St. Patrick Catholic School
Welcome To School Bulletin-August 28, 2020
Welcome Back!
A very warm welcome back to all of our families who are returning to St. Pat's! We are also very excited to meet our new families joining our school community for the first time. Our names are Mr. Charchun (Principal) and Mrs. Nanias (Assistant Principal) and we are extremely excited to be back at St. Patrick Catholic School as your administrative team. Teachers and staff have worked very hard preparing, praying, and planning for your children. Your children are in excellent hands and we are so blessed to have such a strong, dedicated school community here.
Our district faith theme this year is a very fitting one....Choose Joy-1 Peter 3:15. This verse encourages us to turn away from evil and to always seek peace being kind to one another. This is a terrific example in which to lead our students this entire school year. In the midst of trying times....Choose Joy!
Thank you for entrusting your child in our care here at St. Patrick Catholic School. This weekly bulletin will be sent out at the end of each week via email to each of our families. Our staff will also be updating our website as we progress through a busy September start-up. https://stp.eics.ab.ca/
As you are aware, COVID has impacted our school in terms of new safety protocols where we have had to make adjustments to suit our school site. Many *new* school specific procedures for the school year will be shared within this newsletter. These procedures have been gleaned from the guidelines within the "2020-2021 Re-Entry Handbook For Parents". Please be patient as we all work through our new safety procedures to ensure all students are safe. We look forward to welcoming our students during our staggered week next week!
**NOTE For students attending Thursday September 3rd-this is NO LONGER an early dismissal day-classes will dismiss at at 3:05 pm.**
**NOTE For students attending Thursday September 3rd-this is NO LONGER an early dismissal day-classes will dismiss at at 3:05 pm.**
EICS 4 Pillars of Safety
From the shared EICS School Re-Entry Handbook and under the direction of Dr. Deena Hinshaw, our chief medical officer, the following guidelines have been put in place to protect all students and staff.
2. STUDENT/STAFF SCREENING- The screening tool for flu-like symptoms is to become part of our everyday routine where if there are any symptoms whatsoever, you are asked to not come to school that day.
3. PPE- Mask use is mandatory for staff and teachers in all settings where physical
distancing cannot be maintained. Masks are mandatory for all Gr. 4 students. Mask use for kindergarten to Grade 3 students will continue to be optional, but is
strongly encouraged. Students are strongly encouraged to wear masks when physical
distancing cannot be maintained.
4. CLASSROOM COHORTS- All students will remain in their classroom cohorts throughout the day during instructional time and recess. Maximum physical distancing will be used in all situations. Teachers will keep detailed seating plans to track contact points of all students should tracing be required. Within a cohort, the following will be expected:
• hand hygiene expectations when entering and exiting the school and
classrooms, before and after eating;
• continual reminders of the importance of respiratory etiquette (e.g. cover coughs
and sneezes, avoid touching the face and disposal of used tissues promptly,
followed by hand hygiene);
• a no sharing policy, all students should have their own supplies.
• where sharing of equipment is required, the equipment should be cleaned
between uses.
• guiding foot traffic flow through entrances and hallways by using markers on the
floor or pylons/barriers.
• school assemblies or other large gatherings (e.g., concerts or dances) are
prohibited.
Hand Sanitizing Stations located at each entry point
DROP-OFF/PICK-UP PROCEDURES
STUDENT ENTRANCES
Please use the following designated entrances for your child. See MAP.
These entrances are to be used for morning arrival (drop-off), recesses, and departure (pick-up) in the afternoon. The front entrance will be designated for our pre-K and ECS students.
South Front entrance- PRE-K, Kindergarten
N.East entrance (Gr. 3/4 portable wing)- 3G, 3E/N, 3B
S.East entrance (directly adjacent to STAFF parking lot)- 2Wilcox, 2L
North entrance (Gr. 3/4 portable wing)- 4K, 4Kucy, 4S
West entrance (Gr. 1/2 wing)- 2D, 2Wilson, 1W
N. West entrance (next to library)- 1B, 1E
Due to COVID restrictions, our procedures have changed:
ARRIVAL
Students who arrive on the bus will go directly to their designated entrances where they will see a marked pylon and will line-up with their homeroom. Students who get dropped off by families should arrive no earlier than 8:15 and proceed to their marked line up. Students will wait in line until their teacher signals them into the boot room to sanitize and proceed to homeroom. With rain/inclement weather, staff will be available to expedite this process where students would access classrooms earlier.
**Late students will be required to enter through the front doors. Proceed directly to office to check in.**
DEPARTURE
Under the direction of their teacher, students will stagger exit from their respective entry point at the end of the day. Bus students will report directly to respective bus line-ups and parents picking children up can wait outside of entrance or at a designated meeting spot (arranged with your child).
PLEASE NOTE: Parents cannot enter the building with their children. We have NO SUPERVISION available earlier than 8:15 am.
STUDENT ILLNESS WHILE ON-SITE
• Students exhibiting signs of illness must be moved to the infirmary room, and
be isolated if possible. Regardless of age, a mask will be worn when
going to the infirmary and once there, if able. Staff engaging with the student
will be using PPE.
• Parents / caregivers must be notified and advised to pick-up their child
immediately.
• Parents must designate an emergency contact for student pick-up. Within
the Alberta Government’s pandemic response, this is something that all
families must adhere to-PLEASE ensure POWERSCHOOL emergency contact is up to date.
• EICS will communicate to families that they are expected to designate an
emergency contact who will be able to immediately pick up the student if
parents / guardians are unable to do so.
• An immediate pick-up assumes that the student will be picked up in less
than an hour.
WATER FOUNTAINS
All water fountains will be closed, however water fillable stations will remain open to fill
personal water bottles. Student may bring in their own personal water bottle; filled from
home or from a water filling station at the school.
BATHROOM USE
STUDENT LOCKER USE WILL BE LIMITED
PARENTS/VISITORS-SCHOOL ACCESS
• School doors will be locked doors during the school day to control public access.
The front door of the school may remain open.
• Visitors should not enter the school without an appointment.
• If a visitor enters the school they will be asked to use the self-screening
tool (see Appendix C) before they enter the school. If a visitor answers YES to any
of the questions, the individual must not be admitted into the school.
• A record of all school visitors must be kept.
• Volunteers/parents are encouraged to call or email schools rather than visit in-
person.
• Parents/guardians, under certain circumstances as outlined in a student medical
support plan, can attend the school when required. Screening protocols are
required.
SCHOOL PATROL-in front of school
NO PICK-UP/DROP-OFF FROM STAFF PARKING LOT
Please make alternate plans for pick-up/drop-off location as our Staff parking lot is no longer available as an option. This area has become far too congested in the past and is an extreme OH&S concern. Please look at streets/locations that are close to your child' designated entrance where you can safely guide them.. While we understand that this takes away some convenience, we are more concerned about the safety of your children. Please see the attached pic showing some highlighted safe alternatives considerations for drop-off/pick-up.
Thank you for you attention to this.
BUS INFORMATION
*Once available, bus passes will be distributed at the school level *
****PLEASE STAY CLEAR FROM BUS LANES AT THE BEGINNING OF OUR DAY AND AT THE END OF OUR DAY*****
Upcoming Events
September
- Sept 1-4 Gr. 1-4 Staggered Entry
- Sept 7 Labour Day-No School
- Sept 8 First School day for ALL Gr. 1-4 students
St. Patrick Catholic School
Email: bobc@eics.ab.ca
Website: https://stp.eics.ab.ca/
Location: 4816-53 Avenue Camrose, Alberta T4V 0Y2
Phone: 780-672-2177
Twitter: @StPatrickSch2