. Bus drivers and other adults riding the bus will also be required to wear masks. Students will be assigned seats and a record of the seating plan will be kept to assist with contact tracing in the case of a student or driver contracting COVID-19. Students who live in the same household or are in the same classroom cohort (group) should be seated together. Families always have the choice of utilizing school bus transportation and active forms of travel (e.g., walking and cycling) and private transportation by parents and caregivers, is encouraged where possible, to ease pressure on transportation demand.

Tri-Board Student Transportation Services will work with KFL&A Public Health to ensure increased disinfecting protocols for frequently touched surfaces (e.g., handrails, seatbacks) to at least twice daily.

Public health officials have indicated that with proper cleaning protocols and the use of universal masking (with noted exceptions) that operating buses at regular capacity is safe. Buses will use assigned seating (and siblings will be seated together where possible) to assist with contact tracing. It should be noted that municipal, public transportation is allowed to currently operate at full capacity with masking.

Tri-Board Student Transportation has indicated there will likely be more bus delays and cancellations this year due to circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Families should have a backup plan to transport their student(s) to school, and to arrange child care where required, if their bus is cancelled for any reason and they cannot transport their student to school. Families should ensure they are signed up to receive direct notifications, either by email, or Tri-Board’s app. Delays and cancellations are also posted to Tri-Board’s Twitter account.

• Subscribe by email to specific bus routes
  
  
• Instructions on how to download the BusPlanner Delays App 

• Follow TriBoard on Twitter

Transportation to and from school is not guaranteed. Families should have a backup plan to transport their student(s) to school, and to arrange child care where required, if their bus is cancelled for any reason and they cannot transport their student to school. Within the City of Kingston, secondary students have access to free Kingston Transit bus passes. If your student doesn’t have a pass but would like one, please visit the City of Kingston website. All children under the age of 14 may also ride Kingston Transit for free. No pass is required. Please note, all passengers on Kingston Transit are required to wear a face covering/mask.

Not necessarily. It is possible that a bus would not be available for the afternoon runs if a driver must be pulled out of service due to COVID-19 screening. Families should have a backup plan to pick up their student(s) from school if their bus is cancelled for the afternoon run.