Chartwells will begin cafeteria service on Monday, September 14, 2020. There is a new practice to keep everyone safe:

1. Chartwells has new safety practices. Click HERE to view.
2. All ordering and payment will be done online. Orders will be accepted until 7:45 the morning of the order day. There will be NO in person ordering. Class reps will pick up each Homeroom order the last few minutes of Period 3 and bring back to Homeroom, where students can either:
   1. eat their lunch with their cohort in class or,
   2. bring their lunch outside – weather permitting- to eat.
3. To access online ordering parents/ guardians need to sign up for CafZone. The link is HERE.

Please keep in mind that all of our local food establishments are operating under Public Health restrictions at 50% capacity.

As students across Canada get ready to head back to school – some after nearly six months of being away – parents have many questions. The first is usually, “Is it safe to send my child back to school during the pandemic?”

The situation in your community:

The risk of COVID-19 related illness in schools depends on how much virus is in a community. Your local public health authority is the best source of this information and is giving updated guidance to schools as the pandemic evolves.

Right now, the number of people affected with COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador is very low. Schools have protocols in place to reduce the risk of transmission, and there are plans to keep school partially open or closed completely if local outbreaks occur.

Your child’s overall health and well-being:

School closures, along with other restrictions on activities and socializing, may affect children’s physical, social, and emotional well-being. There are potentially serious consequences for children not attending school. This is true for child care as well, where optimal language and social development requires interaction with other children.

With all these considerations in mind, we recommend:

1. While locally there is a low spread of COVID-19 and the full school reopening model is in effect, attendance at school is recommended for all children and youth including those with immunocompromising conditions who would usually attend school.
2. Hand hygiene, keeping your distance, mask wearing and following other Newfoundland and Labrador Public Health and Public Health Agency of Canada recommendations are important for all family members. These are the most important measures for decreasing the risk of transmission of COVID-19.
3. If your child has an existing care plan on file please contact your local school if updates are needed.
4. Do not stop chemotherapy, radiation or other medication that interacts with the immune system to try to “strengthen” your child’s immune system.
5. Discuss use of any “immune boosting” therapies with your Physician, Nurse Practitioner or Medical Care Team. These may not be safe for your child.
6. Ensure all your child’s regular vaccinations are up to date. All family members should receive the influenza vaccine in the fall.
7. If your child is sick, do not send them to school or child care. Follow the school screening questionnaire and if indicated complete the self-assessment tool https://www.811healthline.ca/covid-19-self-assessment/
8. If school changes to a partial/blended model due to increased COVID-19 transmission, children with immunocompromising conditions may benefit from remote learning opportunities. Considerations related to siblings of immunocompromised students and/or other family members living in the home who are immunocompromised should be discussed with your health care provider.
9. Recommendations may change if community spread increases in Newfoundland and Labrador. Please be aware of new public health announcements.

In general, children who have asthma, diabetes, congenital heart disease, autism, epilepsy, neuromuscular disorders, and other chronic conditions are not considered significantly immunocompromised. If you have questions about whether your child is considered immunocompromised or not, please consult your health care provider.

We recommend using the following resources to find accurate information about Newfoundland and Labrador’s Public Health measures and back-to-school plans:

Newfoundland and Labrador Covid-19 website: https://www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19/

Newfoundland and Labrador Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools: https://www.gov.nl.ca/eecd/files/Public-Health-Guidance-for-K-12-Schools.pdf

Newfoundland and Labrador English School District – A Safe Return to School Plan: https://www.gov.nl.ca/eecd/files/Safe-Return-to-School-Reopening-Plan.pdf

Back to School with Rheumatic Disease: Guidance and Reminders for Families https://covid19.cassieandfriends.ca/blog/back-to-school-covid-19

Departments of Education and Health and Community Services, in consultation with the Janeway Child Health Center, has adapted for local use: Returning to School in the Maritime Provinces: Guidance for children who are immune compromised from the IWK Health Center (24 August 2020), which was prepared by the pediatric Infectious Diseases Division and the Hematology Oncology Division of IWK, in partnership with the N.S. Pediatric Provincial Advisory group.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald

Chief Medical Officer of Health Public Health

Health & Community Services

P.O. Box 8700

St. John’s, NL

A1B 4J6

(709)7293019

Click here to download this document as a PDF.

Here is a list of the most updated bus routes for MDJH, as of today (8 September 2020).

Click here to download the document.

The Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Department of Health and Community Services, in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), continues to monitor the developing COVID-19 pandemic. Cases continue to occur around the world, with noted declines in certain provinces and territories within Canada, including Newfoundland and Labrador. Most cases in this province have been linked to travel or contact with a known case of COVID-19. As a result, COVID-19 remains in low prevalence within our province. Diligence in following preventative measures is crucial in decreasing the spread of this virus.

As a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the 2020-2021 school year may look a little different. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and the Department of Health and Community Services will continue to work closely and monitor the situation and adjust plans as necessary to ensure the safety of students and staff, while learning to live with COVID-19. Enhanced cleaning practices to support infection prevention and control have been put in place, as well as the use of personal protective equipment, where deemed necessary. Public health measures including physical distancing, cohorting of classes, good hand hygiene, good respiratory etiquette and staying home when sick have also been recommended. Special measures will be utilized if students or staff develop symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 while at school, ensuring that safe practices are maintained and communication with parents/guardians is open at all times.

If a positive COVID-19 case or contact of a case is identified in the school environment, public health officials will work closely with regional medical officers of health to determine additional steps that may be required. If it is determined through public health’s contact tracing investigation that a student and/or staff is considered at risk, direct contact will be made with parents/guardians by a public health official. Public health officials will work with families to determine next  steps. Student and staff confidentiality will continue to be an utmost priority for public health.

Services provided by public health within the school environment will be adjusted as well. At this time, public health’s focus will be on influenza immunization, contact tracing, and follow up required for COVID-19 cases and contacts. The current role of the public health nurse in assisting parents in teaching specific health procedures to support staff for students with special health needs (e.g. tube feeding) will not change at this time. Other health promotion services may be impacted. School age immunizations will continue, but may be delivered in a different format than in previous years. More information will be provided regarding school age immunizations at a later date.

We understand the COVID-19 pandemic has been stressful. If you or someone in your family are experiencing a high degree of uncertainty, worry, anxiety and stress about the health and safety of your loved ones, we encourage you to visit the following website dedicated to mental health and wellness www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19/individuals-and-households/mental-health-and-wellness/. For questions related to COVID-19, we encourage you to visit our COVID-19 website at: https://www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19/ .

Once again, I want to take the opportunity to thank you for your patience as we navigate these uncertain times together. Your hard work and dedication has  brought us to this point where we can safely return children to school and support their healthy development.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald
Chief Medical Officer of Health
Public Health
Health & Community Services
P.O. Box 8700
St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6
(709)7293019

(Click here to download a copy of this message.)

We have completed our distribution of transportation eligibility emails to individual families. If you have not received an individual email notifying you of your child’s transportation eligibility, then unfortunately you are not able to avail of service for the beginning of the school year. If you did receive an email and are not going to avail of the bus seat, please contact the school so we can reassign the seat to another student. 

We are happy to inform you that the School District was recently advised that some funding will be available to support our efforts to acquire and mobilize the necessary resources to provide transportation service to the remaining “normally” eligible students (based on Government policy). In order to implement this additional service safely, it is not possible for the District to complete all of the required implementation steps in time for school opening. The goal is to have this additional service in place by the end of September.

The School District understands that this temporarily places some families in a difficult situation to start the school year. We ask for your patience during these very unusual times. Meanwhile, we hope that during these times employers will understand parents’ circumstances and work with them, in the spirit of accommodation and cooperation, to find ways to assist.

If you have any student transportation inquiries, please go to the School District’s Busing website and submit an Inquiry Form for your region (Avalon, Central, Labrador, Western). 

Based on the current low prevalence of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador, the province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has indicated K-6 students do not need to wear a mask while seated in classrooms, although students and staff may choose to wear them at their own discretion. Masks will be required on school buses for all riders. K-6 students who arrive by bus must wear their mask until they are seated in their classroom, at which point it can be removed, stored and hand hygiene completed. Masks are not required to be worn by K-6 students in common areas during the school day. K-6 students will also be required to put their masks on again, in their classrooms, at the end of the day prior to making their way to the bus. Mask wearing will not be required of K-6 students who do not take the bus.

The Provincial Government has recently announced Grades 7-12 students will be required to wear masks in all common areas of schools (including hallways), and if seated in their classroom if a one-metre physical distance (face to face) cannot be achieved. Public health guidelines indicate this will be closely monitored and if there is a change in epidemiology or evidence regarding COVID-19, the recommendation may change.

Please note, no student is required to wear a mask if they cannot tolerate it.

Schedule for the first day of the 2020 – 2021 school year:

• Grade 7s will be in at regular start time, doors open at 7:45 am.
• Grade 8s and 9s will start at 12:00 pm and go home on bus.
  • Please Note: grade 8s and 9s will need to find their own transportation to school for this day.

Parent Responsibilities:

1. Routine daily screening of your child before arriving at the bus stop using the School Screening Questionnaire;
2. If another member of your child’s household develops symptoms of COVID-19, it is recommended that the child stay home;
3. Parents and students must not be in the pickup area or enter the bus if they have symptoms of COVID-19;
4. Children should be reminded by parents to wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before arriving at the bus stop and before they leave school prior to taking the bus (and when they get home). If hand washing is not possible, apply hand sanitizer;
5. Continual reminders with your child of the importance of respiratory etiquette (e.g. cover coughs and sneezes with arm, avoid touching the face, prompt disposal of used tissues, followed by hand hygiene)
6. To review all of the Student Responsibilities noted below in this document and emphasize the importance of following all of these rules for the overall safety of themselves, their classmates, their family, their bus driver and everyone at school;
7. Review the NLESD Bus Safety Video with your child;
8. Review the Bus Safety Tips Pamphlet with your child;
9. Review the standard Student Expectations on the Bus; and
10. Review the standard Parent and Student Responsibilities found on page 1-4 of the Student Transportation Handbook

Student Responsibilities:

1. Wear your mask at all times while on the bus
2. Listen to your bus driver
3. Wash your hands with soap and water (or use hand sanitizer) before coming to the bus stop
4. Keep 2 arm lengths apart while waiting at the bus stop and when waiting in line to board
5. Wait until the driver waves you onto to the bus (one at a time)
6. Do not touch the seats or windows with your hands
7. Only sit in your assigned seat
8. Keep your hands to yourself
9. When getting off the bus, keep 2 arm lengths distance from the student in front of you
10. Keep windows open unless your driver says otherwise
11. Cover coughs and sneezes with your arm
12. Do not eat or drink on the bus.
13. Wash your hands with soap and water (or use hand sanitizer) when you get off the bus

Thanks for doing your part in helping to keep our school communities safe for learning 😊