January 7, 2022
Return to school January updates
Dear Howay Families,
As we head into the start of regular instruction for the first part of 2022 I want to welcome all of our families back and give a few updates before our school opening on Monday January 10th. I am hopeful that everyone had time to rest and enjoy family and friends and take some time for walks to enjoy our colder days and snowfall this year.
If you have yet to read Superintendent Karim Hachlaf’s email, please do so before Monday as it outlines the safety measures that we have in place and will help answer any questions you may have regarding our return to school on Monday.
Please click here to read the letter from Superintendent Hachlaf
A few additional points that I would like to highlight are:
- Masks are mandated for all K-12 students and staff. If possible, please send a few extra masks with your children everyday as there are always times when they get lost or wet or just need to be replaced.
- Please dress your children for the winter conditions. I highly recommend students have a change of clothes or specific items such as a change of pants, socks and gloves/mittens. We will be outside more often and have delayed entrance times after our breaks. Children will be spending up to 1-2 hours outside everyday (please pack rain and winter outer wear). We would also like parents to understand that we will have windows and exterior doors open at various points of the day to help with air circulation. This could mean the temperatures in the hallways and classrooms can fluctuate. Have student wear one or two layers so they can adjust their comfort level as needed.
- Visitors will be limited to only those who are supporting activities directly related to student learning and well-being. Please keep the limits for visitors in mind as you pack your child up for the day. Having a change of clothes and all student belongings at school to start each day (e.g. Water bottle) will help reduce the amount of visitors we have in our schools. If you do need to drop off items or are picking up students early please only use the main entrance. We have a table set up for dropping off materials and a process in place to ensure materials will be delivered to classrooms.
- Daily Health Checks continue to be a very important part of keeping students and staff safe. If your children show any signs of symptoms on our Daily Health Check, please keep them at home. Please call the at 604-517-6020 if your child will be absent (voice mail is available if we are not available to answer your call).
- We will have slightly altered and staggered enter and exit times to avoid crowding in our hallways. Please be patient with this process as we need to ensure that students have the space during these busy times to enter safely.
- Division 1 and 2 will be entering the school in the morning at approximately 9:05. The doors will open at this time and an adult will support the entering process to avoid congestion.
- Division 3, 4, 5 and 6 will continue to enter at the warning bell (8:50)
- Students are not to enter until an adult has picked them up from outside
- Please space yourself out from other families when outside.
- Please have students wearing masks before entering the school.
- Physical distancing will be encouraged and supported in our classrooms as much as possible. Please help your children understand that there will be a few changes to how we space ourselves out during the day and that some activities will look different as we are trying to avoid close contact with other staff and students. Physical distancing will be always encouraged throughout the day in all activities.
- Please check emails regularly as you may receive important communication from your classroom teacher, the school and/or district regarding important Functional Closure Information. Please note that a closure is an emergency step only but could happen with very little notice, so it is important to watch for emails.
Thank you once again for all of your support and understanding throughout the pandemic. The support and encouragement we have from our families is very appreciated.
With gratitude,
Sarah Phelan