Thank you to all the parents that completed our February Parent Survey; your input is appreciated.  The results will help guide our decision-making.  Here are the results:

Thank you again for your input.

March 30, 2022 Update

To increase student and staff wellness, we have been lifting some of our past pandemic protocols. Some of these changes have included student field trips, large student gatherings, and the mixing of student cohorts. This week, we are changing some more protocols:

·       Adapting muster points: we continue to be committed to the safety and security of everyone in our building. Therefore, we are continuing to use muster points but adapting them. Our students will still gather at their muster doors to begin the day. Instead of having all our teachers at the muster doors, we will have staff supervisors at each muster door;

·       Students will be dismissed from their classrooms. Some teachers may choose to walk their class out to their muster points;

·       We have changed muster points for two classrooms, 8K and 4LC. Here is the new muster point map:

·       We are changing our Jr. High lunch hour protocols. Jr. High students will be able to eat communally or leave campus. Also, students will be able to gather together inside the school during the lunch break. The changes were explained to students in a student assembly.

Following the ‘Access with a Purpose’ model, parents continue to be welcome at school. If parents need access to the school, please ring the front doorbell and check into the office.

We will reflect after a few weeks to see if further changes are needed. However, we hope the changes will be successful.

March 1, 2022

Today, March 1, 2022, most of the COVID-19 restrictions schools were required to follow will be lifted. There is a slight feeling of unease as the pandemic continues to surround us, but there is a strong feeling of hope that our community will be able to return to our normal context. As we begin to transition to this normal context, we plan to take some small steps and build on this momentum.

Here are some steps we have already begun:

• Optional masks: masks are no longer required for anyone at school. Some people will choose to wear a mask, and just as we supported students that had medical mask exemptions, we will support individuals who choose to wear a mask;
• We have started to have field trips. Some students have gone on field trips, and soon many of our students will be going on a ski trip. Later in March, all of our Kindergarten to Grade 9 students will be attending St. Francis Junior High School’s production of Beauty and the Beast;
• No cohorting or gathering restrictions: we are starting to gather together as a community. On Ash Wednesday, our entire school population will be gathering as a faith community to begin our Lenten journey. Parents are welcome to join us at 2 pm on March 2; we ask all parents to sit in our mezzanine;
• Near the end of March, we will have in-person Parent-Teacher Interviews;
• On March 31, we will be hosting parents for our Grade 7 Orientation at 7 pm in our canteen.

Here are a few events we are starting to look into:

• A Jr. High dance after Lent;
• Year-end trips;
• Grade 9 Farewell;
• In-person School Council;
• Student assemblies;
• Going to Church for Mass.

There are some activities we are not ready to begin yet. One activity is overnight field trips. Our school division has decided there will be no overnight field trips until the pandemic has been declared over. Therefore, currently, there are no plans to resume Grade 6 Camp.

Some things that are staying the same:

• Muster points. Although we still have to examine our recent parent and staff surveys, we plan on keeping muster points. Muster points allow for daily parent-teacher communication and dramatically improve hallway congestion. Once we review our survey results, we will reexamine muster points;
• Isolation requirements: If you are COVID-19 positive, the mandatory requirements to isolate have not changed. Information about isolation requirements is available here.
• Access to the building. Recently, our school division changed the protocol of having all schools closed to the public. If they choose to, schools with their office directly at the front doors can open their front doors. This decision was made for safety reasons to ensure a school can monitor entry into the school. Father Leonard Van Tighem does not fall into this category. We will be following an ‘access with a purpose’ model. Therefore, we will be continuing to follow the below process:

Thank you for all your support as we continue to provide quality Catholic Education as we make our way through the ongoing pandemic.