Estevan Mercury 20210901

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The kids are back in school! Please slow down in school zones.

Kids in business. Check out advertisements created by local children. Throughout paper

Downtown Estevan 306.634.3666

ESTEVAN MERCURY

.CA

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Let the school year begin, and go smooth Telethon is next. United Way Estevan starts preparations for fundraiser. PAGE A3

Hold on, it’s coming. Last touches are put on rodeo weekend. PAGE A6

Many families were out at Sacred Heart School / Ecole Sacre Coeur Monday afternoon, dropping off backpacks, meeting teachers and asking questions during the school's open house ahead of Sept. 1. Chelsey, Jeremy, Hunter and Ryley Istach, along with Areeb, Anaya, Seihan and Angela Hossain and Zennetul Ferdous, and Annorah and Raquel Klassen were spotted at one of the classrooms getting things ready for the beginning of the school year. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

Welcome! New restaurant with well-known meat delicacies opens doors. PAGE A7

Celebrating together. Estevan Motor Speedway crowns the champions. PAGE A12

Safety and consistency in education remain priorities for two school divisions Safety of staff and students, as well as consistent education and mental health, are the main priorities for the South East Cornerstone Public School Division and the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division, according to their respective safe school plans for when the 2021-22 school year begins Sept. 1. Both plans were released last week. Cornerstone says all physical schools will adhere to the developed guidelines, which took a considerable amount of time to develop. “It’s been a challenging process. We have a shifting foundation, but our target has never changed. We’re really working to return as close to normal as we can, while focusing on keeping everybody as safe as possible, following the guidance of our local health experts, and then specific to each area, because within the provincial plan, there is a

direction to work locally, based on local epidemiology,” pointed out Lynn Little, the director of education with SECPSD. The Cyber Stone Virtual School within SECPSD is open for enrolment for those choosing a virtual environment for safety or personal reasons. The public division says it is committed to working with its local medical health officers and health team to monitor the status and make changes to address the safety of students, staff and community. Beginning Sept. 1 and until further notice, in Cornerstone, students in Grade 6 and under will be required to wear masks indoors at times where student cohorts are mixing, such as assemblies or paired class activities while in an indoor setting. Cohorts are defined as groups of students who are together for the majority of the school day. At the pre-

kindergarten to Grade 6 level, this is by grade/classroom. All adults and students in Grade 7 and up, including visitors, vaccinated or not, are required to wear masks indoors when in areas and at functions where children under the age of 12 (Grade 6 and under) are present and in mixed cohorts. All students, preK-12, and staff are required to wear masks on school buses due to the proximity of students who have not had access to vaccinations and the mixing of cohorts. This will be revisited upon vaccination availability, Cornerstone said in its plan. “When we met with our local medical health officers, we dug into that (provincial) plan a little bit deeper, and really focused on the vulnerable children. And those are the children under the age of 12, who have not had the opportunity to access vaccinations,”

Little explained. “When you look at our plan, the masking requirements are really focused on that population that’s under age 12. If the cohorts are mixing, then we’ll have the children wear masks. That would happen if they happen to have an assembly or if there are two or three classes in the library at the same time. For the most part, we would anticipate that we’ll keep those cohorts separate, which is a big part of the plan, and then masking isn’t required.” All individuals, students, staff, and visitors who are not fully vaccinated are strongly recommended and encouraged to always wear masks while at school, or during school events. This is especially important, and is a staff responsibility, for staff working with children under the age of 12 (Grade 6 and under) and for students who are immune-compromised. A2 » BACK


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