After a week of virtual summer school, on-site summer school has started with social distancing in place.
Adam Lett, principal at Pineville Elementary School, said the first week of summer school, all students had class via Google Classroom. Some students are still attending virtually while others are attending on-site.
"The kids that have shown up have been divided up by grade span and are doing lessons in science, social studies, math and English," he said. "Some are hands-on, some are pencil/paper, some are technology-based."
Instead of combining some of the elementary schools for summer school, the school district is using all its elementary schools this year to encourage social distancing, Lett said. In the past, Pineville Elementary students would have been sent to White Rock Elementary School for summer school. Using all the schools creates smaller class sizes, he said.
Lett said teachers expressed some nervousness about going back to school due to the climate of the nation with the virus, however, they were excited to get back in class with the students, and the students were excited to see the teachers.
"That's what we were hoping would happen, just to help the kids get back to some sense of normalcy," he said.
Some social distancing measures the school is taking include not rotating classes (students stay in their homeroom for all classes) and having breakfast and lunch delivered to their homeroom, Lett said. Students do go out for recess and PE.
He noted the school still offers curbside service for families who want to pick up breakfast and lunch for students ages 18 and under.
Lett commented on the value of summer school.
"Right now, especially for these kids, it's very valuable, because they have been out of school since the middle of March, the activities will help with the regression they've been experiencing. Everyone will experience some regression. This will help students practice the skills they learned the previous year. Just getting back into the habit of being a good listener, communicating, things like that.
"Some of the things we do in afternoon classes are all enrichment. We have a drone class, a robotics class, one class is doing some cooking ... they are all doing their own individual cooking. We have a lifetime sports class ... Legos where they build and design things with Legos. There's a lot of activities they get to do. And they get to see their friends. A lot of them haven't seen their friends in a long time, so lots of smiles on the first day."
He noted students and staff have been wearing masks at school.
"In the hallways, we have been (wearing masks). With the little kids, it's optional but with the bigger kids and the staff, we have been. We're trying to create that safety with the kids. We're sanitizing throughout the day, the custodian walks around sanitizing doorknobs, bathrooms, etc. They have a special sanitizer they can spray on a desktop and it disinfects the surface."
He added, "Everyone is doing their part. The kids have been very, very good about everything. I haven't had to get on to many kids about not wearing their masks. We all forget every once in a while."
Summer school runs through Aug. 5.