Anglophone School District South to open schools for teachers to retrieve ‘what they need’

School in Anglophone School District – South (ASD-S) will open their doors briefly on Thursday, but only to teachers and staff.

A memo from Superintendent Zoe Watson, obtained by Global News and confirmed by the district, said staff and the province were finalizing details to allow teachers to enter their schools to retrieve “personal belongings, laptops, charger cords, teacher materials, plants” and other items they’ll need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A similar scenario is being mapped out for district offices on Friday.

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Schools in New Brunswick have been closed since March 16, with an initial two-week closure extended indefinitely in an announcement last week by Education Minister Dominic Cardy.

In the memo, emailed to staff Wednesday, Watson wrote, “schools will be open tomorrow, (Thursday) and our three offices on Friday for staff to go in and retrieve what they need.”

She said steps to open the schools safely had been discussed in a call with the province.

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The memo included what Watson called a “screening questionnaire” for staff to review prior to being allowed to enter a school. She suggested staff prepare in advance and have an idea what items they wish to remove, “as visits to the school are to be short.”

“If you have travelled and are self-isolating or are not feeling well, you may wish to consider having a colleague pick up things from your work area,” Watson said.

Watson said the principals of each school would be responsible for developing and sharing a schedule with staff to avoid large gatherings or people entering and leaving through the same doors at the same time.

“I expect in larger schools it may be 20 minutes to go in and get what you need,” Watson wrote. “If you have small plants it would be good to take those at this time.”