Students are set to return in person to South Salem High School on April 13th, but how will the return to school look, and, most importantly, how will everyone stay safe?
April 13 marks the start of the fourth quarter for the 2020-2021 school year. The quarter lasts about 8 weeks, with students attending in-person on their regular cohort days of Tuesday/Thursday or Wednesday/ Friday. ‘Off’ days, or applied learning days, will be the days opposite to the cohort days and will be asynchronous at home.
Canvas will be used for both cohort and applied learning days, similar to online learning. Students will bring their devices, whether a district issued chromebook or a personal computer, to school every day.
“Students will need to charge their Chromebooks at home and bring them to school every day as we will continue to use Canvas as our learning management system,” Principal Lara Tiffin told the Clypian.
Aside from the logistics of ending the school year on campus, safety is the biggest concern.
“We will be following ODE’s guidelines regarding safety protocols. In fact, there are about 160 protocols that we need to consider in our planning,” Tiffin shared.
Among these 160 protocols, “…wearing masks will be at the top of the list, as will washing our hands, staying six feet apart, [and] keeping windows open to increase ventilation and consistent cleaning of surfaces. Many of these steps should be common practice to anyone surviving the pandemic, but as the weather gets nicer, it is essential to add ventilation to the list of safety precautions.”
Returning for quarter 4 will be different than school before the pandemic, but fortunately the most important steps to staying safe are now common practice among many high schoolers.
Tiffin also stresses the importance of the size of the operation, “We need to remember that we are a large community coming together into one school. Our efforts and actions while at school and while not at school will impact all of us.”
With so many protocols in place it can be easy to give up on safety when it only applies to yourself, but at school your performance can affect any student. Staying safe isn’t just for each individual student, but for all the other students, teachers, and staff.
Mr. Hercher, a Chemistry teacher at South, explained what the inside of a quarter 4 classroom will look like.
“Our classrooms will be arranged to allow for distancing between students and teachers. In addition, students and staff will be wearing masks at all times,” Hercher shared.
Desks will be “arranged” to make sure social distancing is abided, while “the classroom windows will be open as much as feasible in order to ensure frequent exchanges with outside air.”
Additionally, Hercher emphasizes that “refrain[ing] from sharing equipment or items,” is essential, especially in science classrooms, but also for any subject. Keeping to one’s own person reduces the risk of the virus spreading from person to person.
Because there will be less class time during quarter 4 than previous quarters, “we will be required to reduce the amount of material we can cover.” Following these restrictions, “students will have to plan on doing more of that learning on their applied learning days.” Yet, while more will have to be done outside of class, Hercher is hopeful that, “science lab opportunities within the health guidelines” will be possible.
In all, it is up to each component of South’s large community to make sure the in-person quarter 4 stays a reality. Students need to be prepared for a classroom environment that is different from how they left it, teachers will have to help the administration’s enforcement of safety guidelines, while teaching curriculum in an ever-changing system.
