New Safety Guidelines March 31, 2021

March 31, 2021 / School News

March 31, 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians,

During an announcement this past Monday by Dr. Bonnie Henry, new health and safety guidelines and regulations for schools were released. This update to the health and safety measures is being introduced as an extra layer of protection in response to recent increases in COVID-19 cases across the province, including Vancouver Island. Read the full release here. A summary of the changes is provided below. We are currently updating our School Safety Plans and these updates will be available on our District Website.

Masks

Masks must now be worn at all times while indoors at school by:

Students in Grades 4-12
All staff
Adult volunteers and visitors

This requirement includes while seated/standing at desks or work stations.

Please remember to send a reusable mask with your child to school each day.

Exceptions

Masks are required to be worn unless:

A person is unable to wear a mask because they do not tolerate it (for health or behavioural reasons);
A person is unable to put on or remove a mask without the assistance of another person;
The mask is removed temporarily for the purposes of identifying the person wearing it;
The mask is removed temporarily to engage in an educational activity that cannot be performed while wearing a mask (e.g. actively playing a wind instrument, high-intensity physical activity, etc.);
A person is eating or drinking;
A person is behind a barrier;
A person is communicating to another person who has a disability or diverse ability (including but not limited to a hearing impairment), where visual cues, facial expressions and/or lip reading/movements are important.

On the school bus

Staff, adult volunteers and all Grades 4-12 students are required to wear a mask on the school bus.

Exceptions

The recommendation above should not apply as follows:

To a person who is unable to wear a mask because they do not tolerate it (for health or behavioural reasons);
To a person unable to put on or remove a mask without the assistance of another person;
If the mask is removed temporarily for the purposes of identifying the person wearing it; or
While eating or drinking.

Kindergarten to Grade 3 students

Primary students are encouraged to wear a mask at school and on buses, but are not required to do so.

Please remember to send a reusable mask with your child to school each day.

Implementing this new requirement

For some of our schools, mostly elementary schools, where students are not used to wearing masks indoors, staff will spend the next few days helping students to adjust to this change. Please have a conversation about these new guidelines with your children.

Places masks are not required

Students will be able to remove their masks while outside, including at recess, lunchtime and while learning outside. As the weather improves, teachers will continue to look for opportunities to move their classes outside.

Teachers will go through these updates and changes with your children and we encourage you to do the same at home.

Families and students can find up-to-date information about K-12 schools at: https://www.gov.bc.ca/safeschools

Thank you again for helping us adapt to these changes.

Sincerely,

Scott Stinson

Spring Break March 15th – 26th

March 12, 2021 / School News

Have a fun & safe spring break!!

We will see you on March 29th 🙂

Pink Shirt Day – February 24th

February 19, 2021 / School News

David Shepherd, Travis Price and their teenage friends organized a high-school protest to wear pink in sympathy with a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied [for wearing a pink shirt]…[They] took a stand against bullying when they protested against the harassment of a new Grade 9 student by distributing pink T-shirts to all the boys in their school. ‘I learned that two people can come up with an idea, run with it, and it can do wonders,’ says Mr. Price, 17, who organized the pink protest. ‘Finally, someone stood up for a weaker kid.’ So Mr. Shepherd and some others headed off to a discount store and bought 50 pink tank tops. They sent out messages to schoolmates that night, and the next morning they hauled the shirts to school in a plastic bag. As they stood in the foyer handing out the shirts, the bullied boy walked in. His face spoke volumes. ‘It looked like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders,’ Mr. Price recalled. The bullies were never heard from again.”

— Globe & Mail

We remind everyone to wear pink on Wednesday, February 24^th.

Virtual Book Fair February 19th – March 5th

February 19, 2021 / School News

Lakewood Virtual Book Fair is Now Open! All orders must be placed by March 5th.
Click link below to check it out and place an orders.

Orders over $40 dollars get free shipping. If your order is under $40, you receive free shipping if you order on Wednesday nights from 6-8pm. Orders get shipped straight to your house, they are filled and shipped within a day or two of ordering. Once at the site there are links to a book flyer and trailers that families can view. We would recommend that parents preview these trailers prior to watching them with their children. There are a few, especially in the Grade 4-6 category, that might not be a good fit for some students depending on their comfort level with the different topics. The older category obviously is for students beyond the elementary school level. It is always a wonderful fundraiser for us, bringing in hundreds of new books to both the library and classrooms. A big thanks to Ms. Bouvier for coordinating the Book Fair as well as all of you that purchase!

https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5155930

School Bus Registration for 2021/2022 School Year

February 8, 2021 / School News

School Bus Registration for 2021/2022: February 16-April 30

At their monthly meeting on January 26, the Board of Education approved the following changes beginning 2021/2022 school year:

$25 safety fee per rider, in-catchment school bus service only (exceptions for French Immersion and Academy students, students attending an overflow school), $100 late fee per family if registering after August 31st.

Please read ALL the details here: https://www.sd62.bc.ca/our-district/transportation