Welcome Back to Classes

Happy New Year, CRS School Community!

I don't know how each of you are feeling but for me, personally, it certainly seemed like a strange Christmas and winter holiday, this year. Don't get me wrong, it's always lovely to have the time to rest and recharge but with the the lengthy cold spell mostly forcing my family and I to stay indoors more than we'd like and then the sudden week-long extension to the break due to the pandemic, the winter break just kind of felt a bit different this year.  

Nevertheless, a return to classes is upon us and our staff is excited to welcome students back and to pick up our learning on Monday, January 10th! As you have probably already heard, the provincial government announced that schools would resume and that some additional safety measures would be implemented to help ensure that our learning environments remain as safe and secure as possible.

Here is what I know so far:

• The risk mitigation measures that were emphasized by the Minister of Education and the Chief Medical Officer are already in place at CRS and will continue to be upheld. These include:
• the requirement for students to remain in class cohorts.
• the requirement for all staff and students to wear masks when riding the school bus
• the requirement for all staff and Gr. 4-12 students to wear masks in hallways and common areas of schools. (Although AHS is strongly recommending that everyone wear masks in hallways and common areas, students from pre-K to Gr. 3 are not mandated to do so.) 
• All families are asked to conduct a daily assessment of their children prior to coming to school. Anyone who has symptoms of illness must stay home. If symptoms are noted at school, families will be asked to take their child home. (Here is the link for the daily self-assessments.)
• All staff will be expected to conduct a daily self-assessment of their wellness. Anyone with symptoms of illness must stay home.

• Adult visitors to schools must provide proof of two doses of vaccine or show a dated photo of a negative rapid test result, be symptom free and wear a mask at all times inside the school.

• The provincial government is providing rapid test kits and medical-grade masks to all staff and students. 
• The first deliveries are expected to begin Friday, January 7 and take place throughout the following week but we don't yet know when deliveries will arrive in BRSD.
• Schools will not be asking for the results from rapid tests. These kits simply provide another tool that families can use to help limit the spread of COVID-19 in our school.
• Schools will not be conducting any rapid tests, the tests are only to be used at home.
• If you DO NOT want rapid tests to be sent home, please complete the the following form: 

• It does not sound like AHS will be doing any contact tracing or providing notifications if/when an individual tests positive for COVID. We will greatly appreciate the support of families in advising us if their child does test positive for COVID, either through a rapid test or an AHS test. This will help us to monitor the overall health of our school community and to support students who may need to be absent from school for a longer period of time. At this time we do not believe there will be a requirement to share any results within a class or the larger school community.

• Although the guidelines are still under development, BRSD and Alberta Education may direct classes/schools/school divisions to temporarily transition to online learning, as a last resort, if student attendance and/or staff availability merit such a move. 

The challenges that families continue to face during this ongoing pandemic are not lost on our staff at CRS. We hope that everyone will be prepared to return to classes, as we do believe the best learning happens in the classroom but we are also prepared to work with families and to provide some support for those students who are not yet able to return and/or for those that are forced to be absent due to illness. Although formal online/at-home streams are not being made available, CRS teachers can certainly make assignments and worksheets available and to connect as schedules allow.

We greatly appreciate the understanding and support that we have consistently received from our families as circumstances, guidelines and rules have shifted and changed several times over the past 21 months. Thank you for continuing to work with us in balancing vigilance toward health and safety protocols with the need to have students attending their classes and continuing their learning. I understand that families may have additional questions and I am happy to have conversations with you but I also appreciate your patience and cooperation as new information comes out and as our staff continues determining the best ways to adapt to new challenges and to continue providing the best possible education for students.  

We will continue to get through this together!  

Yours in Education,

Reid Lansing - Principal