Health and Safety Measures

Screening


All staff and students must self-screen every day before attending school using the provincial COVID-19 School and child care screening tool. All staff, secondary students (9 – 12) and visitors will continue with the active screening process that was established last school year. Parents/guardians of elementary (Kindergarten to Grade 8), students are asked to screen their child using the COVID-19 School and child care screening tool prior to sending their child to school every morning.

All staff and students who are experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 as identified in the screening tool must not attend school and should follow the guidance provided in the screening tool, which may include seeking appropriate medical attention as required and/or getting tested for COVID-19.


Student Masks

Students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 are required to wear properly fitted non-medical or cloth masks indoors in school, including in hallways and during classes, as well as on school vehicles and school busses.

Where they can be worn safely based on the activity, masking is encouraged for engaging in physical activity.

Masks may be temporarily removed indoors to consume food or drink, with physical distancing maintained between cohorts and as much distancing as possible within a cohort.

Students are not required to wear masks outdoors, but distancing should be encouraged between cohorts as much as possible.

Students in Kindergarten are encouraged but not required to wear non-medical or cloth masks in indoor spaces, as well as on school vehicles and school busses.

Kenora Catholic will continue to refer to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Public Health Ontario (PHO) for guidance on appropriate mask types and usage.

Students are expected to bring a mask to wear on student transportation and at school. A mask will be made available by schools for students if needed.

Staff personal protective equipment (PPE)

Kenora Catholic will continue to provide school staff with appropriate personal protective equipment, including medical masks, eye protection and other PPE based on their specific role/job function (for example, gloves, gowns and eye protection).

Staff working in a Kindergarten classroom or with unmasked students are required to wear a mask and eye protection.

Required PPE and critical supplies and equipment (for example, disinfectant, hand sanitizer), will continue to be provided to schools.

Mask Exemptions for Students

The Public Health Agency of Canada has stated that non-medical masks play a role in stopping the spread of COVID-19. They act as a barrier and reduce the chance of spreading infectious respiratory droplets to others and prevent infectious droplets from landing on surfaces from coughs or sneezes.

In schools of the Kenora Catholic District School Board, non-medical or cloth masks will be mandatory indoors for all students in Grade 1 to Grade 12. It is one of the many measures taken to protect the health and safety, and well-being of students and staff. Where a family is not able to provide a non-medical or cloth mask for their child, one will be provided.

Students in Grades 1 to 12 are required to wear a non-medical or cloth mask/face covering indoors in schools, including hallways and during classes, as well as on the school bus. Outdoor times (e.g., nutrition breaks and outdoor learning) can be used as opportunities to provide students with breaks from wearing their masks/face covering provided physical distancing can be maintained.

Consistent with guidance from Public Health, it is understood that for medical or other approved reasons, it may not be possible for some students to wear a non-medical mask at school.

Exemptions may include:

• Asthma;
• Sensory processing;
• Hearing/communication;
• Breathing difficulties caused by underlying health conditions;
• Intellectual/development delays that do not allow for the use of a mask; and/or,
• Physical/other: cannot wear a mask without assistance.

Parents whose child meets one or more of the reasons for exemption are asked to complete a COVID-19 mask exemption form and send it to their child's school Principal.


Hand and Respiratory Hygiene

Appropriate hand and respiratory hygiene are among the most important protective strategies. Schools will familiarize students on appropriate hand and respiratory hygiene, including the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Hand hygiene must be conducted by anyone entering the school at the hand hygiene stations and incorporated into the daily schedule at regular intervals during the day.


Physical Distancing

Physical distancing measures will be layered with other public health measures such as screening, hand hygiene, cohorting, enhanced cleaning and masking.

Schools have removed unnecessary furniture and placed desks with as much distancing as possible, also allowing Educators as much teaching space as possible.

Congregating in staff rooms will be limited and virtual meetings will be promoted to minimize the potential for COVID-19 transmission.

Wherever possible, periods of student movement will be staggered to limit student congregation in hallways.


Arrival and Departure

All staff and students will be required to self-assess prior to leaving home using the provincial COVID-19 School and child care screening tool. Parents and guardians are expected to screen their children and youth prior to them leaving for school each morning.

Schools have developed school arrival and departure procedures that support physical distancing.
Approaches may include:

- maximizing the use of all possible entrances and exits to support the beginning and end of the school days
- creating designated routes for students to get to and from classrooms
- providing visual cues or physical guides, such as tape on floors or sidewalks and signs/posters on walls, to guide appropriate distances in lines/queues and at other times (for example, guides for creating “one-way routes” in hallways).

Hand sanitizer stations are available in school entrances and exits and in classrooms.

Schools will communicate arrival and departure processes at the beginning of the school year.


Recess and Outdoor Learning

Students do not need to stay within their cohort during recess and outdoor learning, but distancing will be encouraged between cohorts as much as possible. Shared materials outdoors are permitted, with appropriate hand and respiratory hygiene.


Cleaning and Disinfecting

Heightened cleaning and disinfecting standards and protocols will continue in all schools and offices. Schools have custodial staff in place to support frequent cleaning and disinfecting throughout the day, including disinfecting high-touch surfaces.


Shared Materials

Shared materials are important for learning (for example, toys for imaginative play in Kindergarten, manipulatives for math, computers and other tech materials, books, art supplies, indoor physical education equipment, and shared outdoor equipment). The use of shared materials is permitted. The focus will be on regular hand and respiratory hygiene to reduce the risk of infection related to shared equipment, particularly when regular cleaning of shared objects is not possible.


Shared Spaces

Shared homerooms, learning commons/libraries (for group and individual use, for example, drop-in study time, etc.), and computer/technology labs are permitted. Use of lockers/cubbies is permitted. When different cohorts interact in shared indoor spaces, masking and as much distancing as possible should be maintained between cohorts.


Cafeteria Use and Lunch Protocols

Students may eat together outdoors, without distancing and indoors with physical distancing. Lunches will be consumed in the classroom or cafeteria (with limits on capacity).

Each student is encouraged to bring their own drink bottle that is labelled, kept with them during the day and not shared.

Food will not be shared.


Food Programs

Nutrition/third-party food programs and non-instructional food events (such as a pizza day) are permitted to operate, provided that food handlers use adequate food handling and safety practices.


Prayer Services and Assemblies

Prayer Services, school assemblies and other student and school gatherings are permitted following health and safety protocols, capacity limits and direction from the Northwestern Health Unit.


Visitors

Visitors will be permitted to the school at the discretion of the Principal. All visitors must have a scheduled appointment or an invitation to a school event or function to enter the school.

Any visitors to a school are required to self-screen and wear a medical mask while on school premises. A medical mask will be provided by the school if needed.

In addition to the requirement for visitors to perform daily self-screening, schools and offices have a process to confirm all visitors' daily self-screening upon their arrival at school.

At the advice of Public Health, school boards may be asked to restrict visitor access.


Transportation

School buses will operate at full capacity of up to three students per seat, with students who live in the same household or are in the same classroom cohort seated together where possible. Measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on school buses include:

• Enhanced cleaning protocols of disinfecting high-touch surfaces at least twice daily;
• Use of non-medical masks required for students in Grades 1-12;
• Assigned seating;
• Physical distancing while waiting at bus stops and boarding buses; and
• Windows opened when feasible to increase ventilation.

Active forms of travel (for example, walking and cycling) are encouraged to ease pressure on transportation demand.

All Parents/guardians are reminded to check their child’s transportation arrangements before the start of next school year, as bus numbers or stop times may have changed. Parent/guardians are encouraged to check arrangements beginning on August 20th using the Parent Portal www.nwobus.ca/parent-portal.

If you opted out of bussing or your student didn’t ride the bus regularly last year, you must register before riding the bus. Please go to www.nwobus.ca or contact the Northwestern Ontario Student Services Consortium at [email protected] or 807-223-1256 as soon as possible to register. New registrations are processed as soon as possible, however it may take longer than normal for new bussing arrangements to be made.

Ventilation

Our classrooms and learning spaces are served by a variety of air handling systems. All systems are working well and checked regularly.

Kenora Catholic is continuing to optimize air quality in classrooms and learning environments through improving ventilation and/or filtration. Ventilation systems in all schools have been inspected prior to the start of the school year and are in good working order.

Portable HEPA filters are placed in all Kindergarten classrooms and common areas.

Vaccination

Vaccination is an important tool to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and allow students, families, and staff to safely resume normal activities. Vaccination rates may provide opportunities to reduce measures over time. Kenora Catholic is working closely with the Northwestern Health Unit to support the promotion of vaccination information and clinics for employees and youth 12 and over.

The Ministry announced that starting on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, all youth turning 12 years old before the end of 2021 will be eligible to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and can book their appointment through the provincial booking system, through the Northwestern Health Unit, or pharmacies, or can walk-in to vaccination clinics across the province.

Visit the Northwestern Health Unit’s website for information on booking a vaccination.




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