New Year Return to School Information

Based on information released from the Health Authorities, the Omicron variant appears to be more transmissible but less likely to cause severe illness in fully vaccinated people. As a result, the Ministry of Education anticipates higher student and teacher absenteeism in K-12 schools over the next several weeks. A fully vaccinated school community remains a key strategy to ensure a safe and full return to school. 

 

Over the last two years, we have gained much experience with managing COVID protocols and ensuring continuity of learning for all of our students. We are confident that we will be able to continue to successfully provide a safe and enriching learning environment for our students over the coming weeks. Please take a moment to read through the following information which will highlight changes to our Communicable Disease Prevention Plan, including protocols and scheduling. You will notice only minor changes to the day-to-day life of students as most of the protocols we’ve had in place during the 2021-22 school continue to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. An updated Communicable Disease Prevention Plan will be posted to the resource section of the school website by Monday, January 10.

Parents of all students are responsible for assessing their daughter(s) for illness before they leave for school and keeping them home from school if they are sick or if they have been directed to self-isolate by public health or Canada Border Services. Parents and students can use the K-12 Health Check app (https://www.k12dailycheck.gov.bc.ca/healthcheck?execution=e1s1) or call 8-1-1 for guidance regarding specific symptoms.

 

School communication regarding exposure events continues to be under the direction of Vancouver Coastal Health.

 

As per the BC Ministry of Education guidelines, we do not anticipate a return to online classes or a hybrid model of curriculum delivery. All classes will remain face to face, unless otherwise directed by the Ministry of Education.  Students who are in isolation due to COVID will be supported asynchronously, typically through the LFA website and school email. Absent students will not be attending online classes, and face to face classes will not be recorded. Rather, teachers will post learning activities and resources that will allow students to keep pace with the curriculum delivered in the classroom. In addition, teachers will provide regular opportunities for students to ask questions and receive support. The exact nature of these activities, resources, and support will differ from subject to subject and from one learning activity to the next. 

 

In the event of individual teachers in isolation, students will be supervised by another member of the LFA teaching faculty or a substitute teacher. As has been the practice for the last few years, if the absent teacher is well enough to do so, they will connect remotely and continue to teach their classes. To facilitate this connection, all students are asked to bring headphones equipped with a 1/8” or 3mm jack to classes each day. These headphones are compatible with the Chromebooks in the classrooms and were included on the school supply list for 2021-22. 

 

Our experiences over the last three school years have afforded us many opportunities to test the technology, refine our teaching practices, and deliver a robust but flexible education. We are confident that we will bring our past successes into this next phase of the journey, and we are confident that we will continue to provide students with excellent learning opportunities, regular support from their classroom teacher, and consistency within the classroom setting. 

 

To avoid crowding in common areas, student access to our school campus will be limited to 8:00 AM – 3:15 PM, unless the student is attending choir classes or participating in a school-sponsored extra-curricular activity.

 

Students will continue to use grade-level exterior doors when they arrive each morning. These doors will be open at 8:00 AM. 

 

When not in use by an extra-curricular activity, students will have access to the school library from 8:30 AM until 3:15 PM.

 

Unless participating in a school-sponsored extra-curricular activity or meeting with a teacher, students are expected to leave campus each day at the conclusion of classes. 

 

These hours will be strictly enforced when school restarts on January 10. 

Effective January 10, students will eat lunch in the following areas:

The dining hall will continue to provide meal service to students.  s has been the practice since September, purchases can be made with LFA Café Cards which can be picked up at the front office and loaded on the LFA website.

 

Although our school has outstanding ventilation, which includes new air extraction units and Merv-13 air filters (installed at the start of the pandemic), we know that fresh air is always the best. Doors in our larger common areas are open throughout the day, and many of the teachers open windows in their classrooms. We acknowledge this creates cooler classrooms and hallways throughout the school. For the remainder of Term 1 (Friday, January 28), students will be permitted to dress in non-uniform clothing to ensure they stay warm in the classrooms. Students will be expected to dress modestly and appropriately for our faith-based learning environment.

 

Students who prefer to attend school in the LFA uniform will be expected to wear the uniform respectfully, and may wear tights and an approved LFA sweatshirt in cold weather. A hybrid uniform with jackets and sweatpants is not permitted.

 

Blankets are not permitted in classrooms.

 

As per the Ministry of Education directives, parent access to the school will be restricted.

 

We are pleased that current guidelines allow our school musical rehearsals and athletic games to continue. However, spectators are not permitted at performance-based extra-curricular activities (athletics or performing arts). 

 

Whenever possible, parent meetings will be conducted virtually.

 

With the loss of classes this week, and the cancellation of Term 1 Exams, the schedule for January has been adjusted as follows:

 

Regularly scheduled classes, following block rotations posted in September.

 

Literacy 12 Assessment – Grade 12 students to arrive at 8:15 AM

Completion Day – Grade 8-11 students required to attend completion day will receive an invitation from their classroom teacher(s) and are expected to arrive at 9:00 AM.

 

Classes to replace those missed due to the delayed restart. Rotation of blocks can be found on the school’s online calendar. 

 

The spring break trip to Haida Gwaii has been cancelled. Parents who have submitted deposits will be fully refunded. It is our hope to work with the Haida community and the tour company to offer this trip in the 2022-23 school year.