September 7th, 2020

 

Dear Davis Families, 

 

I hope you have had a chance to enjoy the summer under the current circumstances.  We understand that there are many emotions regarding what is going on in the world and our community, we have them too.  We want you to know that we have the safety of your child and our community at the front of our minds. 

 

Thank you in advance for the work that you have done with your child(ren) at home to prepare them for this.  Please continue to reference the Guide for Families to assist with many of your questions.  We are in this together, and we appreciate your continued support.

 

Please note that if you have chosen Distance Learning for your child, communication will be coming out to you from the Distance Learning Team.

 

Who will my child’s teacher be?

We will notify parents on School Day on Friday September 11th  how to access the information needed to find out who your child’s teacher will be. The WRDSB does not publish class lists anymore due to privacy reasons. 

 

Why was the start delayed? 

Please see the WRDSB release and explanation: here 

 

What to expect on the first day of school…

 

Please arrive at our bell time of 8:25 AM. We are encouraging students to arrive at 8:25am and not before to avoid gathering in groups. All teachers will be outside on our field holding up a sign with their name and room number on it.  Your child will locate their teacher and line up in the space provided allowing for 2 metre distancing. Students do not need their mask outside if they are socially distancing but will be asked to put on their mask as they enter the school.

 

The students will be brought in  by their teacher at different entrances practicing proper hand hygiene upon entry (i.e., hand washing/hand sanitizer).   Please remember social distancing at all times.  

 

Please make every effort to be at school on time.  However, if you do come late, please come to the front doors and we will buzz you in.  A staff member will meet and greet the child and will do a peerless and touchless sign in once the student is inside. To start, parents and visitors are not permitted to come inside the building as per the WRDSB guidelines.  We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this new process for managing student arrivals and keeping everyone safe. If you are bringing or picking up your child throughout the school day, you will be asked to wait outside for your child.  Due to this new reality we cannot guarantee the speedy service we have had in the past as there are protocols in place that may hinder timelines. 

 

What will nutrition breaks looks like?

To start the year we have been asked to limit the number of transitions and the number of students outside at one time. As a result we have created a schedule where some students are outside and some are inside and will alternate through the schedule. We believe in being outside, we believe in breaks and we will make sure it happens for the students. It will just look and feel different. 

 

What will school look like to start?

A day in the life of an elementary students video was released by the WRDSB. The link can be found here. It is worth a watch by both student and their parents

 

Staggered entry:

The WRDSB will be staggering the entry for students for a one week time period to transition gradually back to school.  This will provide students and staff with more focused time for the necessary teaching, learning and practicing of the health and safety protocols, in smaller groups of students. Students will alternate in attendance from Monday, September 14th through to Thursday, September 17. All students will attend school together on Friday, September 18 and onwards.  

 

Layers of protection:

Some of the layers of protections are: masks, proper hand hygiene, physically distanced when able, self screening, limiting visitors, staggered start, staggering breaks, Phys-Ed outside as much as possible, low transmission rates in the Region, not sharing of items etc.

To some this will feel like too many layers of protections or restrictions. To others it will not feel like enough. All of these are joint decisions from WRDSB, Public health and the Province. If we do this well we can slowly reduce the layers when given permission to do so.

 

The staggered start will mean that half of every class, from Kindergarten to Grade 8, will attend on alternate days. As a reference for you, a visual of this schedule is provided below.

Important Information:

  • Staggered entry for the first week of school.
  • Staggered entry times into the school
    • To maintain physical distancing measures, classrooms will be entering/exiting doors that may differ from the past, classes will enter at different times. 
  • Masks are mandatory for all Elementary children 
  • All students remain at school for lunch 
  • Limit items from home (
  • At this time there will be no sharing of items – bins / supplies will be provided individually for all students
  • Lunches will now be boomerang – this means that all food waste and garbage will be returning home.
  • Parents are not permitted in the school at this time.
  • Student will only be required to have on outdoor shoes for the full day 
  • Students will require a water bottle as water fountains will be decommissioned for hygiene. We do have water filling stations attune school for the water bottles
  • Lockers will not be used at this time
  • The school will supply a cloth mask to each student in case they forget to bring one. We will always have extras if needed
  • Staff will be wearing masks and face shields. We will look different.

 

Quick Tips for Families

  • Promote wearing a mask at home to get accustomed to it 
  • Label all of your child’s personal belongings and their mask
  • Schedule time in the morning before school to do the COVID-19 assessment 
  • As parents are not permitted in the building, we are discouraging the drop off of items during the day – Please send your child with everything they need for the day
  • Dress for the weather as we stagger the entry into the building each morning  (they will be outside, so if it’s raining they need a rain coat/umbrella
  • Windows may be open in classrooms to allow for fresh air, please dress in layers
  • There will be not be a tuck shop or school lunch programs for time-being

 

At the forefront of all we do, is the health and safety and well-being of all of our students and staff.  We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work through these uncharted territories.   Let’s all work as a community to ensure everyone’s safety.  If your child is feeling ill (please refer to the Daily Screening Student Checklist in the Guide for Families), please keep your child at home so that we can continue to keep everyone safe. 

 

We look forward to working with you and your child(ren) again this year.  We truly appreciate all of your support and cooperation.  Despite things looking different, our community is a wonderful place to learn and grow.

 

As always if you have questions, comments or concerns please call the school office.

 

Take care

 

Jeff Adam

Principal