Dear Families,
The York Catholic District School Board is working closely with its partners at the Ministry of Education, York Region Public Health, and with our staff to prepare for the return to school in September. By aligning our practices with their guidance, we are confident our schools will continue to be safe, inclusive places to learn and work throughout the 2021-2022 school year.
As we work to make our schools a safe place for learning, we encourage parents to send their children to school in-person in September. The health and safety protocols in our School Re-entry Plan are currently being updated in line with the latest guidance, and we are engaged in many health and safety-related projects, such as upgrading ventilation systems.
We recognize, however, that for some families remote learning will continue to be the preferred option, and we are offering this mode of learning in both our elementary and secondary schools.
Given the release of the Ministry of Education’s School Re- Entry plans on August 7, we have had a number of inquiries from families seeking to change the mode of instructional delivery for their children. As a result, we have decided to provide families with an additional opportunity to request a change to how their children will attend school in September – either in-person or remote.
Our team reviewed the best way to process change requests from families and decided that a survey is not necessary since we already gathered that data back in June. What is required is that families have an easy way to request a change. Between August 25-27, families wishing to change their selection can do so by:
- Calling or emailing your school office with your change request;
- If staff are not able to answer your call, leave a message with your child’s name, grade and the change you are requesting – to either remote or in-person.
- Families can expect the school to follow up and confirm the request by phone or email.
NOTE: If no change is needed to your original selection, do not contact the school – no action is required.
Families are reminded that remote students will stay remote for the duration of the first Semester/Term, and in-person students will stay in-person for the duration of the first Semester/Term. There will be no exceptions to this. There are many reasons why we cannot allow students to go back and forth, not the least of which is that it creates serious disruption to teaching and learning.
Our School Re-entry Plan with full details on requirements and protocols such as masking, screening, hand hygiene, cohorting, clubs and other extracurricular activities, will be shared with all families and posted on our website next week, once additional guidance is received from York Region Public Health.
In the meantime, here are some details that have already been confirmed:
- Physical distancing and hand hygiene are required the same as last year;
- Class cohorts will be maintained to minimize the risk of exposure;
- Students in Grades 1-12 are required to wear a mask while indoors;
- Kindergarten students are strongly encouraged to wear a mask indoors;
- Masks are not required when students are outdoors;
- Use of shared spaces is permitted while maintaining 2 metre distance between cohorts (i.e. libraries, gyms, pools, auditoriums, special education classrooms, etc.); and
- Extracurricular activities are permitted including music, sports, clubs, field trips, etc.
Families requiring a mask exemption for their child due to medical reasons, should contact their school office. Mask exemption requests will be reviewed and approved if they meet the accepted criteria. Exemptions will not be approved without medical documentation.
The York Catholic District School Board is working diligently to finalize our plans for next year, in keeping with direction and guidance from the Ministry of Education and York Region Public Health. We remain committed to the health, well-being and safety of students, educators, school staff and the broader community. Thank you for your ongoing patience and understanding as we carefully plan for the safe operation of our schools next year.
Yours in Christ,
Dom Scuglia
Director of Education