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 beyond that date. 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