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January 5, 2022 – Updates

During the January 5 press conference this week, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange announced that in-person learning will resume for all students on Monday, January 10, 2022.

We would like to reassure families that we will continue to implement all our safety protocols and enhanced sanitization process at school, as well as limit students’ interaction to their own class cohort.

Since AHS will no longer be reporting positive COVID-19 cases to schools, we kindly request that you notify the school if :

your child tests positive, even if asymptomatic
your child is a household contact of a positive case and is not fully vaccinated

Rapid Test Kit Update

We are anticipating receiving the first phase of rapid test kits by Friday, January 21, 2022.

A how-to video for parents offers tips on how to use the kits.

AHS recommends that participants test themselves 2 times a week, with 2-3 days between tests. Please click here for more information about the at-home tests. If you would like to participate, please email [email protected].

Daily Health Screening & Pre-existing Conditions

Before leaving home, staff, students and visitors should assess whether they feel well enough to attend school.

When determining whether to attend school, please refer to the new provincial government isolation and quarantine requirements (released January 4, 2022): https://www.alberta.ca/isolation.aspx

Preschool (3 & 4-year-old)

Before leaving home, staff and children who will access the child care, should self-screen or be screened by a parent or guardian for symptoms each day that they enter the centre using the Alberta Health Daily Checklist.

The child care centre will ask parents if the child is feeling well.

Alberta Daily Health Checklist (see page 3 & 4)

Kindergarten to Grade 12

Children under 18, including all students who attend kindergarten through Grade 12 and high school students over 18, must complete the Alberta Health Daily Checklist* for Children under 18 before going to school, child care or other activities.

Alberta Daily Health Checklist (see page 2 & 3)

Adults

School staff and visitors must review the Alberta Health Daily Checklist to determine if they may enter a school.

Before leaving home, staff, students and visitors should assess whether they feel well enough to attend school for any reason.

Parents/guardians should assess their children daily for any new signs or symptoms of illness using the Alberta Daily Health Checklist.

If a student or staff member has any of the following core COVID-19 symptoms (new, or worsening and not related to other known causes), they are required to isolate for 10 days from onset of symptoms, or until they receive a negative COVID-19 test result, as per provincial guidelines:

Fever
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Loss of sense of smell or taste
Sore throat (adults only)
Runny nose (adults only)”

**Please note that due to privacy reasons, the school will not check or store this personal medical data.**

Alberta Daily Health Checklist

Pre-existing conditions

Schools should keep records of children’s known pre-existing conditions. If a child develops symptoms that could be caused by either COVID-19 or by a known pre-existing condition (e.g., allergies), the child should be tested at least once for COVID-19 to confirm that it is not the source of their symptoms before entering or returning to school. This will be considered the student’s baseline health.

Written confirmation by a physician that a student or staff member’s symptoms are due to a chronic illness is not necessary. Repeat testing is not indicated unless the nature of the symptom changes (e.g., a chronic cough worsens).

Mask Update

Effective January 10, 2022:

Teachers will give each of their students a medical-grade mask every morning once they enter their class.

Masks will be required during all before and after-school activities for K-12.

Mask Distribution

We anticipate receiving medical-grade masks from the provincial government mid to late next week.
When they arrive, medical-grade masks will be distributed in a phased approach, through schools, to students and school staff, starting with a 2-week supply of masks (2 masks per day) for each student and staff member.
When fully distributed, staff and students will have received an 8-week supply.

Masking Protocol

At Lycée Calgary, we will be requiring all students from Grade 4 and above, along with all faculty, staff and any person entering the building, to wear a medical-grade mask.
Students in Grade 3 and below will also be encouraged to wear masks as much as reasonably possible.

Preschool to Grade 3: Masks will not be required, but we encourage students to wear masks as much as reasonably possible

Grade 4 to 12: Masks will be mandatory; however, masks will not be required while sitting at their desks and maintaining social distancing.

Faculty and Staff: Masking will be mandatory for staff and teachers in all grades.

What Happens If?

A student/staff develops symptoms while at the Lycée?

They will be asked to wear a medical mask and be isolated in a separate room.

The parents of students will be contacted for immediate pick up & should follow AHS guidelines.

Staff will be asked to go home and follow AHS protocols.

AHS will not be informing us if there is a positive COVID-19 case in our school and there will be no school-based contact tracing.

If the classroom teacher is legally required to stay away from school due to AHS isolation protocols, one of our regular substitute teachers will supervise the students in the classroom, and the students’ teacher may lead lessons remotely.

A case of COVID-19 is reported at the Lycée?

In the event the Lycée is informed of a confirmed case, we will send an email to all parents and staff, advising of the positive case.

The grade and class will be identified, however, the person(s) affected will not be identified. Any decision regarding moving to Distance Learning, whether for one or more classes, would be communicated as soon as possible.

Vaccinations

The Lycée strongly encourages students ages 5 and up, and all staff to get vaccinated if not done yet.

The collection and use of information regarding employee and student health, such as vaccination status, is subject to reasonable necessity and will be kept private.

All staff and students ages 5 and up can get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Anyone aged 18 and up is eligible for a booster shot 5 months after receiving their second dose.

School Life

Cohorts

• Single class cohorting for Kindergarten to Grade 6.

Exiting & Entering the Building

Cohorts will use separate entrances throughout the school to minimize exposure to other cohorts.

Lunchtime

Preschool, Kindergarten & Elementary students will eat lunch in their respective classrooms.

Secondary students will eat lunch in the last room they had class in during Period 4.

Students will sanitize their desks before and after lunch.

Students who bring packed lunches must take home all their garbage (wrappers, bags, etc).

No sharing will be allowed.

Hot Lunch

Lunches will be prepared in individual containers.

Preschool – Grade 6: delivered directly to outside the classrooms.

Secondary students will pick up their hot lunch from a designated area.

Students are required to bring their own cutlery – the school will not provide utensils.

Extra-curricular Activities & Daycare

Each after-school activity will be considered their own cohort and will not mingle with others.

School Activities

Field Trips are paused until further notice
Grades 6-12 : Intramurals are paused until further notice

Events

In-person events (i.e. Back to School BBQ and Welcome Café Croissant are cancelled).

Meet the Teacher Nights will be conducted online.

Parent-Teacher Interviews will be conducted online.

Gatherings & assemblies will be online only.

We hope to resume hosting community events in the future.

Academics

Online Learning

While our goal is to ensure in-person learning every day, throughout the month of January, we may need to move to remote learning for short periods of time if we experience staffing shortages or significant student absences.

We anticipate these moves to last 10 days, in alignment with the new isolation requirements. We will communicate regularly with the community as we monitor absences at the Lycée.

If an individual student is required to isolate, asynchronous school work will be prepared and given to them on the day following their absence. Teachers may also stream parts of courses and share lesson videos, when needed.

Diploma Exams & Testing

Diploma Exams

January diploma exams have been cancelled.
A decision regarding April, June, and August diploma exams will be made later in 2022.
Diploma exam weighting will be changed temporarily to 10% from 30% for the 2021-2022 school year.

Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs)

Grade 9 PATs will be delayed to the week of January 20, 2022.

Physical Education & Climbing

Change rooms will be closed and not accessible. Students should come to school with their Phys-Ed attire.

Climbing activities will resume for students in Kindergarten – Grade 12 under the following measures:

Students must sanitize their hands before and after the activity.
The climbing wall will be sanitized regularly.

Art & Music

Elementary students will have art and music in their regular classrooms.

Secondary students will have art and music in the Art and Music rooms.

Students will sanitize their desks at the end of the class.

Library

Library visits and access will resume normally for Kindergarten to Grade 12 classes.

Sets of books will be prepared and brought to the PS-MS classes.

Secondary

Grades 7 to 12 students will go back to a rotary timetable (moving classrooms at each bell).

Desks will be sanitized by students at the end of each class under the teacher’s supervision.

Lockers will be available for Grades 7 to 12 students’ use. Students should maintain social distancing and take all needed materials for the half-day classes at once in their backpacks.

Grade 6 students will stay in the same room and will keep all school materials in their class.

General Safety

Ventilation

HVAC systems have new filters and increased ventilation.

Air purifiers have been serviced, filters have been changed and they will remain on all day.

Sanitation

Increase the frequency of sanitizing school facilities.

High-touch surfaces & high traffic areas will undergo enhanced cleaning multiple times each day.

Increased hand hygiene will continue to be implemented, including regular use of sanitation stations.

Maintain mandated handwashing at regular intervals.

Lockers

Lockers will be available for students in Grades 7-12 only.

Lockers will NOT be available for Grade 6 or elementary students.

Social Distancing

Social distancing will be encouraged whenever possible.

In circumstances where physical distance is not possible, teachers, staff and students must wear a non-medical face mask to protect one another. See masks section for details.