Students at Westbrook School will have to wait a little bit longer to see their new classrooms.
To accommodate the logistical challenges faced by staff and students as they enter the new school, the Rocky View Schools (RVS) Board of Trustees has provided a grace period before classrooms officially reopen.
During a special board meeting Aug. 25, the board unanimously voted in favour of delaying the opening of the school to Sept. 8 and 9. Westbrook School will have a staggered entry for around 150 students in grades 1 to 8 on those days, with the first full day of school taking place Sept. 10.
Staff were officially given the go-ahead to begin entering the new building Aug. 25 and could begin moving into the building Aug. 27 when they returned to work. On Sept. 2 to 4, staff will prepare the school for the arrival of students.
Prior to the arrival of students, staff will be setting up their classrooms in the new space and getting new COVID-19 public health measures in place. Because of this, Superintendent Greg Luterbach said it would be beneficial to provide a grace period for everyone to settle.
“When they return, everything that they have is in a sea can on the property or getting moved over," he said. "There’s furniture to get established and set up. There’s setting up classroom spaces and other spaces that needs to happen. We’ve got an additional factor this year with a bunch of school re-entry tasks that have related to COVID-19 and the pandemic.”
Due to these mitigating factors, Luterbach said RVS administration believed it was essential to support the school’s students, families and staff by giving them time to adapt and have a successful start to the year.
He added additional time will allow students to explore the new school grounds in smaller groups while learning the COVID-19 health measures that have been put in place.
“Having staggered entry over two days rather than three is going to be manageable but this will really allow the staff to get their feet under them in the new building,” Luterbach said. “We recognize that this will have an impact on instructional time but we think again, just like staggered entry across the entire system, that this will set up the school well for success."
The new Westbrook School has been in the works since November 2017 when the board passed a motion to fund the construction of a new core school building to replace the 1950’s wood-framed structure.
Construction of the school has been taking place throughout the 2019-2020 school year, with changes taking place adjacent to the existing Westbrook School. The old building was officially knocked down July 6.
Westbrook School principal Christine Parker was on hand for the special meeting and praised the “stunning” new building students will be returning too. Parker said she had the opportunity to give five staff members a “jaw-dropping” tour of the facility.
She added the extra time for re-entry approved by the board will allow community members and staff to prepare appropriately as they transition to in-person learning.
“We really do want to open," she said. "We really do want to be there on day one, but we also want to make sure that we do it right. I want to make sure that we are setting ourselves up for success – My team is ready to go.”
