Letter from Director Katherine MacIver about potential temporary adjustments to classes or schools
April 13, 2022
Dear Families:
Potential temporary adjustments to your child's class or school due to a rise in staff absences
Student safety is always our priority. With that in mind, the rising number of COVID-19 cases in our local communities is making it increasingly challenging to maintain a full complement of staff at some of our schools.
Our intention is to keep schools open for in-person learning, and we are taking several actions to address the shortage of supply workers, including actively recruiting new supply staff, reorganizing staff and students within schools, and using centrally assigned staff to cover school absences. For the next few weeks, all sports, extracurriculars and tournaments occurring during the day will be paused while we manage significant staffing shortages.
When staff absences cannot be filled with supply coverage, it may be necessary to request that students remain at home. This would be a temporary adjustment in their learning. On such days, students will be able to access their online classroom to keep connected to learning. Their teacher(s) will provide more information if this happens.
In these situations, your child's school will make every effort to notify you the night before through the normal school-home communication process. They will try to give you as much notice as possible to enable you to make child care arrangements for the following school day.
Learning to live with COVID-19 will take some time to adjust and adapt. We continue to strongly encourage the use of protective measures, including wearing masks. Washing hands and practising cough and sneeze etiquette are good habits at all times. Remember to have your child do COVID-19 screening before going to school each day and to stay home if they have symptoms of illness.
We appreciate your flexibility. Please be kind and understanding of the choices others make.
Sincerely,
Katherine MacIver
Director of Education