GALION — Thursday is the first day of classes for Galion City Schools and protocols and rules and regulations are in place for all students, teachers and staff.

Teachers have had extra days of training this week to make sure all staff is on the same page with those new protocols.

Before classroom learning starts Thursday, students, who have not been in the classroom for about six months, will have to get reacquainted with being back in school and will start learning to live with the new normal.

That new normal includes rules and regulations having to do with stopping the spread of COVID-19 at all school district across the students.

Galion City Schools announced its protocols and its reopening plan last month and has been very up-front about what will be expected from teachers, students, staff, and parents as the new school year begins. New superintendent Jennifer Allerding has been available on many different occasions via school district’s Facebook page to answer questions and to explains the new protocals.

Galion City Schools also has information available on its website about protocols for each of its four schools: primary, intermediate, middle and high school.

The Galion City Schools website is www.galionschools.org.

Here are the protocols in place for primary school students and what can be expected as the new school year starts for students who are attending classes on the Galion City Schools campus.

Primary School

Arrival & Breakfast

• Students will be permitted in the building beginning at 8:45 a.m.

• Arrival procedures will remain the same.

• Face masks/shields are expected upon exit from vehicle/entry to building and while riding on the bus.

• Cafeteria staff will deliver breakfast to classrooms once students are settled and hands are washed.

• Student temperatures will be checked upon entry into 1st period classes by no-touch thermometers.

Classroom

• Seating charts will be implemented for each class.

• Any shared materials will be cleaned and sanitized between use.

• Students will wash or sanitize their hands prior to entering and exiting classrooms.

• Students will disinfectant their desk after use.

• Teachers will monitor and give permission when students may SAFELY “take a break” from their face masks or face shields. Students are NOT required to “take a break” from the use of their face masks or face shields.

• Students will use additional desk “dividers” to create safe zones.

Hallways

• Schedules have been adjusted to permit only one grade level in the hallways at one time.

Lockers and classrooms

• Students will be assigned a cubby in their classroom.

• Individually-labeled containers and supplies will be kept in cubbies.

• Students will be dismissed by group to access cubbies.

• If students use face shields, as provided by the district, they will be labeled and remain at school in the student’s assigned cubby.

Lunch

• Students will wash or sanitize their hands prior to coming to lunch.

• Students will sit at designated areas at clearly marked tables.

• Students will be dismissed by table to receive lunch.

• Students will use a touchless pay system.

Recess

• Face mask or face shield breaks may be permitted under the guidance of staff.

• Classes will be assigned a specific playground area that will rotate on a daily basis.

• Students will wash or sanitize their hands before and after recess.

Restrooms

• Students in kindergarten will use classroom bathrooms when possible.

• Grades 1 and 2 will use hallway restrooms with two students allowed in the restroom at a time.

• Restrooms will be disinfected throughout day.

Dismissal

• PreK students will be dismissed at 3:40 p.m.

• Kindergarten students will be dismissed at 3:45 p.m.

• 1st- and 2nd-grade students will be dismissed at 3:50 p.m.

• Students who ride the bus will be dismissed by bus number. • Students with siblings in younger grades will dismiss at the earlier dismissal time.

Information on protocols for the intermediate, middle and high schools is available online at www.galioncityschools.org

That website is your best source as new information from the State of Ohio and Ohio Department of Health changes is announced regularly.