Dear Families,
As we approach the return to class for the students I wanted to share a brief summary of our school’s updated health and safety protocols to give you a better sense of what you should expect for your child(ren) next week. We are definitely in a better place than we were last September and a number of routines within the school will feel more “normal” for the kids.
Hopefully this additional information will give you a better sense of the thoughtful manner in which we are again approaching this year’s provincial return to school plan. To ensure that we continue to keep the school community as safe as possible many of the approaches that were used successfully last year remain in place. I hope it gives you even more confidence that your child(ren) is safe and well cared for at c’usqunela!
- MASKS:All K-12 staff, visitors, and students in grades 4 to 12 will be required to wear non-medical masks in all indoor areas of the school and on school buses. Students in kindergarten to Grade 3 are encouraged to wear masks. Exceptions to the mask requirements are outlined on page 20 of the provincial guidelines.
- DAILY HEALTH CHECKS:Daily health checks are required before students/staff come to school. A daily health check list is posted to the school district website and all school websites. This means that anyone entering our school is expected to be healthy and symptom free. As a staff, we will be monitoring for illness, and there will be a timely removal of any symptomatic students (or staff) from classroom settings. If any student becomes sick during the day school we will call the parents to request pick up and discuss next steps. We still have a new normal with regards to flu and colds, and for the safety of everyone, anyone experiencing symptoms can’t remain in classrooms.
- VISITORS:We will be continuing to carefully manage and document visitors in our schools in alignment with current provincial guidelines. Parents and others must still make special arrangements to enter the school. All prospective visitors need to complete a daily health check and sign in with their contact information prior to entry. Please do not let these continuing safety protocols stop you from connecting with us so we can work together to do the best we can for your child! Staff are regularly available at drop off, pick up, phone, or email.
- COHORTS:Cohorts, also known as learning groups, are no longer recommended by public health as a COVID-19 mitigation measure and will not be used. We will however, continue to be very cautious and avoid and/or limit bigger activities such assemblies for the time being. So, even though there are many children within the school, your child will continue to interact mostly with their teacher and classroom peers inside the building.
- HAND HYGIENE:Our school has a regular hand washing schedule through out the building as part of our daily routines. Diligent hand hygiene will continue to be emphasized, with hand-washing encouraged upon school entry, before/after breaks, before/after eating, after using washrooms, and after touching shared equipment.
- PHYSICAL DISTANCING:Although public health no longer recommends strict physical distancing of two metres, our school will continue to use strategies to help students be aware of personal space. Our beautiful school is very well designed for many of the current safety recommendations. We have brand new heating and ventilation systems, big wide hallways, open POD spaces, touchless taps, and touchless toilet flushes. There are many school features which allow us to social distance and reduce common touch points.
- RECESS & LUNCH: We will again have separate recess and lunch play times with only half of the school outside playing at any one time. Outdoors there is a very low transmission risk so with reduced student numbers, hand washing routines, and the fact that most children play mostly with their classmates already you can be confident that these outdoor play times are safe.
- NO MORE STAGGERED ENTRY: As a result of the changing health and safety recommendations schools are no longer implementing formal staggered entry and dismissal procedures. Classroom teachers may still need a couple of minutes to help individual classes enter and exit POD doors in a settled manner. We expect the parking lot area to again be extremely busy and congested with very limited parking so please plan your familiy’s school routines accordingly.
- VACCINATIONS:According to public health, vaccines are the most effective way to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in schools and communities. Public health strongly encourages all eligible students (12+) and staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Registration is available:
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- Online through the Get Vaccinated portal
- By calling 1-833-838-2323
- In person at any Service BC location
- People can also be immunized at drop-in vaccine clinics throughout the province
I hope that this snapshot of some of our health and safety procedures will help you to feel confident that our school has a good plan to maintain a safe learning space for your children.
Sincerely,
Mr. Wheatley