Staying Safe and Remaining Caring at School

Already, we are nearly through the first month of the 2020-2021 school year! Even with the new school construction and the many new routines that we have in place, things are going very well at Chester Ronning School and we are thrilled to have our students back and engaging in learning, physical activity and with their friends! In the coming weeks, we expect to further settle into "normal" school routines such as regular library book sign-outs and maybe even some extra-curricular athletic opportunities!

Despite what we, as a staff, feel has been a successful start to the school year, I am acutely aware that concerns remain about the pandemic we are facing together as a society and that some frustrations exist toward the various guidelines, rules and procedures being used to try and ensure safety at schools and in other areas of our lives. I'm writing to you today because I understand it can be difficult to drop off a young student outside rather than escorting them to class... I know it would be nice to be able to pop into the school to talk to a teacher or administrator without having to call ahead for an appointment... and I can certainly empathize with the frustration of having to pick up a child from and face a potential 10-day isolation period because they have exhibited one or more potential symptoms.

But, at the same time, we need to celebrate the successes resulting from these challenges! Across the province, there are currently 28 schools on Outbreak and another 4 schools under Watch. But the City of Camrose and surrounding counties currently have zero active cases and, thankfully, there has not yet been a single school in BRSD that has had to deal with an active case of COVID-19. This is thanks to the diligence and efforts of our school communities and, especially, our families. What we have been doing to keep students and families safe has been effective and we so appreciate the efforts that you, our school community, have been making - we can't do it without you!

Even so, I thought that it might be helpful to re-post some information and to gather some resources into a single, easy to find location. (Please click on the headings and the underlined text to visit the various links.)

Government of Alberta COVID-19 Information

This is the definitive source of current information about the pandemic in our province. There is also a lot of information about the provincial guidelines around school re-entry, links to Alberta Health Services and the COVID-19 Self Assessment Tool. (Please use this tool if you or a child is experiencing symptoms, to help determine what to do next.) Additionally, I find the information about symptoms and isolation to be particularly helpful and we use this information to guide us whenever a student exhibits symptoms at school. 

Battle River School Division Re-Entry Plans

Here, you can find the information about the steps that our school division is taking to follow the Alberta School Re-entry plan and to keep students safe. You can also find a helpful COVID-related FAQ. If your child has a pre-existing medical condition that could present as COVID-like symptoms, please be sure to have your physician help complete a Baseline Medical Information Form, which will help us to avoid sending students home unnecessarily. Additionally, please take time to review the BRSD Daily Self Assessment, which may help with making decisions about when to keep a child home from school. 

Chester Ronning School Re-entry Documents

Last but not least, we have posted the various routines and procedures that we are following at CRS to carry out the Alberta and BRSD re-entry protocols.

I'm hopeful that re-sharing this information will help to clear up any confusion that may still exist around school re-entry and the measures that are in place to help ensure that Chester Ronning School remains a safe and caring place for our entire school community. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at the school (780-678-5588) or by sending me an email.

Take care!

Reid Lansing

Principal