January 7, 2022
Dear ASD-W Families,
Last week the Province announced that there will be no classes on Monday,
January 10 and that students will move to at-home learning from Tuesday,
January 11, until at least Friday, January 21. Depending on the status of
Covid-19 in the province, at-home learning may be extended. The situation will
be re-evaluated during the week of January 17.
At-Home Learning
Our staff are working very hard to prepare meaningful learning opportunities
for your children as we make this move back to learning from home. Please watch
for information on learning plans and expectations from your child's school or
teacher. Some students with exceptional needs will be permitted to attend
school in person during this time. Schools will reach out directly to families
of these students with more information.
Grades K-5:
Learning packages will be distributed starting Monday. More information will
come from your child's school. Learning packages will provide meaningful work
to support the continuation of classroom learning and specific learning
outcomes. Resources will be primarily paper-based. However, some online opportunities
may be offered. We understand the challenges with child-care faced by families
and that the ability to connect online will vary amongst students.
Grades 6-12:
Schools will provide an opportunity for students to pick up books and learning
materials starting Monday. More information will come from your child's school.
Learning will be primarily online through Microsoft TEAMS, with additional
meaningful learning provided through independent homework, projects, readings,
virtual group work, etc.
Middle schools will provide loaner devices wherever possible. However,
devices are limited. For middle school students where online learning does not
occur, other options for learning will be made available.
Teachers will be continuing classroom concepts and specific learning
outcomes. Assessment will continue, and attendance will be taken. Students are
required to engage in learning and keep up with new materials and assignments
that are introduced during this time. If this is a struggle, please communicate
with your teacher.
Public Health Updates
The Province has moved schools to at-home learning due to the rapid spread
of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. As such, Public Health has made fundamental
shifts in its approach to testing, isolation, and contact tracing. You can find
the most updated Covid-19 news and guidelines here.
Communicating a case
It is now up to the family of the student who tests positive to notify
close contacts, including the school. A general notification for new
positive cases in our district will be shared with our school community daily
or as needed. More details on how this will occur will be communicated next
week.
Isolating
Students who test positive will still be expected to isolate, along with
their close household contacts. However, the isolation period has been
shortened to 5 or 10 days, depending on vaccination status. Students identified
as close community contacts (or non-household contacts) are expected to monitor
for symptoms. They are not required to isolate or complete daily rapid testing
to attend school. Full details on isolating can be found here.
Testing
If one or more symptom develops, students are expected to stay home and
register online for a rapid test (POCT) or a PCR test depending on their
individual risk factors. Those who qualify for rapid POCT will be provided with
a date, time, and location to obtain their test kits. Only people registered
for a rapid POCT kit will be provided with tests. Schools will no longer be
receiving rapid tests kits from the Province for distribution. Full details on
how to get tested can be found here.
We know these are challenging times, and we thank you for your understanding
as we work to respond to the changing pandemic. We look forward to welcoming
all children back into our schools when it is safe in our province to do so.
Sincerely,
David McTimoney, Superintendent, ASD-W