VICTORIA -- High school students returning to classes in Sooke next month will attend part-time, taking one course at a time for approximately five weeks before taking another. 

It's part of the Sooke School District's plan to restart in-class learning unveiled Tuesday.

Called the one-eighth model, students will attend in the mornings or afternoons only in an effort to reduce the number of students interacting in schools at any one time.

"Not only does the 1/8th model drastically reduce the number of people in a cohort, it also reduces the number of people in the school at any given time thereby limiting the number of people in common spaces," said Sooke schools superintendent Scott Stinson in a statement Tuesday.

"Outside of their a.m. or p.m. class, students will have the remainder of the day for self-directed learning – either at home or on-site where they can receive additional support or access resources."

Elementary and middle school students will attend full-time classes with their designated cohorts, as per provincial guidelines. The school district says two classes may join together to create temporary learning groups of no more than 60 students, as per the guidelines.

The school district says sanitizing stations will be at the entrances to the school and children will remain in their 60-student groups when playing outside or having lunch.

The district is also encouraging parents and guardians to provide their own transportation to and from school, if possible. Stinson tells CTV News the school district plans to make adjustments to existing bus routes but won't know exactly which routes until it receives feedback from parents.

"Health and safety and honouring student choice are at the foundation of our plan," said board chair Ravi Parmar.

"We knew staff and families had questions, so we wanted to implement measures that would build confidence and meet the strong guidelines set by Dr. Henry and the provincial health office," Parmar added.

More details about the Sooke district's return-to-class plan are available on the district's website.