Holy Redeemer Bus Numbers

Transportation Conformation 2022-2023

Please check the OSTA website daily.

OSTA

Please continue to check the OSTA website each day for updates on busing, as there continues to be disruptions in service each day.

June 27 - June 29, 2022

A Prayer for Summer Holidays

Our God, Creator of all things great and small, please guide our steps and fill our hearts with joy, during these wonderful months and summer holidays. Please provide us with refreshment of mind, body and soul.

Amen

Grade 6 Leaving Ceremony Sign In/Out Process

We ask our Parents/Guardians to pre sign the bottom form before coming to the school. Upon entry you will be asked to place the top of the form in a basket labeled entry on a table in the front foyer.

When you exit the building we ask you to place the bottom half of the sign in sheet in the basket labeled exit on the table.

This will alleviate the big sign in and out lines. We have sent home copies of these forms with our Grade 6 students, however a copy of the sign in/out form is also here.

Please take note that siblings within the school will be invited to view the leaving ceremony.

Sign In / Out Form

Kindergarten Registration

Before you head into summer holiday mode, don't forget to encourage friends and family with Kindergarten aged children to register for Kindergarten. Registering prior to September helps us with our planning and staffing and allows us to send you important information in advance. However; with online registration now available, you can also register at any time. Please share this message with your neighbors and we look forward to welcoming our newest students to the OCSB!

Kiwanis Talent Showcase

Please see information regarding Talent Showcase.

Report Card Letter

Please see Report Card Letter which will also be sent out Via School Messenger.

Just a reminder that Report Cards will go live on Parent Portal, June 28, 2022.

OSTA

Please continue to check the OSTA website each day for updates on busing, as there continues to be disruptions in service each day.

End of Year Transportation Updates.

Information Accuracy Affects OSTA’s Planning

Are you moving or changing daycare providers? Or considering Extended Day Program part-time or 5 days a week? Your decisions, and school data, affect OSTA’s accuracy when we plan routes. During these complex times, it is critical that parents give their school the most accurate information AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to avoid extended waiting for a transportation change in the fall.

Joint Custody and Transportation to Two Homes – Renewals

Don’t forget that the renewal process must be done every year! The renewal form for existing variable transportation arrangements (Joint Custody) is available online. Only one parent needs to complete the renewal form, providing no changes to the existing schedule are required, including access days and stop locations. If there are any changes to your child(ren)’s information, then both TRA-T22A and TRA-T22B forms will have to be submitted with the new changes and signed by both parents. Renewal Joint Custody Forms must be submitted NO LATER THAN June 30^th

Empty Seats/Courtesy Seating – Possible Suspension

If there continues to be COVID protocols in place for the start of the 2022-2023 school year, the Empty seat/Courtesy seating program will be suspended once again. If there are no COVID protocols, the Empty Seat program may be reinstated, however, some new limitations may be required to address the operational pressures due to the ongoing driver shortage. This decision will be made at the end of August.

We encourage parents to plan ahead and practice walking their children to school over the summer. Please check our active transportation section for information on Pedestrian Safety, Walking Routes and Walk-A-Block.

OSTA Parent Web Portal Closed

OSTA’s Parent Web Portal (Bus Stop Finder) will be closed from the end of June until mid-August. Please check our website and social media pages regularly for important transportation announcements, deadlines and other vital information. The portal will reopen mid-August with next year’s transportation information.

Choosing to Drive? Let OSTA Know

Some parents may choose to drive their children to school in the fall rather than letting them take the bus or may not be sending their children to school at all. If you are not planning on using student transportation, please update your intentions by completing the Transportation Confirmation form. You will be helping give those who really need transportation space on the bus.

School Zone Safety and Walk-A-Block

As parents decide how to get their children to school, we anticipate an increase in car traffic around the school. We encourage students to walk to school as much as possible, but if walking isn’t an option, we urge parents who drive their children to school and add Walk-A-Block to their routine. Try parking away from the school and walking the last block or two. This summer, take some time to plan your route by finding the five-minute walk radius around your school using google maps or download your school’s Walk-A-Block Map. By planning ahead, you’ll get a jump start on your back-to-school planning!

Pedestrian Safety – Walk to Your School Initiative

This summer, families in the Walk Zone are encouraged to safely spend time outside while familiarizing themselves with their route to school and learning more about the benefits of active transportation. Walking to school is an excellent way for children to get their daily quota of physical exercise. It also helps improve student behaviour, and students come to school prepared to learn. Visit OSTA’s Walk and Roll Zone to find information on Walking Routes and Pedestrian Safety. Learn and practice pedestrian safety skills and discover routes to school before classes are back in session! #getyourwalkon #ottwalk2school.

Virtual School Bus and Pedestrian Safety Day

OSTA’s Annual School Bus and Pedestrian Safety Day will be a virtual experience this year. We will share safety materials throughout the summer to prepare new riders and remind experienced riders how to stay safe on the bus. OSTA will also share materials relating to physical distancing on the bus and hygiene and germ safety while traveling.

Walking School Bus Registration

If your child walks to school, they can now join up with some friends and a trained leader to accompany them to school. The Walking School Bus (WSB) is designed to promote active transportation and healthy living. Students walk to school with a group of up to 10 peers and a professional leader, following a specific route and schedule.

OSTA’s Walking School Bus (WSB) program is offered at 12 Ottawa schools. Schools with Walking School Bus routes will be registering participants throughout the summer. For more information: www.ottawaschoolbus.ca/wsb-program.

Yard

June 27 - June 29 Field / Pavement Alternate days

SUNSENSE TIPS

1 Wear a bucket Hat!

2 Play in the shade!

3 Put on sunscreen

4 Cover Up

5 Wear Sunglasses

COVID UPDATE

Reporting and confirmation of daily screening is no longer required; however, staff and students are still required to self-screen before attending school.The provincial screening tool has been updated with new isolation requirements depending on vaccination status.The wearing of masks will be a personal choice for students and staff. PPE will continue to be provided until the end of this school year. Hand hygiene, improved ventilation, and enhanced cleaning will continue in our schools. Rapid Antigen Tests will continue to be available to staff and students to replace kits that have been used after an illness.

Post COVID-19 infection

If self-isolation is complete after five days, wearing a well-fitted mask in all public settings (including schools and childcare) is required for an additional five days.

Close contacts

If self-isolation is required for five days, close contacts coming off isolation must wear a well-fitted mask in all public settings (including schools and childcare) for an additional five days.

If self-isolation is not required, close contacts must wear a well-fitted mask in all public settings (including schools and childcare) for ten days.

When are other times to wear a mask?

• It is important for each individual to assess their risk level and the risk of those they live and interact with. Individuals and their families must choose how to, rather than be mandated, to best protect themselves. This includes wearing a mask in indoor, outdoor or shared spaces.

• Masking has been an important part of a layered approach to limit transmission of COVID-19 in schools and the community at large. Masks can help reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission and add a layer of protection to prevent COVID-19 transmission.

• For more information on different types of masks, how to improve the fit of your mask, FAQs, etc., please visit Ottawa Public Health’s Masks webpage.

School Council Meetings

Thank you once again to our Council Members for all the work that they have put into assisting our Community during the 2021-2022 school year.

Information regarding next years Council will be sent out during the first week of the 2022-2023 school year.

OPH Flowchart

This flowchart of COVID Symptoms from OPH, may be helpful.

Parking

Parking has been a major concern once again this year. We observe many unsafe situations in front of the school, and in our parking lot involving our students. We haved ask our Parents to “walk a block”. This means parking on one of the adjacent side streets, and walking over to the school to pick up your child. We also ask that you do not use our parking lot during pick up time, and drop off. Please do not drop off or pick up your child in front of the entrance to the bus lanes, this is very dangerous. U Turns are also being made in front of the Crosswalk area, this creates very dangerous situations. Once again, a safer alternative is to park on the side streets, and walk a block.

We ask that no cars be in our Bus Loading Zone between 8:00 - 8:30 AM and 2:30 - 3:15 PM. This practice is in place to ensure the safety of both our students and staff.

We have seen a vast improvement for both the morning and afternoon bus drop off and pick up, and student drop off and pick up over the year. We do however continue to send out reminders to our community each week because of the importance.

We wish all of our community a safe and healthy summer vacation.

School Website

We encourage all of our Parents/Guardians to check our Holy Redeemer website daily during the week and the summer. Updated information from the Board is published. Weekly updates will begin from the school in the new school year, and also posted on our website.

Yellow Bus

Just a reminder to check the OSTA website each morning as bus cancellations can happen anytime.

Reporting of Covid Cases in Schools

The government is no longer reporting Covid cases in schools and OPH will not be doing contact tracing. If a parent informs the school (Principal) that their child has tested positive for Covid on a PCR or Rapid antigen test (RAT), or a staff member, we will record this in a confidential manner. If classroom staff receive this information, it will be shared with the Principal.

At the end of the school day, the Principal will send a standard form letter to the parents and staff of the class that the student or staff member was in. This practice will end at the end of this school year.

We will not be sending letters to entire school communities, bus cohorts, etc. just to the class. We will not be posting cumulative numbers of cases in a school/or the board.

No staff member or parent needs to report if they or their child tests positive for Covid; it is completely voluntary and the specific information (ie name of staff member or student) must be kept confidential.

We will only send out a letter for reported cases of Covid where the positive result is determined from a PCR or RAT test; we know that anyone who has symptoms of Covid, who tests positive on a RAT or PCR test, has the same outcome. They must isolate as per the direction on the COVID Symptoms flowchart. Once again this practice will end at the end of this school year.

Please be aware of Date

Event: Grade 6 Leaving Ceremony

Place: Holy Redeemer Gym

Date/Time: June 27, 2022 12:30 PM

Upcoming:

June 28, 2022 Term 2 Report Card Live on Parent Portal

June 29, 2022 Last Day of School