Parent Weekly Update #1

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I want to express my gratitude to all the families we welcomed back this week. It was great to meet many of you in person and so amazing to see all the smiling faces of our wonderful students. With your cooperation and the hard work of our staff, the return to school was a success.  The students had a lot to learn on day one including many of our new safety protocols. Be sure to review them with your child. We ask you to review the following:

    1. Be sure to conduct a Self-screening every morning before coming to school. Self screening involves: A daily self-assessment that must be conducted by all students (supported by parents). Please click on this link Check Your Child Daily for Symptoms of COVID 19.
    2. When lining up, students are to find a dot and stand on it to maintain physical distancing when entering the building.
    3. Students are reminded to keep their distance throughout the day both inside and outside the school.
    4. While travelling through the school they are to abide by the floor markings and stay on the right hand side of the hallway.
    5. Masks are mandatory for Grades 4-8 and encouraged for Grades K-3.
    6. Students are encouraged to wash their hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer whenever they enter or leave the classroom and before and after snacks and lunch.
    7. Please remember to send your child with nut free lunches and snacks as we have students and staff with severe allergies at the school.

Tomorrow, marks the first day for our Grade 7 and 8 students and on Tuesday we welcome our Grade 4, 5 and 6 students. Parents of students from 4-8 will be receiving a separate email notifying them of their child’s teacher. Tuesday, will be our first day where we have all our students together again.  

With the added traffic that will be anticipated, we ask for your ongoing cooperation in helping make things safe for our students. Last week parents did an amazing job staying outside of the school yard. We ask you to continue with this. If you wish to escort your child to the gate, please ensure you find a spot in the parking lot or on a designated spot on the road and walk your child. Please continue to arrive as close to 8:30 as possible.

We will continue with our staggered dismissal this week where students in K-3 will be dismissed beginning at 2:50 pm. Junior and intermediate students will be dismissed at 3:00 pm.

Bus seating plans are being  finalized.  If your situation has changed since completing the parent survey and you wish for your child to take the bus, please send a note to your child’s teacher.  For safety and security reasons, if your child is riding the bus, the expectation is that they ride the bus daily unless they are being picked up by a parent/guardian.  This consistent protocol will support our bus safety measures in place.  

This week, your child will bring home a copy of their Emergency Form, Freedom of Information Form, and Walking Permission Form. Please review the Emergency form and ensure that all of the information is accurate including your contact email address.  Sign all forms and please return them to school by Friday, September 18th.  

Just a reminder, families who borrowed devices during last year’s distance learning are asked to return them on the first day of in-person learning. 

Yours in Catholic Education

F. Grossi