This week our Activity Plus grade 9 students took a field trip to Fitset Ninja. They had the opportunity to scale walls, test their balance and race across obstacle courses! Always a fun time!

The government has updated the daily health checklist. Please review the new checklist and print a copy for yourself to keep at home.

The main change relates to household contacts of COVID-19 cases.

If you are not fully immunized and are a household contact of a COVID-19 case, you should stay home for 14 days from the last day of exposure and monitor for symptoms.

A household contact is a person who lives in the same residence as the case OR who has been in frequent, long-duration, close-range interaction with a case of COVID-19. For example, someone who is a caregiver or an intimate or sexual partner of a COVID-19 case. For children, it also includes siblings, someone who slept over, or someone who provided direct physical care to the child.

If you have fever, cough, shortness of breath, runny nose, sore throat or loss of sense of taste or smell you are required to isolate for 10 days as per the current CMOH Order OR receive a negative COVID-19 test and feel better before returning to work or activities.

With the winter season almost here, we want to remind families to dress children appropriately for the weather when getting ready for school or the bus. The weather often changes unexpectedly throughout the day, so please select suitable outerwear and ensure your child is prepared for changing conditions.

If inclement weather conditions occur, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) advises families of any bus cancellations using various communications tools—automated-telephone messages, alerts posted on www.eips.ca and school websites, Twitter, Facebook, local radio stations, and notification through both the Bus Status and the Ride 360 apps. Morning bus cancellations are posted on www.eips.ca by 6:30 a.m.

Decisions regarding bus cancellations are guided by EIPS administrative procedures that state, “school bus service may be suspended…when there is a forecast or current temperature of -40 C, including wind chill factor, in one or more regions.” Other reasons for suspending or delaying school bus services include adverse weather and poor road conditions. When school bus services are suspended, schools remain open to students. EIPS believes families have the right and responsibility to make choices for their children based on their beliefs and perceptions of safety during times of inclement weather.

For more information, contact EIPS Student Transportation at 780-417-8151.

Sherwood Heights Junior High will close for the Christmas break at the end of the day on Tuesday, December 21, 2021. The school will reopen on Wednesday, January 5, 2022. During this time, if you have any school-related questions or concerns, please contact Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) Central Services at 780-464-3477.

EIPS Central Services Christmas Break Hours:

Open December 22 and 23; 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Closed December 23, 2021 to January 3, 2022

Open January 4; 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

*for location and contact information visit www.eips.ca.

From everyone at Elk Island Public Schools, we wish all of you a happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year.

December 7 - Grade 7 & 8 Immunizations

December 22 to January 4 - Christmas Break

December 24 to January 3 - Central Services Closed

January 5 - Early Dismissal at 2:00 p.m.