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S P E C I A L F E A T U R E with our teachers fast and directly," Wray says. "In a situation like COVID-19, we have to move quickly and have flexibility." Liam Sullivan, deputy head - student life at Brentwood College School on Vancouver Island, says the school leadership knew right away they were not going to entertain ideas of taking their learning experience online this September. "We made a decision that we are a face-to-face, in-person, on-campus schooling option," Sullivan says. "All the discussion of how the mental stress affects children has affirmed to us that we needed to focus on this." The Ministry of Education's plan did not specifically relate to a boarding school environment, so Brentwood partnered with Shawnigan Lake School to devise a strategy that specifically addresses what a campus environment can offer in response to infectious disease. They consulted with Perry Kendall— provincial health officer until 2018 when Dr. Bonnie Henry took over—and leveraged his experience working through the H1N1 pandemic to develop a plan that applied to a campus model. "We sent that plan to the Ministry of Education and had it accepted and published in the area of the Return to School Plan devoted to boarding schools," Sullivan says. The plan's acceptance as best practice in BC was the affirmation the school needed that they would be able to handle the situation in the longer term. "We have the facilities, the health care team, and the structure in place to allow students to live their lives while maintaining more direction than the normal day student population would have where kids go home and schools have no control over how they interact with others," Sullivan says. Today, the students are healthy and happy, and Brentwood always remains ready to nimbly switch between relatively free flow of students and shutting the gates if necessary. "Our goal has always been that when we return to school, it would look and I N D E P E N D E N T S C H O O L S S P E C I A L F E A T U R E with our teachers fast and directly," Wray says. "In a situation like COVID-19, we have to move quickly and have flexibility." Liam Sullivan, deputy head - student life at Brentwood College School on Vancouver Island, says the school leadership knew right away they were not going to entertain ideas of taking their learning experience online this September. "We made a decision that we are a face-to-face, in-person, on-campus schooling option," Sullivan says. "All the discussion of how the mental stress affects children has affirmed to us that we needed to focus on this." The Ministry of Education's plan did not specifically relate to a boarding school environment, so Brentwood partnered with Shawnigan Lake School to devise a strategy that specifically addresses what a campus environment can offer in response to infectious disease. They consulted with Perry Kendall— provincial health officer until 2018 when Dr. Bonnie Henry took over—and leveraged his experience working through the H1N1 pandemic to develop a plan that applied to a campus model. "We sent that plan to the Ministry of Education and had it accepted and published in the area of the Return to School Plan devoted to boarding schools," Sullivan says. The plan's acceptance as best practice in BC was the affirmation the school needed that they would be able to handle the situation in the longer term. "We have the facilities, the health care team, and the structure in place to allow students to live their lives while maintaining more direction than the normal day student population would have where kids go home and schools have no control over how they interact with others," Sullivan says. Today, the students are healthy and happy, and Brentwood always remains ready to nimbly switch between relatively free flow of students and shutting the gates if necessary. "Our goal has always been that when we return to school, it would look and feel like Brentwood," Sullivan says. "We are holding sports and arts, and when you walk around staff and students are wearing masks and social distancing, but it still feels like our school." When West Point Grey Academy learned in mid-March that schools would be entering stage 4 following spring break, the school's leadership team planned and prepared for eLearning curriculum delivery and conducted teacher training and professional development. "Like all schools, we were navigating the unknown, but the experience strengthened our ability to adapt, focus and be flexible," says Megan MacMillan, communications director at WPGA. "It also heightened our commitment to our students' and community's wellbeing, including their mental and emotional health." I N D E P E N D E N T S C H O O L S Mulgrave School, located in a picturesque setting in West Vancouver, offers a Pre-K to G12, gender inclusive, IB learning environment. We welcome applications for 2021-22. Intake years are Pre-K3, Pre-K4, Kindergarten, and Grades 7, 10 & 11. Book a tour or virtual information session at explore.mulgrave.com EXPLORE.MULGRAVE.COM INSPIRING EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AND LIFE