By MORGAN MANNS
for the courier
FOSTORIA — Students and their parents were given details about the students’ return to the classroom this week at a meeting Monday night at Fostoria Intermediate Elementary School.
Students in grades 7 to 12 have been out of school since a fire closed Fostoria Junior/Senior High School last Tuesday. Students are expected to return to a school setting Wednesday, with St. Wendelin School hosting grades 7-8 and the Fostoria Learning center hosting grades 9-12.
According to school officials, students who were eligible to ride the bus prior to the fire will still be taken by bus to the alternate locations. Students who use SCAT (Seneca County Agency Transportation) are asked to notify their driver which grade level they are in so the driver can drop them off at the proper location.
Those who attend Sentinel-Vanguard, Bridges Community Academy or North Central Academy will be picked up at the former Holmes School, 500 Parkway Drive. Departure time will remain the same, according to officials. Students will be brought back to that location at the end of the day.
For high school students, the school day will consist of seven periods from 7:35 a.m. to 2:25 p.m. with lunch from 12:10-12:35 p.m. for freshmen, from 10:20-10:45 a.m. for sophomores and from 11:15-11:40 a.m. for juniors and seniors.
When they arrive for their first day, students will enter the learning center on the northeast corner. Buses will drop students off at the corner while parents can drop their students off where the learning center parking lot connects to the Kroger parking lot. Parents will then exit out of the Kroger parking lot on West High Street.
Student parking will include two rows of parking spaces on the west side of the Kroger parking lot. When entering the building, students will find a table for their respective grade where they will report their name, receive their assigned group and will be directed to their first period class.
Staff members were at the learning center for a big chunk of the day Monday setting up their classroom spaces.
Junior high students will be located in the south wing of St. Wendelin Catholic School, where the old high school classrooms were. Classes will be set up in the rooms as well as the gymnasium.
Students will enter on the south side of the west wing of the building. Bus and parent dropoff and pickup will be located just outside those doors in the south parking lot.
The school day will consist of six periods beginning at 7:35 a.m. and ending at 2:25 p.m.
Students who ride the bus home will be dismissed at 2:10 p.m. to board busses in the south lot with a departure time of 2:17 p.m. Parents may not enter the parking lot for pickup until after 2:20 p.m.
Lunch will be from 10:35-11 a.m. for 7th-grade students and from 12:05-12:30 p.m. for 8th-grade students.
All students in grades 7-12 will receive a sack lunch, according to officials, who asked students and parents/guardians to prepay on accounts if possible. Those who pay in cash on a daily basis with change will have that change credited to their accounts.
Staff and students are utilizing furniture, such as desks, tables and chairs, from St. Wendelin and the learning center as well as donations from various local companies.
Cleaner & Dryer Restoration and Construction, Toledo, was hired to get the air quality in the junior/senior high school building up to a clean, safe standard.
The company initially gave officials a completion date of 6-8 weeks; however, officials announced Monday a new completion date of 4 weeks.
The cleaning company began 24-hour cleaning days over the weekend, working to clean everything from the floor up, including ductwork, as well as replacing ceiling tiles.