Dear Families,

We continue to work diligently, preparing for a safe first day of school on September 8th for all of our students and staff.
Beginning school during a pandemic means that our plans will continue to evolve and possibly change. As information is received, we will continue to update our school community. Please check your email, Twitter and our ALJ Webpage regularly for the most up to date information.
Masks
• All students (PP-Grade 5) will be required to wear a mask when travelling on the school bus.
• When at school, students in grade 4-5 (including the 3’s who are part of a  3/4 class) and staff will be required to wear their mask in the hallways, common areas and in the classroom when unable to physically distance by 2 metres.
• PP-3 will no longer be required to wear a mask throughout the day, only while travelling by bus.
• Students in grades 4 and 5, including those in a 3/4  combined class, must wear a mask in the classroom, unless 2 meters of distance is available.
• Students will have two 15 minutes scheduled outdoor movement breaks throughout the day. **It is very important that students dress appropriately for the weather as we will be outside for as much as possible.
• Masks can be removed when students are eating and drinking.
• We will provide each student with two cloth facemasks on the first day of school.
• Here is a link to a video that you can watch with your children before the first day of school: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/video/covid-19-wear-non-...
Hand Hygiene
• Frequent hand washing and using hand sanitizer are public health measures we can all practice both at home and school. Before eating and upon crossing each threshold, students will sanitize their hands. 
• We will also be working with our students on remembering that “no sharing is caring.” Staff will explicitly teach why they are not able to share food, personal belongings or individual school supplies.
Pre-Screening of Students Each Day Before School
Our “shared health is our shared responsibility”. Each morning, parents are asked to use the attached COVID-19 daily check-list with students, before coming to school. Please keep your child at home when they are ill, even if their symptoms are mild, and contact 811. By monitoring your child each morning, you are doing your part to protect our “shared health” and wellness.


Illness at School
Any student who becomes unwell at school will have a separate location in the school where they will be supervised, until a parent is contacted.
If a child feels unwell or begins to exhibit COVID-19 symptoms, a parent or guardian will be contacted. It is very important to ensure that your contact information and other emergency contacts for your child are kept up to date with the school during the school year. For our shared health, it will be very important for children to be picked up right away once contact has been made.
If your child exhibits COVID symptoms, contact 811 to receive advice from Public Health on what to do next, including if/when the child can return to school.  
If a COVID-19 case is identified, Public Health will provide direction to the school and HRCE on communicating with families.
Arrival and Dismissal:
Staff will be welcoming students each morning beginning at 7:55 am. Students will begin to enter the building at this time. As we follow all provincial health guidelines for Covid-19, we will work very hard to limit crowds, congestions and gatherings. We appreciate your support while implementing these new practices.
Before Covid-19, we very much enjoyed welcoming our families each morning, always taking advantage of this time to chat. This year, drop off and pick up of your children will look different, however, please know that communication remains a top priority for us.
We have plans in place to ensure the safe entrance of our students. As we follow all provincial health guidelines for Covid-19 and do our part to limit crowds, congestion and gatherings, please find below specifics around arrival and dismissal procedures.
Walkers:
Walkers will have a designated drop off and pick up area (Pavement at the top of the lower parking area) for the morning. As our walkers wait to be brought into the school, they will stand on the front steps. Once ready to be delivered to their classes, they will join the back of a bus line and will be brought to their classroom.
Families are not permitted to walk past the drop off and pick up area. We understand that this will be challenging for many of our families- please know that we are here to support you and your children during this time.
Walkers (upstairs) will be dismissed each day with their class as they leave for the day. Walkers will be dropped off at their designated area on the side of the building by the cafeteria doors. They will be the last students to leave. Until all busses leave by approximately 2:15pm, parents are asked to wait off school grounds. Once the busses leave a staff member will direct parents to the walker area where students will meet them. This process will evolve; at this point, this plan will allow students to be dismissed quickly without having cohorts of students or parents passing one another in groups. There will be multiple staff on duty helping to ensure that the kids remain distanced in the designated walker area. Again, we thank you in advance for your support as we work to plan the dismissal of more than 450 students in a short period of time safely.
Walkers will also no longer be able to enter or leave through the driveway exit. They will now need to walk along the sidewalk and come in through the main entrance.

Bussing- AM:
We have 15 busses arriving in the morning and 10 in the afternoon. As the busses arrive in the morning, each cohort of bus students will be taken off individually and brought to their classrooms by a bus runner.
Bussing- PM:
Teachers will have kids lined up (Social distanced) and will take their students out to the bus. As one cohort of students leave, another will follow. We have 15 busses arriving after 2:05. All classes will exit through the front doors, socially distanced. 
Visitors
A strong relationship between home and school is important to student well-being and success. Under the Back to School plan, visitors, including parents/guardians, will not normally be permitted in the school. Given that families will not be able to drop off items, it will be very important to ensure that students have all needed materials and lunch each day.
If a meeting is required, we will find alternative ways to engage with families that do not require you to physically enter the building. ALJ admin will send out regular communication using twitter, our webpage and Alert Messaging. Teachers will continue to communicate through phone calls, email, Google Classroom, See Saw, or class dojo. We encourage you to reach out regularly to the school and your child’s teacher.
Students Arriving Late/Leaving Early
At this time, non-essential visitors are not permitted at school. Schools will be limiting outside visitors in the building, including parents/guardians. In the event you need to drop off or pick up your child, please call the main office 902-860-4163. As we work hard to limit congestion, students will not be able to be picked up past 1:30 pm.
Coming soon:
Before school begins, you will receive information regarding:
• Lunch hour
• Cafeteria
• Outside designated play zones
• Technology
• Any further updates relating to Nova Scotia Provincial Health
We hope that you are enjoying the last days of summer! We are really looking forward to being back together for the 2020-2021 school year.
Your ALJ Admin Team