Dear Parents/Guardians,
We are excited to welcome students back to school for the 2021/2022 school year!
While this year will be closer to normal than last year, we will still have some enhanced guidelines in place to ensure our school stays safe and healthy.
The Public Schools Branch has created a resource on their website to provide an overview of the COVID-19 protocols for the start of the year. You can find it at https://edu.princeedwardisland.ca/psb/parents_students/covid-19-resources/.
There are a few areas I would like to highlight. The first is regarding screening for symptoms. It is essential that students and parents screen for symptoms on a daily basis. You can use this screening tool every morning to decide if your child should attend school: https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/files/publications/student_prescreening_checklist_eng_0.pdf.
The second area I would like to highlight is masking. The following masking requirements will be in place for the start of the school year:
- Masks are required for staff, students and visitors, regardless of vaccination status, when in common areas and when transitioning through the school building. Masks may be removed when seated in classrooms or meeting areas;
- Masks are required for staff when working with Grades K-6 when physical distancing is not possible, regardless of vaccination status;
- Masks are required for staff who work with students in grades K-12 who are at higher risk of severe illness and outcomes from COVID-19 when physical distancing is not possible, regardless of vaccine status;
- Masks are recommended inside all locations of the school for staff, students and visitors who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and who are not fully vaccinated; and
- Masks will be required for staff and students in all grades on school buses. (Bus drivers may remove masks when seated, facing forward or driving the bus.)
Please talk with your child before school to help them understand what is expected for masking when at school. If your child is unable to wear a mask, please contact us to discuss.
Finally, if there is ever a confirmed case of COVID-19 connected with our school, public health will work with us to do contact tracing and inform anyone who may have been exposed. It is important that we have your current contact information. Please check that your phone number(s) are up-to-date in the system. You can do this using the information sheets that are sent home with your child during the first week of school. This information will also help us contact you should we have a mid-day school closure, such as a storm closure.
Playground supervision begins at 8:15 a.m. If your child is walking or you are dropping them off, please do so after 8:15 a.m.
The bell rings at 8:25 a.m. for all students to enter our building and classes begin at 8:40 a.m. If your child arrives late to school, they can enter the main entrance, sign in at the office and we will help them get to class.
Classes end and students are dismissed at 2:40 p.m. If you are picking your child up, please wait at the Cody Banks parking lot area or the meeting area outside of the school.
A detailed Newsletter will be sent home on Friday, September 10th.
We thank everyone for their support and cooperation. If our first days are any indication, this promises to be a great year full of wonderful learning opportunities for our students.
Parker Grimmer Francyne Doiron
Principal Vice-Principal