Dear Parents,

Our school is getting ready to welcome students back to school in a safe and controlled manner.  The Ministry of Education has announced that BC schools will open in Stage 2 and students are encouraged to attend daily as schools will not be able to provide the remote learning options that we did in June.  You can read more here:  https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/administration/kindergarten-to-grade-12/safe-caring-orderly/k-12-education-restart-plan.pdf.  On Tuesday, September 8^th and Wednesday, September 9^th staff will be reviewing and implementing safety procedures within the school.  From Thursday, September 10^th to Tuesday, September 15^th, our staff will be scheduling individual meetings with our students to review student learning plans and set goals for the upcoming year.  Appointments will be set up in the next week and a parent is welcome to attend.

We have worked under the guidance of public health authorities and the Ministry of Education to develop a plan so that students and staff can learn and work together safely.  We are ready to welcome your child back to school.  We will strive to keep learning as the focus, but school will look different as health and safety are critical factors in our planning.  Some of the many actions taken to safely restart school this September include:

Health and Safety

• Daily health screening check for students (by parents) and staff before arriving at school.
• Students who are ill (cold, flu or showing Covid-19 symptoms) must stay home.   If a child becomes ill during the school day, they will be isolated from their Learning Group/class and the parents contacted to come and pick up as soon as possible.
• There will be enhanced cleaning protocols especially focused on high touch points (doorknobs, faucets, etc.)
• Teachers will be encouraged to take their class outside more frequently.
• There will be no large gatherings (assemblies, special events, open house) at this time. 
• No sharing of food or drink.  We will be providing lunch in a socially distant manner to students
• Parents and visitors must make an appointment to meet with staff.  There will be limited access to the building by parents and visitors.  All visitors must sign in for the purpose of contact tracing.  Virtual meetings will be an option for staff and parents.
• We ask parents to practice physical distancing (staying apart 2m) when on school grounds.  This is for your safety, the safety of staff and students and is good modeling for our students. 

Learning Groups

• A Learning Group is defined as a group of students and staff who remain together for an extended period of time and who interact primarily with each other. 
• Our school population meets the guidelines for 1 learning group as determined by the Ministry.
  
   

Educational Programming

• Our school will be focused on in-class instruction during Stage 2.
• Students will spend most of their educational time in their classroom, as there will be reduced movement of students between learning spaces.
• Student well-being will be guiding educators in planning and supporting the successful return of students to school.
• Regular health and safety practices (frequent hand washing) will be part of the educational program.
• Students will continue to receive report cards.
• Parents of children who are medically diagnosed as immunocompromised by a physician should contact me by Tuesday, September 1^st.  The following links are provided for your reference:
  
   
  
  http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Info-Site/Documents/COVID-19-IS-Children-FAQ-BCCH.pdf 
  
  http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Professionals-Site/Documents/COVID19-easing-social-distrancing-IS-children.pdf
  
   

We look forward to welcoming students back to school on a full time basis on Wednesday, September 16^th.  As mentioned above we will be conducting individual meetings with each student from Sept. 10 – 15^th. 

Students will be provided with a mask and will be asked to wear it when in common areas. 

We need to know how many students are returning to school or what your plans are if you are choosing an alternative educational plan.  There is important information in this survey.  It is critical that you complete the survey to provide us this information.  If you are choosing an alternate educational program, such as distributed learning or homeschooling, we cannot guarantee that your child can return to our school if you re-evaluate your plans later in the year.  Please contact me if you are undecided. 

I have included the link for the survey https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=74xl2ZICUkKZJWRC3iSkS2c6UC9a329PuxcUh1l0P51URFpaVDRJVlpONUdaRUpOTVBFSE9CUjVOTi4u

Please note that the Provincial Health Officer and the Ministry of Education may decide to move to different stages in response to Covid-19 situation in British Columbia and we will inform you should this occur, advising next steps.

Please find attached a document for your review titled 'Stage 2 Health and Safety Protocols: K-12 – For Parents.

I will be following up with a more information early next week.

Please email me with any questions that you have. I look forward to working with your family this year.

Sincerely,

Rissa Wilson