Goh Ballet encourages all families and students to keep open communications with Administration regarding issues around mental health and wellbeing.

Students in GBYC are provided support regularly from Goh Ballet’s Artistic Coordinator to review goals, progress, and milestones. Should the need arise, Goh Ballet has a roster of experts to refer students to in order to receive priority treatment.

Goh Ballet encourages all dancers to maintain a good diet and get proper rest. Students in the Senior Professional School are provided with daily stretch and strengthening classes, and GBYC students are provided the time and space to properly warm-up prior to the start of their daily training.

Specific references or access to physiotherapy, chiropractic care, sports medicine, and injury consultation and/or prevention are supported through a list of notable experts.

Contact information and recommendations for treatments for students in the Senior Professional School and GBYC may be obtained from the Administration office.

Locker rooms currently remain closed. All students must arrive at the Academy dressed in their requisite Goh Ballet uniform and ready for class (hair done) and bring only what is required for class that day. Spaces for outdoor clothing and shoes outside each studio are cleaned daily.

Cubbies for water bottles and dance bags/caddies are provided for each studio for temporary storage of class items during class time only. These storage spaces are cleaned in between class group changes.

Goh Ballet’s Shop is open by appointment only. Please visit this page of our website for the link to make an appointment. Drop-in visitors to the shop are not allowed.

Goh Ballet’s class schedule is staggered in such a way to keep the number of learning cohorts arriving or exiting the Academy to just one at a time.

Student arrival time for the Junior School (Creative Dance through to J2/Prima) is 5-15 minutes prior to class start. Student arrival time for the Senior Professional School (PA through to GBYC) is 30 minutes prior to class start.

Due to the tight schedule it is important for all students and families to respect the arrival windows and not arrive too early or late for class.

Pick up/departure time for all students is within 5-10 minutes of scheduled class end. Students who are completed with their training day are not allowed to linger in the facilities and must be picked up/depart on time.

Any parent anticipating being late for drop off or pick up must email attendance@gohballet.com and call the Administrative office at 605-872-4014 ext 0 immediately so the faculty may be informed. Perpetual tardiness will be noted on the student’s record.

Protocols are in alignment with the recommendations by the BC Post Secondary Return To Campus (RTC) guidelines. All families, pianists, staff and faculty are provided with information regarding self-assessment, how to use the BC Covid-19 Self Assessment Tool and/or call 8-1-1 for further advice.

Mask Wearing:
Goh Ballet follows the mask wearing protocols as set by the Vancouver School Board. For the 2021-2022 school year this means:

All staff and faculty and visitors are required to wear masks in all indoor common areas at all times, including while teaching.

All students aged 9 and up (Goh Ballet A3 and up/Academic Grade 4 and up) must wear masks at all times.

Exceptions for students include:
– A person who cannot tolerate wearing a mask for health or behavioural reasons
– A person unable to put on or remove a mask without the assistance of another person
– If the mask is removed temporarily for the purposes of identifying the person wearing it
– If the mask is removed temporarily to engage in an educational activity that cannot be performed while wearing a mask. For example: Engaging in high-intensity physical activity
– If a person is eating or drinking
– If a person is behind a barrier
– While providing a service to a person with a disability or diverse ability (for example, a hearing impairment), where visual cues, facial expressions and/or lip reading/movements are important

Students aged 3-8 (Creative Dance through to A2) are encouraged to wear a mask indoors, but are not required to do so. Mask wearing remains a personal or family/caregiver choice for these students.

For more information on the Vancouver School Board’s current mask wearing policy please visit https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/covid-19-safe-schools

Continued Prevention measures:
– Hand sanitizers in all studios and offices
– Hand sanitization stations at entry and exit
– No drop-in visitors allowed and outsiders permitted entry into the facility by appointment only
– Frequently touched surfaces in the facility (washroom fixtures, door knobs, counters) are cleaned frequently
– Frequently touched studio surfaces (barres, stereos, cubbies) are cleaned in between every class with hydrogen peroxide or other disinfecting cleaning agents
– All those entering the facility must conduct a self assessment prior to coming for work, class or an appointment and stay home if any signs of illness are present.
– All those entering the facility must sanitize hands upon entry and exit of the building.
– Anyone exhibiting signs of illness is required to stay home for a minimum of 2 days or until symptoms subside. If COVID-19 exposure is confirmed or suspected, individuals must call 8-1-1 to seek further guidance and obtain a test if deemed necessary. If a Covid-19 test is taken the individual must remain in isolation until results are returned. Any classes missed during quarantine are counted as missed, and Goh Ballet will consider, on a case-by-case basis, alternative options for learning if the student’s personal situation requires an isolation period of more than 2 weeks.
– Locker rooms are temporarily closed

Facilities have the following supporting signage:
– Proper handwashing technique in all washrooms
– Signage describing symptoms and reminders to self-assess prior to entering the facility
– Where necessary, occupancy limits of all studios, offices, and shared spaces
– Reminders to practice proper physical distancing

Cohorts:
-Students are kept within their cohorts and do not mix. Classes are scheduled in a staggered manner so that no two cohorts are entering or exiting at the same time. Drop-off and pick-up times must be strictly observed, students are not allowed to linger in the building after their scheduled pick-up time.
-Queuing for class is outside of the building, there is no queuing inside the facility.

The situation regarding events and productions varies from province to province. When permitted, in accordance with the corresponding provincial health authority, in -person events, both indoor and outdoor, may be permitted with the approval of the school’s Director.

The status of public indoor and outdoor events is subject to change if Public Health Orders or Guidelines require it to be changed.

All are encouraged to review relevant  Public Health Orders for British Columbia , and Public Health Orders for Ontario such as those specific to gatherings and events and food service establishments, liquor services and events, prior to planning and hosting events.

Goh Ballet continues to observe requirements as set by the Government of Canada regarding travel restrictions . This includes possible quarantine or Covid-19 testing upon return to Canada prior to returning to training.

Junior School students who travel and then miss class due to travel and quarantine periods do so voluntarily and accept this may affect performance, competition, and examination opportunities.

Senior Professional School students who must travel and miss class due to travel and quarantine periods must obtain prior permission from the Director before making any travel arrangements and accept that any such travel arrangements may affect performance, competition, and examination opportunities.

Goh Ballet has made special arrangements for International Students in the Senior Professional School to train via supplemental digital resources while waiting for the study permit process to complete.

These supplemental digital resources do not replace annual training, but rather a resource for International Students to continue to do their best to stay in shape while awaiting their study permits to be approved.

Once in Canada it is the expectation that all International Students will avoid all non-essential travel to avoid missing any further training. Training missed during any required quarantine periods after initial arrival in Canada, prior to joining in-studio training, will be made-up during the Academic school year via extra programming scheduled during Winter and/or Spring break. Any classes missed due to additional travel during the training year will not be made-up.

Once a study permit is obtained, Goh Ballet requires all arriving International Students to complete and submit a self-reporting declaration and quarantine plan to Goh Ballet’s Administration Office prior to boarding their flight to Canada. These plans must include details regarding all arrangements regarding transport from airport to quarantine location, access to necessities (groceries, medical, essential services), and contact information once in Canada. All International Students and any accompanying guardian(s) or chaperone(s) must also carefully review the travel restrictions prior to travelling to Canada.

Notification of positive Covid-19 cases, and potential exposures within our community, is managed by public health authorities, not by Goh Ballet. If Goh Ballet is asked by public health authorities to notify our community of a confirmed case, we will do so by distributing material prepared by those public health authorities. Only those identified through contact tracing as “needing to know” will have access to this information.

Contact tracing is the process used by public health authorities to identify individuals who have come into high-risk contact with a person infected with COVID-19. The public health authority contacts these individuals and provides health direction.

Contact tracing is carried out by public health authorities and not Goh Ballet. If the public health authority determines that there may have been high-risk contact with individuals who cannot be reached by direct contact notification, more widespread notification to identified groups may be carried out. (To maintain personal information privacy rights, the public health authority will only disclose limited information about a confirmed case in the Academy’s community when sharing the information is required to support effective contact tracing.)

When carrying out contact tracing, public health authorities follow these steps:

1. A person tests positive for COVID-19 and they become a “case”;
2. The lab completing the testing informs the public health authority and a public health nurse is assigned to interview the case to identify people they’ve spent time with. People with prolonged close contact with the case during their infectious period are “contacts”;
3. The public health authority gets in touch with the contacts and asks them about symptoms of COVID-19;
4. Not every contact needs to be identified: only those who could have been exposed to the case’s respiratory droplets from coughing, sneezing or speaking – this takes close and prolonged contact;
5. The public health authority maintains the case’s privacy. A case can choose to tell others about their diagnosis but should not do their own contact tracing and nor should others (e.g. employers);
6. Contacts with symptoms are sent for testing. If they test positive, they become a ‘case’ and the process repeats;
7. Contacts with no symptoms are asked to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days after their last contact with the case (while they may be in the incubation period of the infection)

For a public health authority to recommend or order closure of a site or facility to prevent infection transmission is a rare step, reserved for circumstances in which direct management of cases and contacts is not sufficient to limit transmission. The public health authority would communicate closely with Goh Ballet’s administration on any recommended closures related to COVID-19.