Dear Parents/Guardians,
We are excited to welcome students back to school for the 2021/2022 school year! We have a number of updates to provide you for the start of the school year.
COVID Updates:
– While this year will be closer to normal than last year, we will still have some enhanced guidelines in place to ensure our school stays safe and healthy.
– The Public Schools Branch has created a resource on their website to provide an overview of the COVID-19 protocols for the start of the year. You can find it at https://edu.princeedwardisland.ca/psb/parents_students/covid-19-resources/.
– It is essential that students and parents screen for symptoms on a daily basis. You can use this screening tool every morning to decide if your child should attend school: https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/files/publications/student_prescreening_checklist_eng_0.pdf.
– The following masking requirements will be in place for the start of the school year (If your child is unable to wear a mask, please contact us to discuss):
- Masks are required for staff, students and visitors, regardless of vaccination status, when in common areas and when transitioning through the school building. Masks may be removed when seated in classrooms or meeting areas;
- Masks are required for staff when working with Grades K-6 when physical distancing is not possible, regardless of vaccination status;
- Masks are required for staff who work with students in grades K-12 who are at higher risk of severe illness and outcomes from COVID-19 when physical distancing is not possible, regardless of vaccine status;
- Masks will be required for staff and students in all grades on school buses. (Bus drivers may remove masks when seated, facing forward or driving the bus.)
– If there is ever a confirmed case of COVID-19 connected with our school, public health will work with us to do contact tracing and inform anyone who may have been exposed. It is important that we have your current contact information. Please check that your phone number(s) are up-to-date in the system. You can do this using the information sheets that will be sent home with your child during the first week of school. This information will also help us contact you should we have a mid-day school closure, such as a storm closure.
– The water fountains will not be open for the beginning of the school year. However, we will have the water bottle filling stations available. It is very important that all students have a water bottle each day that comes to school filled up.
– Similar to last year, we will not be giving out bus passes for anything other than childcare needs.
– Visitors to the school will continue to be kept at a minimum. If you have to drop something off for your child, please buzz at the main door and let Mrs. Cameron know why are you are here. We will ask you to drop the items off on the table in the main lobby (please ensure it is labeled with your child’s name) and we will deliver it to your child! If you are picking your child up early, we will ask you to wait in the entry and we will have your child meet you there.
First Day Information – Tuesday, September 7
– Breakfast program will not be starting right away. If you are interested in volunteering to help lead and organize the breakfast program, or would like to be a morning volunteer helper, please contact the Vice Principal, Janice Carragher-Doyle.
– Milk program will not be starting on the first day of school. We will let you know when that will be starting.
– If you are interested in registering for the Provincial Hot Lunch program, please visit their site to register. Check our Facebook page for that information.
– Playground supervision begins at 8:10 am. If your child is walking or you are dropping them off, please do so after 8:10 am.
– Parents are not permitted on our playground during school hours.
– The bell rings at 8:30 am for all students to enter, classes begin at 8:40. If your child arrives late to school, they can enter the main entrance (Door A), sign in at the office and we will help them get to class.
– Classes end at 3:00 pm – bussers will be dismissed at 3:00 pm and walkers/Boys & Girls club at 3:05 pm. If you are picking your child up, please wait outside of the school.
– Our recess and lunch times have changed slightly for this year. Little recess for all students will be from 10:45-11:00pm. All students will eat lunch in their classrooms from 12:35-1:00pm and all students will have big recess outside from 1:00-1:25pm.
– Please send a note with your child to let the teacher know what the end of day plan is (bus, walk, daycare, picked up, etc…).
Class List Information
– Teachers are being trained this week on a new Information system that contains all our student information. This is includes the email function for teachers to contact parents. Since we are not quite ready to email parents, we will provide class list information in a different way.
For Grade 1-6 students:
On Friday, September 3 around 4:00pm, class lists will be posted on the door windows at Elm Street School. We will leave them up for the weekend until school starts on Tuesday morning. If your child would like to know what class they are in ahead of time, please stop by the school and check the list on the door. The lists will be spread over 3 doors and these will be the same doors the students enter on Tuesday morning (and every morning).
Door A – main door by gym – late arrivals, drop offs, PSB staff, visitors, etc….
Door B – Front double doors – 2A, 3B, 3Y, 3A, 2B, 5X, 4A
Door C – Back door (closet to soccer field) – 5A, 5Z, 6A, 6Y, 6B, 6W
Door D – Back door (closest to the CUP) – KA, KB, KC, KD, 1A, 1B, 1C
– On the first day, students are to meet their teacher at their door and classes will go in to the school together. Parents will not be permitted into the school.
For Kindergarten students:
All kindergarten parents will receive a phone call on Friday afternoon from your child’s teacher. We are encouraging parents of new K students to drop them off between 8:45-9:00am to the gym doors. One parent can enter the gym with their child, give some information to their teacher, and the student will head to class! Please ensure your child has an extra set of clothes (in a labelled, Ziplock bag), a water bottle, indoor sneakers (velcro), extra masks and a note indicating what the end of day plan is. If you have not yet paid the $45 school supply fee, please bring that with you.
Looking forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday!
Erin Johnston (Ms. J)
AESOP
Dept. of Education
GroupWise
Home & School
KOHA
SAS
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