September 16, 2020

Good Afternoon St. Matthew's Families,

Please find attached the screening questionnaire and *updated poster regarding protocols when parents/guardians should keep their child home from school. We recognize there is some confusion around these protocols and we want to assist parents in daily decision-making to the best of our ability. Please use the screening questionnaire daily to decide if your child should attend school. As indicated in the self screening questionnaire, if a student has two or more (new or worsening) COVID-19 symptoms, the student should stay home and use the COVID-19 self-assessment tool available at www.811healthline.ca/covid-19-self-assessment/.

We wish you all well and hope that you can all enjoy this beautiful evening with your families,

Charmayne and Valerie

Re-Entry Poster

Screening Questionnaire

September 14, 2020

Good evening St. Matthew's families,

Thank you once again for your patience and understanding as we have worked through our arrival and dismissal routines since school opening.

Please see the attached memo outlining some changes to be implemented beginning tomorrow September 15th.

We hope that these changes will make things both more efficient for families, and increase the amount of instructional time in our day.

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Valerie and Charmayne

September 13, 2020

Good Day families of St. Matthew's School,

We hope that your children had an enjoyable first week of school and we hope that you are all enjoying your weekend together. Please find attached some practices and expectations for the parking lot at arrival and dismissal times.

We recognize that our staggered arrival and dismissal times are cumbersome for our families right now. We are continuing to problem solve our way around flow in and out of the building as well as the parking lot in a safe manner according to the Guidelines for Safe Return to School.

We will be keeping our staggered times the same for this week as teachers are still getting acquainted with their students and teaching the routines. Once we are confident that our classes have their routines clear, we will make adjustments for timings outside to assist our parents.

We will be communicating early in the week a new plan for families that have multiple children attending that require the same drop off and pick up time. Please bear with us.

Students that wish to go home for lunch must be picked up at 11:45 am and dropped off at 12:35 pm. This arrangement must be made with the classroom teacher first thing in the morning or evening before through email. The office is often not able to receive these phone calls for alternate arrangements during the morning or at lunch time.

Parents will walk to the white line boundary on the paved area in front of school so their child can see them from the foyer windows and proceed outside. Doors will be locked until 12:35 pm, so students must not return during the lunch hour until that time when a staff member on duty can let them in. As well, please be mindful that parents, visitors and delivery personnel are not permitted in the school or porch at any time.

We are not accepting take out lunches dropped off during the school day. If parents wish to provide these meals to children, please pick them up at the beginning of lunch and return for afternoon classes at 12:35 pm.

We are still working on our plan for School Lunch service and will communicate the dates of registration and protocols later this week.

Thank you so much for your cooperation with us in school opening this year and your continued dedication to your child's education.

We are in this together.

Enjoy your day,

Charmayne & Valerie

Parking Lot Safety

September 10, 2020

Good Evening Parents and Guardians,

Please see attached a memo from the Department of Health and Community Services; Officer of the Chief Medical Officer.

COVID 19 Guide for Parents of Children with Specialized Healthcare Needs

Charmayne Rumbolt

Principal

September 9, 2020 (p.m.)

Good Evening Families,

Thank you all so much for your cooperation and support on the most unusual first "back to school" day we have had. We are so appreciative of your cooperation on the parking lot given the staggered arrival and dismissal times and grateful your continued support as we endeavour to fine tune our plan. We know there will be congestion at times but it was a much easier flow when we have collaborative efforts from all families to make this work.

Your children were absolute rockstars this morning! It was incredibly heartwarming to welcome back all of our former students and our new ones today. They have grown so much and have shown their responsibility and respect for one another and that is something that all of you should be so proud of. Navigating your way through this Pandemic since March was difficult for all parents, but it is clear that your children were loved and nurtured during that time. I want to extend a sincere thank you to all parents and guardians on behalf of everyone here at St. Matthew's for your efforts in preparing your children for back to school and supporting them emotionally for this very different transition.

We will be making some changes to arrival/dismissal times and procedures as time progresses as we monitor congestion on the parking lot and within the building and on school grounds. We also need to ensure that the special transportation lane closest to the school is free from pedestrians and vehicles so our special transportation busses and day care providers can pull into that lane safely.

For tomorrow we will continue with our original plan to start student arrival at 8:10 am

8:10 am - K, 1, 2, 2/3
8:20 am - 3, 4, 5Y
8:30 am - 5/6, 5FI, 6, 7

Students will arrive at the staggered arrival times and proceed on through main doors when they arrive with encouraged social distancing. If families have multiple children, they can all arrive at the same time that is convenient for them and proceed to their classrooms.

We will follow the same times for staggered dismissal tomorrow.

2:00 pm Front of Building:
K Rogers, K Bartlett, K Culleton, K Humby

2:10 pm Garden Area (right of building):
2 Burlock
2/3 Reid
2 Morgan

2:15 pm Front of Building:
1 Peddle
1 Audeau Joyce

2:25 pm Front of Building:
3 Ryan
3 Regular
4 Bishop

2:25 pm Garden Area (right of building):
4 MacGillivray
5 Young
5 Barrington
5/6 Williams

2:35 pm All Grade 6 and 7 students will exit through south stairwell exit.

Please congratulate your children on their courage and bravery today in coming back to school after such a long period of time away. We are all so very proud of them.

Have a great evening,
Charmayne and Valerie

September 9, 2020 (a.m.)

Good Morning Families,

Please find attached the COVID-19 Screening Form. This is not meant to be submitted but should become a part of your daily routine before sending your child to school. It is a checklist to go through with your child prior to making the decision to send to school.

Our staff cannot wait to welcome your children this morning. Please use the Kiss and Ride lane where staff will be assisting your children in getting out of vehicles on the passenger side. Please do not get out of your vehicle as this will slow the process down for traffic flow.

At this time we cannot accommodate early drops offs or older siblings picking up their younger siblings for dismissal as we navigate through social distancing for the first day. We will make adjustments to our plans for arrival and dismissal after we see how things run through today.

We are very excited to see our students today. Be safe!

Thank you for your continued interest in your child's education and safety,

Charmayne & Valerie

COVID 19 Screening Form

September 8, 2020

Welcome back Newsletter.pdf

Dear Families,

Please see our latest newsletter for Back to School Information. This contains important information about our arrival and dismissal routines and may contain changes from the previous memo. Please also note that our arrival procedures for tomorrow (Sept. 9th) will be different than every day after that.

This newsletter will also be found on our website.

Please enjoy your evening tonight with your family. We very much look forward to seeing our students tomorrow!

Valerie and Charmayne

Meet St. Matthew's Staff

Welcome Back Newsletter

Safe Return to School Plan

Visit our Orientation 2020 page

Letter to parents from Department of Health and Community Services, Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health: Dr. Janice Fitzgerald

Click here to view previous messages,

Memos and Newsletters