Holy Redeemer Bus Numbers

Please check the OSTA website daily.

Rapid Antigen Tests

1) Homeroom Teachers handed out test kits to their students on Thursday, January 20, 2022 and had them place them in a very secure place in their backpacks.

2) Students that were not present: The Test Kits for these students will be given to them when they return to school by their Homeroom Teachers.

Mental Health Night

Please see the flyer for "Continue the Conversation on Mental Health" January 27, 2022

Weekly Update January 24 - January 28, 2022

Options for Families

Our goal is to be as flexible and compassionate as possible. We know many families have hoped for the early return to school, while others are uncomfortable with their children returning to in-person learning.

If you are apprehensive about sending your child to in-person school, you may temporarily keep them home. Classroom teachers will continue to provide daily learning activities through the Hapara learning management system. Please communicate with your Principal or classroom teacher to let them know your plans. If you are looking to switch your child to one of our virtual schools for the remainder of the year, we will try to make that happen if feasible. Contact your school principal if you wish to make this switch.

Continue to Screen your Child for Symptoms

Please screen your child for symptoms before sending them to school. Here is the Ottawa Public Health website link with the latest information on the screening tools.

What will happen if there are staff shortages

We will strive to keep schools open for the remainder of the school year. However, if there are staff shortages, we may need to move to remote learning in the particular classroom and or school that is impacted. This will be a short-term solution until we can arrange appropriate coverage.

Rapid Antigen Tests

Students and staff will be required to actively screen each day, regardless of access to testing and to isolate if symptomatic, regardless of vaccination status and/or test access. The two rapid antigen tests provided by the province are to be used when individuals are symptomatic. As per the COVID-19: Interim Guidance for Schools and Child Care: Omicron Surge Guidance, if two consecutive RATs, separated by 24-48 hours, are both negative, the symptomatic individual is less likely to have COVID-19 infection, and the individual should isolate until symptoms are improving for at least 24 hours (or 48 hours if gastrointestinal symptoms are present).

We were able to send home two Rapid Antigen Test Kits with each student on January 20 with instructions. If your child was not present on this day, they will be able to receive the kits from their teacher upon return to class.

In-Person learning

If a child cannot attend their in-person class, learning materials will continue to be made available, by their classroom teacher(s), via the Hapara learning management system. This will allow for continuity of learning when a student is required to self-isolate or chooses to learn from home temporarily.

The Ministry of education has made available additional learning resources through TVOntario (TVO) and Télévision française de l'Ontario (TFO). More information is available directly from their websites.

Evidence of Daily Screening for Staff and Students

The Ministry of Education has directed schools to ensure that they have evidence that daily screening has been done by staff and students (or by the parents of young students) each day when students return to school in January. This is a procedure that we have been directed by the Ministry of Education to implement until further notice.

Staff:

Our staff members fill in a google document before they begin each school day.

For our students:

The procedure that we will use is this: We will ask that parents complete the self screening test located on our website each morning for their child. We will ask you to initial the insert in the agenda each school day that the test was completed and they are able to come to school. Kindergarten parents are using a separate procedure with their teachers. The evidence of daily screening will need to be completed until further notice.

Student Masks

If a parent/guardian would like a mask supplied by the school, we are able to provide the 2-ply cloth masks that we already have in the school. As soon as we receive the 3-ply cloth masks for students from the government, they will be made available to our students. We expect them to arrive this week.

Change in Protocol Dealing with Covid-19 cases

To support ongoing monitoring and public transparency related to COVID-19 impacts on schools, the ministry will be requiring schools to monitor their own absenteeism rates and report on student and staff absences, and school closures, daily through the absence reporting tool (ART).

We began our reporting in ART on January 19, 2022. Data will be publicly available for parents and will begin being published on Ontario.ca starting January 24, 2022, using data submitted by schools from the previous day.

OPH Flowchart

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

Parking

Parking continues to be a major concern once again this year. We continuously observe unsafe situations in front of the school, and in our parking lot involving our students. We 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.

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.

School Website

We encourage all of our Parents/Guardians to check our Holy Redeemer website daily during the week. Updated information from the Board is published, as well as weekly updates from the school, as well as important dates which are listed on the school calendar. We also ask all parents to use the OPH screening tool which is also located on our website each and every day. Please take note that the information that is on weekly updates will also be sent via school messenger.

Yellow Bus

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

WINTER PREPAREDNESS

We are very fortunate to live in Canada — a geographical wonderland of changing seasons to enjoy. While we love winter and all the extra-curricular activities it brings, we must ensure that we arrive at school with the appropriate clothing it requires. Students will be taken out for recess every day unless the weather is colder than –25ºC including the wind chill. Students of all ages should be wearing their winter jackets and snow pants, as well as boots, mittens, hats and neckwarmers. It is also a good idea for each student to keep an extra pair of dry socks and/or pants at school for those really wet, snowy days when you just can’t help but get wet!

Please label all winter gear. It is imperative that ALL apparel be labeled so it can easily find its way back to the students.

SNOW DAYS

In the event that extreme weather results in the cancellation of school buses, parents are not required to call in their child’s absence if they take a school bus. The school will remain open. Should you choose to send your child to school, parents are responsible for transportation to and from school that day.

Please note that the Bus lanes will not be open for pick up and drop off should a snow day occur.

School hours are from 8:30 to 3:00 p.m. If you wish to have someone other than a family member pick your child up, a written request with your signature must be delivered to the office.

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Full Day Immersion Kindergarten registration for 4-year-olds will be held from January 10th to 14th. The following criteria must be met for registration:

Your child must be four-years-old on or before December 31, 2022

Original documents including his/her Birth Certificate and Proof

of Address,Record of Immunization must be provided to Ottawa

PublicHealth.

You may complete the forms online during registration week.

Due to OPH regulations, we will not be having an information session

at the school. Full day kindergarten information will however be

provided to parent(s) / guardian(s) by way of a google slide deck that

will be sent in May.

FSL Pathways for Grades 3 and 6 Students

In February comes the time for parents of Grades 3 and 6 students to select the FSL pathway that they feel would best meet their child’s needs for Grade 4 and Grade 7. As last year, the FSL Pathways package will be shared digitally to parents.

We will send the information to Grades 3 and 6 parents via School Messenger on the same day Report Cards will be distributed.

Reporting of Covid Cases in Schools

The government is no longer reporting Covid cases in schools and OPH will not be doing contact tracing. We know that this change in practice is causing anxiety among many people.

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 is 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.

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.

Information from Parent Council

Children Vaccinations

Information was shared by the Queensway Carleton Hospital that there are 30-40 vaccination appointments available for children vaccinations.

Where? Queensway Carleton Hospital

How to Book Appointment: Call 613 721 2000 ext 5014

Criteria: Must be 21 days after 1st vaccination

Time: 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM

PGL Program for Gifted Learners

We are in the process of identifying candidates (Grade 3-6) who may qualify for the Program for Gifted Learners (PGL), an off-site resource withdrawal program for gifted learners in grades four, five and six. Screening involves cognitive, affective and academic assessment of potentially gifted learners. We are reaching out to Parents to students who may qualify for this program. If you would like to discuss this Program, please contact our Resource teacher.