January 5, 2021
To all Fort McMurray Catholic School families,
We are sure many of you are aware, the government announced this afternoon we will be returning to in class instruction on January 10, 2022.
We are very excited to see our schools full of students once again.
There are several items we wish to remind you of prior to attending school on Monday:
- Be aware of the updated isolation protocols from the Alberta Government (This includes differing isolation requirements for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals)
- Complete the daily checklist every day prior to attending school
- If you have any symptoms, please notify your school and stay home
- Please wear a mask. This is mandatory in grades 4-12 and strongly recommended for EEP to grade 3
As Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr Deena Hinshaw indicated earlier today, there will be no AHS case reporting regarding positive cases to school divisions. PCR testing is only available for those in specific high risk settings at this time. We encourage families and staff to utilize rapid tests if they are showing any symptoms. We strongly encourage our families to continue to share positive results with their school. This will allow us to continue to notify potential close contacts in the classroom environment.
As you may have heard in previous announcements, the Government of Alberta will be sending rapid test kits and additional masks to all schools. We will distribute these to families and staff as soon as they arrive. We expect these may arrive at the earliest during the week of January 10-14, 2022.
We do wish to share with our families there may be a need to be flexible as the situation evolves. Fort McMurray Catholic Schools may have to make quick decisions and transitions to virtual learning due to an uptick in cases, or due to staffing concerns. We all agree the best place for students and education is in the classroom, but the safety and security of our students and staff will always be our first priority.
Please continue to refer to official sources when looking for information:
- Alberta Government- Students returning to in-person learning Jan. 10
- COVID-19 info for Albertans
- FMCSD Mental Health Supports website
- AHS Daily Checklist
- AHS Symptom list
If you or a member of your family has any of the symptoms of illness listed, please fill out the online Alberta Health Services COVID-19 self-assessment or call Health Link at 811.
Thank you for your continued grace, compassion, and patience as we continue our way forward through this school year.
Sincerely,
George McGuigan
Fort McMurray Catholic Schools Superintendent