by Milan M. Streit

SCHOOLS REOPENING

Public schools across the province are reopening with a staged approach during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is keeping school administrators, teachers, staff, parents and students informed with regular email updates.

The latest update deals with the safety of the school environment, something of course on the minds of many of us.

VCH writes reassuringly: “Although children are often at increased risk for viral respiratory illnesses, that is not the case with COVID-19. Compared to adults, children are less likely to become infected with COVID-19, less likely to develop a severe illness as a result of infection, and less likely to transmit the infection to others.”

That’s good news.

The health authority also says in its email that “COVID-19 activity in the region has decreased significantly and there is currently very little evidence of community transmission. As a result, Vancouver Coastal Health believes that the risk in schools is low.”

Here are some measures from Vancouver Coastal Health for you to decrease the risk of COVID-19 at school:

Stay home when sick. Students and staff with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should not come to school and should be tested for the novel coronavirus.
Support physical distancing where possible. The Provincial Health Officer’s recommendation to stay two metres apart is important and should be followed as much as possible, but it may not be feasible and is not expected at all times. COVID transmission in outdoor settings is less likely.
Perform routine cleaning with enhanced cleaning of high touch surfaces. Items that cannot be easily cleaned should be limited.
Wash hands frequently and practice respiratory etiquette. Hand hygiene using soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer regularly throughout the day is recommended. Non-medical masks are not needed or recommended, but wearing a mask by personal choice should be permitted.

Whatever Graduation 2020 looks like, it won’t be held at the Playhouse Theatre, site of last year’s ceremony, and now an empty room.

WHAT IS GRADUATION GOING TO LOOK LIKE?

After thirteen years of school, many students look forward to a graduation ceremony, but times are different now, and gatherings like graduations are no longer an option. But that doesn’t mean graduation is completely cancelled. The U.S., a country hit much harder than Canada, has come up with some interesting ideas - from televised graduation events to using video games such as Minecraft, and even riding up ski lifts with photos of grads.

I've been told by King George staffer Jess Coomes that admin is planning some type of event, with students showing up to a local venue to be given a diploma and a photo with admin on iPads. There would be no crowd, rather, the event would be streamed on YouTube or other multimedia.

Personally, I think this is a great idea, as it gives grads the celebration they deserve and supports a local venue. One suggestion I have is maybe contacting a Vancouver media outlet such as the CBC, Global or City TV to stream the ceremony live on television or radio.

HOW ONLINE GRADING WORKS

One question I've been seeing a lot recently on various Microsoft Teams’ servers is: how do grades work on online school?

Back in May, an email was sent out to parents about this important topic to students. Basically, if you do weekly attendance checks, you can't fail. However, you can improve your grade by doing assignments and checkups.

SUMMER SCHOOL - ALL ONLINE

This year, the Vancouver School Board (VSB) Summer School will remain online, despite the return to class this month. There are a few other changes too. Signups are limited to Grade 10 – 12 academic courses only with a maximum of two courses per person. You also must be enrolled in a Vancouver public school.

The 23 Beach bus holds 15 passengers at the best of times. Students commuting from Yaletown may have to seek alternative transportation.

INCREASED CAPACITY ON BUSES

With the return of school, public transit is expected to have a large spike in ridership. However, is it possible to maintain that two-metre physical distancing during rush-hour?

While TransLink says 90 percent of buses and SkyTrains are now running, CEO Kevin Desmond suggests wearing a face covering of any sort to keep others protected.

Many students who commute from Yaletown could choose the option to take a different form of transportation such as biking, walking, or car. And in many ways, it may be faster than public transit, since buses are only allowed to carry half of regular capacity. To make that clearer, the C23 seats around 15 people normally, but with capacity slashed, only seven can board at a time.

Milan M. Strait with retiring Jess Coombs (left) and King George Vice-Principal Paul Godfrey.

JESS COOMES RETIRES

After many years at King George Secondary, Jess Coomes has retired. He started in the late 80s as a Youth and Family Worker - a now-defunct job title. He told the Dragon’s Pen in a past interview that during his first couple of years at KG, the school was way overcapacity and mentioned the lack of rules.

Jess is well known for being the “Old Crazy Funny Guy” among students, and it especially shows inside his former office which at one point looked like an antique store.

Another popular trait of Jess is his flip phone. He argued that phones are too complicated nowadays and break too easily. To demonstrate the fact that his phone is better, he chucks his phone to a wall or floor and somehow, the brick doesn’t break.

Jess is often credited as kind of the “third in command” in the office, as he takes charge for things like moderating the announcements and events.

While he's retiring, he's not exactly leaving. Jess is continuing to operate the King George Archives as a volunteer and he’ll be attending most future events.

The Dragon’s Pen would personally like to thank Jess for his enthusiasm and comedy which brightens everyone's day. Jess is one of the Dragon’s Pen’s biggest supporters, providing time and effort to get the word out!

Thank you Jess, we hope to see you soon.