Dear ASD-S Families,
The province announced yesterday that schools will be
returning to in-person learning under ‘Level 2’ of the Winter Plan (K-8
plan; 9-12
plan) on Monday for grades K-8 and Wednesday for grades 9-12. We are very
pleased to welcome all students back into our schools and below are some of the
measures that will help ensure learning can continue safely and in-person for our
students and staff.
Reminders- Safety Measures
Students should have at least 2 clean masks with them
everyday. Masks are required to be worn at all times, including outside and on
the bus. The only exception is when students are seated for eating and drinking,
or at K-8 when classes are outside, not mixing with other classes.
Families are
asked to remind their child that masks must be worn properly, which means
covering both the mouth and the nose. This has been an issue noted in the
higher grade levels.
We are encouraging students to remain diligent about
handwashing and sanitizing. Teachers will continue to ask students to clean and
disinfect desks and materials at middle and high schools.
It is important that families monitor their children for symptoms
daily. If one new or worsening symptom develops, a student is not permitted to
attend school until they have a negative rapid test (POCT). If a student has a
constant and recurring symptom, for instance seasonal allergies, they may
continue to attend school after they have received a negative POCT.
If your child
tests positive with a POCT or public health PCR test :
- Have your child Isolate immediately.
- Notify your school principal and all close contacts.
- Report your positive test to Public Health (if POCT rapid test was used).
We will post all
school notifications of positive cases daily to our COVID-19 Dashboard on the ASD-S website. On this
site, you will also find important Public Health information on testing
positive, reporting, and isolating.
Learning Expectations
While we understand our students may have some anxiety
returning to school, please note that teachers will no longer be providing
at-home learning and, unless ill or isolating, students need to attend school
in-person. Schools will not be providing materials and assignments to students
who choose to stay home.
With the increase in
individuals having to self-isolate with household members or testing positive
themselves, we are anticipating an impact on our teaching and support staff. It
is important that we keep our schools open with in-person classes. For this reason,
we are securing additional supply staff and the District, along with the
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, are arranging for
qualified staff currently in non-classroom roles, to cover for absent teaching
staff.
While our goal is to keep schools open for in-person
learning, staffing shortages due to COVID-19 is a possibility and could result
in an Operational Day for a class, a grade, or a whole school. We will do our
best to provide as much advanced notice of this as possible, however it is
important that families have a plan for child-care in the event that in-person
learning is temporarily interrupted.
Students in grades 9-12 are asked to bring their devices to
and from school, daily. If there is an Operational Day, we wish to have as many
opportunities for students to connect on-line as possible.
As we head back to in-person learning, we know there are
still some unknowns, but we are looking forward to having students return.
Again, we thank you for your cooperation and support as we
work through the pandemic together.
Zoë Watson
Superintendent