The Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is engulfing our communities in British Columbia. Here at Safe Schools Coalition BC, we have come up with some actions you might consider taking. Some of these action items apply to both parents and teachers, so please read through both sections.

Parents:

1) If you can, keep your children home if you do not feel confident about current school safety measures. If they’re a teenager, give them a challenge to work on, or a problem to solve. Teen brains are at their peak for creative thinking. Get them inspired with this article. They could also spend time seeing what other kids around the world are doing through TED kids.  They could also be inspired by this Canadian teen in Ontario who is solving the problem of a virus floating in the air in classrooms. If they are younger, get them doing something that involves lots of physical activity, preferable outside. Play is crucially important for developing brains.

2) If you can’t keep your children home, ensure they have a good mask and that it fits snugly on their face. They should avoid taking their mask off at school. Develop solutions for eating at school. Reassure them that masks are powerful protection and outside air is their friend.

3) Contact your MLA by phone or email or social media and let them know what you think about what the ministry of education is doing. You can use the script, and additional points of contact, we used in the January 7 joint-advocacy group phone zap.

4) Join us in our advocacy efforts at Safe Schools Coalition BC. Follow and stay tuned to our social media feeds on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to keep in the know about our latest actions and initiatives that you can participate in.

5) You can write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. We also welcome you to share that opinion with us. We will consider your (approximately 500-word) opinion to share with our audience right here on Safe Schools Coalition BC’s new section, Letters to the Editor. Those letters can be sent to info@safeschoolscoalitionbc.com with the subject line “Letters to the Editor”.

Teachers:

1) Watch this video of President of the BC Teachers' Federation Teri Mooring’s response to the British Columbia government’s COVID-19 briefing on Friday 7 January

2) Let your Local Reps know your thoughts. There is a Representative Assembly on 28 and 29 January. Suggest motions for your LRs to take to this governance body.

3) Review the process for refusing unsafe work through WorkSafeBC.

4) Join the advocacy to get N95 masks and prioritisation for booster shots for education staff as has been done in Ontario.

5) Practice everything you know about wellness and  taking care of your mental health.

What do you think? Do you have any helpful suggestions to get through the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic? Get in touch with us today, by commenting on the mirroring twitter thread, leaving a comment on this post or by emailing us.