School Re-entry
RETURN TO LEARNING JANUARY 10
The provincial government announced in-person learning will resume on Monday, January 10. This means all students, both in-person and online, can return to their classes after an extended winter break.
NEW SAFETY MEASURES AND UPDATES
When students return to school, we will have additional health and safety measures in place. Families will receive:
- a two week supply of medical grade masks
- enough rapid tests so they can tests themselves for two and half weeks
Families should expect yellow bus delays in the coming weeks due to potential driver absences. Use Where’s My Bus? In SchoolZone every day for updates.
If your child is sick, continue using the daily COVID-19 checklist, follow provincial isolation requirements and visit Alberta Health Service’s COVID-19 testing and online booking page to see if you or your child is eligible for testing.
Read the news story for more details about the return to in-person learning.
CHANGES TO VENTILATION SYSTEMS
Well-maintained ventilation systems are part of our health and safety strategies. We continuously monitor and work with school staff to address concerns related to the ventilation system. Learn about the steps we’re taking to make sure these systems help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
TRACKING COVID-19 CASES
If your child tests positive for COVID-19, we encourage you to let your school know so that staff can track student absence rates accurately.
REPORTING ILLNESS
Due to changes from the province, we will no longer receive daily updates or data from Alberta Health Services (AHS). We know the province is moving away from offering PCR tests and encouraging Albertans to use at-home rapid tests to determine if they have COVID-19. This makes it difficult to get a clear picture of case numbers in our schools and classrooms.
Without accurate case data, our schools will no longer share classroom letters on SchoolZone when there is a COVID-19 case at school.
To help parents understand what’s happening inside their child’s school, we will report on the number of students absent due to general illness or self-reported cases of COVID-19. View COVID-19 cases and student absence rates to learn more.
HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES
The Division’s 2021-22 Back to School Plan outlines what we're doing to protect our school communities. The plan focuses on many strategies that work together to keep staff and students as safe as possible.
WEARING MASKS AT SCHOOL
Masks are an important way to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19, especially while Alberta works toward all eligible individuals being fully vaccinated.
Masks will also enable us to more quickly reintroduce many events that were postponed throughout the pandemic. With the extra level of safety that masks provide, we can reintroduce such things as field trips, volunteers and special in-person events.
All staff and students in Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 will be required to wear a mask.
MORE HIGHLIGHTS
Other safety strategies for schools include:
- requiring the use of masks for all students and staff
- daily health screening for students and staff before coming to school
- a stay-at-home protocol for those who are sick
- enhanced cleaning and disinfecting in schools and on yellow buses
- encouraging physical distancing where possible
- creating cohorts of students where possible
- hand hygiene requirements for students and staff
- requiring staff or students to isolate if they have core COVID-19 symptoms or test positive for COVID-19
- partnering with Alberta Health to host vaccination clinics in schools
READ OUR BACK TO SCHOOL PLAN
