St. Joseph is a vibrant and exciting school community however, some of our routines and procedures will be a little different this year due to Public Health and the Ministry of Education regulations. Please visit the YCDSB website to view the Re-Entry Plan. YCDSB 2021-2022 School Re-entry Plan for Families
Daily COVID-19 Screening and illness: All staff and students must self-screen for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 every day before entering a school. Students are required to perform daily COVID-19 screening before arriving at school using the provincial screening tool. Staff and students experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 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.
Any child experiencing symptoms while at school will be isolated and parents will be required to pick up the child in a timely manner.
IMPORTANT: To prepare for the first day of school, parents are responsible to check www.schoolbuscity.com to find their child’s busing information: bus number, drop off & pick up locations and times. Please write a note to your child’s teacher stating the bus number and how they will be getting home the first day of school and the days that follow. Please tell your child the bus number and discuss how they are going home.
First Day and Back to School Routine: Parents will receive an email prior to the start of school stating who their child(ren)’s teacher will be and the classroom number. Parents are to remain off school property because of physical distancing and stranger danger. Please be mindful of others and physically distance once you have dropped off your child.
Grade 1: Parents are to say goodbye to their children at the edge of the Kindergarten fenced area on Glass Drive. A number of teachers will be located inside the fenced area to greet the children, inquire about transportation and then guide them to their grade 1 classroom. The grade 1 teachers will inside the classroom to welcome the students. Please note the children will have to put a mask on prior to entering the grade 1 classroom. (After the first day of school, the grade 1 students enter the regular school yard and line up with all the other primary grade students.)
Grades 2-8: Parents are to say goodbye to their children at the edge of the school property either at Confederation Park or Glass Drive. Students in grades 2 to 8 are to line up in the school yard on a dot behind their classroom teacher’s name (as they have in the past).
NOTE: In order to encourage a positive back to school transition, we are asking parents to prepare their child in advance that they will be saying a goodbye at the edge of the schoolyard or Kindergarten fence. If students are distraught and refuse to enter the schoolyard/ school the parent must take their child home.
This year NO VISITORS are permitted inside the school. Parents are encouraged to call the office 905-727-5782 or email the Principal at Lynne.Oliphant@ycdsb.ca. It takes a village to raise children and please feel free to communicate any concerns that you may have with your child’s teacher or the Principal.
Your child’s safety is our priority. The teachers will be teaching the students about hand hygiene, mask wearing and social distancing. Routines are being established to ensure that Entrances, Exits and Recess time are safe.
Students in grades 1-8 must wear a mask while inside the building. Parents are expected to supply masks for their children. Please always include an extra one in their knapsacks.
Parents are asked to please label all of their child’s belongings such as pencil cases, lunch bags and water bottles to avoid any incidents of sharing. Please label all of your child’s clothing so we can return them when they are lost.
All YCDSB schools are Scent Free now. If you are purchasing your child hand sanitizer, please make it scent free.
NO Indoor Shoes: For the time being students are NOT required to have indoor shoes. (We will let you know if/when this changes)
NO Gym Clothing: Due to the small size of change rooms, our students will not be changing into gym clothing this year.
Standardized Dress: This year we are asking that parents do their best to try and have their child wear clothing that is clean, modest and navy and white most of the time. We understand that this is a pandemic and 100% compliance of the school dress code may not be possible for everyone.
Standardized Dress Items:
- Preferably navy bottoms (pants, shorts/skirt or skort of an appropriate length)
- White (preferred) or navy top –Please avoid brand logos and be plain in colour
- White or navy sweater/sweatshirt for cooler weather -Please avoid brand logos and be plain in colour.
Please Note Unacceptable Items:
- Denim or any pant that resembles a jean fabric
- Yoga pants that are tight and pants with cut outs or mesh
- No mesh shoes or flip flops
Civvies Days: There is a tradition at St. Joseph that the last Friday of each month is a non-uniform day. As with all Catholic schools, the students are to dress in a modest nature on these days.
Lunch, Snacks & Refillable Bottle: Students must bring their lunch and snacks with them to school each day in the morning. Parents are not allowed to drop off lunches or forgotten items. Parents are asked to send their child to school with a refillable plastic water bottle. Water fountains are closed but the water refilling stations are open. There will be NO Hot Lunches at this time.
Students are now permitted to go to medical/ dental/ orthodontic appointments during the school day and return to school afterwards.
Snack Program: The Grab and Go Healthy Snack Program is on hold. For the time being we are going to focus on safety protocols and learning routines. Once these have been established we will consider the Snack Program.
Life Threatening Allergies: In order to maintain a safe environment for all our students, parents are reminded that St. Joseph is an Allergen Safe School.
Within our school community there are several students who have a potentially life-threatening allergy (anaphylaxis) to foods, predominantly to peanuts, sesame seeds and nuts. Please ensure that you do not send any nut or nut products to the school in your child’s lunch or snacks. Information about other specific anaphylactic causative agents such as egg products, potatoes etc. will be sent directly to the students in that classroom.
REMINDER: Sept 3 is the last day to purchase SJA Spirit Wear: Back by popular demand for fall 2021 St. Joseph will be selling embroidered uniform items until September 3, 2021. Orders placed during this period will be delivered to the school by the 1 week of October. All orders can be made online via our dedicated E-store via this link:
https://varsitycanada.com/schools/SJA/
This is a yearly opportunity to promote our school spirit and also adheres to our school Standardized Dress uniform policy. Don’t miss out on this chance to purchase back to school clothes with the SJA logo! Standardized Dress Policy is outlined on the school website and in short, students are to wear clothes that are navy and white.
REPEAT Message: YCDSB 2021-2022 School Re-entry Plan for Families is now posted on our website and a copy is provided in the link below. Please keep in mind this is a fluid plan that will continue to be updated as new guidance and information become available. YCDSB 2021-2022 School Re-entry Plan for Families
ELEMENTARY HIGHLIGHTS
- Students in Grades 1 to 12 are requiredto wear masks indoors and on buses
- Students are not required to wear masks outdoors
- Elementary and secondarystudents can go home for lunch
- Elementarystudents will eat lunch and snacks in their classrooms with their own cohort
- Parents/guardians are not allowed to drop off lunches/snacks during the school day – students should bring their lunch with them or go home/out for lunch
- Delivery servicessuch as Uber Eats are not allowed
- Clubs, activities, sport teams, bands(following Music protocols) and co-curricular activities are permitted where possible and supervised by a teacher
- The use of gymnasiums, swimming pools, change rooms, weight rooms, indoor physical education equipment and shared outdoor equipment are permitted
- Music programs are permitted with appropriate cautionary measures in place
- Singing and the use of wind instruments is classified as a high risk activity and subject to a number of restrictions and protocols
- It is not mandatory that students ages 12-17 be vaccinated to attend school in person
Stay in the Know: The St. Joseph Aurora CES website will be updated on a continuous basis to include important news, the school calendar, school forms and highlight school events. Make it a habit to check out the St. Joseph website and be sure to make http://sja.ycdsb.ca a favourite.
Frequent emails will be sent to parents via School Messenger. If you are not receiving any emails from the school please check your junk mail OR contact the office.
Follow us on Twitter @SJA_YCDSB for the most up to date news.