Martine Aubry attends the start of the school year for Turgot school in Lille.

-

M.Libert / 20 Minutes

After the teachers returned to school on Monday, it was the children's turn to return to school this Tuesday morning, in Lille as everywhere in France.

A new school year which will, despite everything, be stamped with coronavirus.

If the mayor of Lille, Martine Aubry, could not ignore the issue, she did not want to stop there.

Very straddling the issue of education, the Socialist had therefore invited the press to the Turgot primary school, a model of a "peaceful" and "sustainable" school.

From 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning, children and parents arrived in small groups in front of the still closed gates of the Turgot school, in the working-class district of Lille-Sud.

While the little ones displayed shiny satchels, moms and dads wore special masks.

Apart from that, for the untrained eye, it is difficult to think that we are in the midst of the rebound from the coronavirus epidemic.

Forgotten the markings on the ground, disappeared the social distancing.

And yet, the organization is very different: “We work in bubbles by level.

The 1st grade come first, then the 2nd grade and the 2nd grade and finally the 2nd grade and the 1st grade, ”explains a teacher behind her mask, trying to bring together the students in her class.

"This re-entry is very different from that after confinement"

“Try to space yourself out to avoid traffic jams,” says without much success the director of the establishment.

Usually, all the students enter at the same time, accompanied by their parents: "There, it was not possible, there are still 272 children divided into 16 classes, it's a big school", slips the director.

It is therefore impossible to stick to a staff of 10 per room, as was the case on May 14th.

“This return to school is very different from that after confinement because we welcome all children,” confirms Martine Aubry.

We had to reassure the parents of these neighborhoods who had not returned their children to school in May, ”she says.

As recommended by the Ministry of Education, all adults, whether teaching staff or not, wear a mask.

But the town hall wanted to go beyond: "The rooms are cleaned three times a day and children are taken to wash their hands between six and eight times a day", details the elected.

And to avoid closing an entire school for a single suspicion of Covid-19, the town hall applies the “non-brewing” technique.

Pupils of different levels do not meet, neither in the corridors, nor in during recess.

Ditto in the canteen where, sometimes, meals can even be served in class.

For the Turgot school, which is particularly "attractive", at least that was needed.

It is an example of what the city wants to do in schools under its responsibility: de-concreting, revegetation and awareness of sustainable development.

The establishment has many outdoor facilities: an above ground vegetable garden, a "ladybug lawn", a rainwater collector ... "Some children had even requested a jacuzzi", laughs the director.

Montpellier

Montpellier: For the canteen, the city wants small kitchens near schools with vegetable gardens

Society

Coronavirus: Amiens high school students in quarantine after a pre-school internship

  • Coronavirus

  • Back to School

  • Lille

  • Covid 19

  • Child