Kids go back to school in Saskatoon amid novel coronavirus pandemic: ‘It’s weird’

After nearly six months at home amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, kids once again filed into classrooms across Saskatoon Tuesday morning for back to school.

In some ways, drop-off looks like any other year, with kids getting off the bus or being brought to school by parents or a guardian. What’s different this year are the extra layers of protection.

One big difference is that students line up outside, rather than going inside, at “muster points” — flags or signs where classes line up to keep their groups together.

They’re let in in these groups or “cohorts” to keep interactions to a minimum.

Inside, there are signs on the ground guiding traffic and reminding people to stand at least two metres apart, desks are spread out in classrooms, and hand sanitizer is available across the school.

You can read more about the changes inside schools here.

Some schools have staggered starts so everyone can get used to the new routine, according to Saskatoon Public Schools.

“The class sizes will be small this week as we organize the students to see what all of these new protocols will look like,” said superintendent of education Colleen Norris.

“We’ve arranged the physical layout of our classes to have as much distance as possible.”

It was a busy first morning outside Saskatoon’s Ernest Lindner school. For some, the first day of school was long overdue.

“I feel like nothing has even changed, really — life’s got to go on,” said Jeff Koetting, who was dropping off his six-year-old daughter for her first day of Grade 1. “I’m just glad to get them back in school.”

Some kids, like his daughter, are excited to get back to class and get back to the things they missed.

Others are a little more apprehensive.

“It’s different,” said sixth-grader Gabriel Bell, talking about the changes at school as he pulls at his mask. “It’s weird, and I’m not going to enjoy it much.”

Students, teachers and parents will spend this week figuring out what the new school year will look like while trying to keep everyone safe.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.