Aberfoyle Public School: Letter To Parents/Guardians
December 15, 2021
Dear parents and guardians,
Thank you for your ongoing efforts that have made for a successful first four months of school, and for adhering to public health and safety measures that have ensured schools remain a safe place for our students and staff.
We understand that there may be challenges as the winter break approaches and encourage all families to consider what we can all do to make the return to school in January 2022, as safe as possible. We would also like to remind you about the actions that all of us need to take to reinforce the health and safety protocols aimed at protecting our students, educators and staff, while limiting the spread of COVID-19 at schools.
During the holidays, it is important for everyone to adhere to COVID-19 public health measures in our communities when connecting with one another. By following public health advice, we can all celebrate safely during the holiday season. You can also check the government’s holiday webpage for more direct and up-to-date guidance on how individuals and families can plan for a safe holiday season, including suggestions for safer holiday activities for children and families.
Information has been sent home about rapid antigen testing kits for use over the winter break and kits were sent home with students this week. If your child is not in school this week, or part of a class currently isolating, please contact the school to arrange pick up of your child’s kit if you would like them to participate.
Prior to and following the break, anyone feeling ill should not attend school. All children, students, staff, and visitors must screen for symptoms of illness every day before attending school or child care. To help meet this requirement, you may use the provincial COVID-19 screening tool. Self-screening will still be a requirement when we return to school and we will continue to reinforce masking and hand hygiene, as well as cohorting and physical distancing with students and our staff.
Given the changing health environment, we encourage you to visit the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health website to learn more about public health measures within our community. Please be aware that these often change depending on the most current public health advice. We also suggest checking out COVID-19 guidance and resources which may offer some additional resources and supports.
In the past, you will be aware we have had to change learning models quickly when COVID-19 cases have surged. As always, it is important to be prepared for any changes and schools are prepared to do so, should we find ourselves in that situation again. Should we be required to make the switch to remote learning, we would message families in the same way we did previously through our websites, automated voice-messages and through social media. Please be on alert for any messages from the school over the holidays.
While we hope that this holiday season is not interrupted, we do recognize the need to be prepared for a wide range of circumstances. If you have any questions about what your child’s school is doing, please let your school principal know.
