Western Quebec schools prepare to open with few students

Schools in western Quebec are getting ready to welcome students back next week, but things will look a lot different and classrooms will likely be far from full.

It's estimated that 60 per cent of the province's students will return May 11, according to theQuebec Federation of Educational Establishment Administrators.

Numbers in the Outaouais, however, are expected to be lower than that.

In the French-languageschools,between 35 and 50per cent of students will likely return depending on the board, according to numbers compiled by Radio-Canada.

Registration data from theEnglish-language Western Quebec School Board, meanwhile, shows that 14.3 per cent of their elementary students will be returning when schools open Tuesday.

Taped-out areas

Quebec's Ministry of Education is requiring schools to limit classrooms to 15 students at a timeand to keep studentstwo metres apart from each other.

For Letha Henry, who teaches Grades 1 and 2 at Queen Elizabeth Elementary School in Kazabazua, Que., that's meant taping out an area on the floor for each child that will contain their desk and all their personal belongings.

[We've] needed to really shift our thinking.- Letha Henry, teacher

Common spaces and outdoor time will also berestricted, Henry said, and staff at her school are still working out how to best conduct playand exercise time.

"[We've] needed to really shift our thinking and understand the requirements set up for us, and then do our best to make them happen,' Henry said.

Henry thinks the low registration numbers will make the transition more manageable. But if more parents eventually decide to send their children back, it may be difficult to figure out where to put them.

"That's something that we'll have to work toward," Henry said. "With the current spacing requirements at 100 per cent capacity, it would be tricky."

Buses ready to roll

Also tricky: how to fit students on school buses.

Chez Autobus Campeau, the transportation company that runs school buses throughout western Quebec, is prepared to welcome students on board if they stay one to a seat, and leave an empty seat between them.

Older students will be responsible for enforcing the rules, the company said.

Children will also have to get used to seeing their driver seated behind a plastic shield,wearing goggles and gloves.

"For drivers, that's a big change. Because when the children come to the bus, they say'Hi', and they are happy to see the drivers. And now that's different." said Martine Poirier, administrator for the transportation company.

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Quebec bus companies like Campeau Bus Lines are getting ready to take students back to school starting Monday. Buses are being cleaned, protective screens are being installed for drivers, and the seats are being marked to ensure physical distancing.

The company offered a bonus to compete with the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), and Poirier said 40 of their 100 drivers have decided to come back to work.

Instead of getting $500 through CERB, drivers will get $680 per week, plus vacation pay.