Message to Families RE Provincial State of Emergency and Stay-at-Home Order

On Tuesday, January 12, 2021, the Government of Ontario declared a second provincial state of emergency in response to increasing cases of COVID-19 and the impact it may have on the province’s hospital system and risks to long-term care homes.

The province is also issuing a stay-at-home order effective 12:01am on Thursday, January 14, 2021 requiring everyone to stay at home with exceptions for permitted purposes or activities, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for exercise or for work where the work cannot be done remotely. More information on the announcement can be found in this news release: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/59922/ontario-declares-second-provincial-emergency-to-address-covid-19-crisis-and-save-lives

We ask that you follow this direction from the provincial government in order to help keep your family and community safe so that we can return to in-person learning and a more familiar routine as soon as possible. The actions that you take will make a difference!

We are anticipating a decision by the Ministry of Education mid next week on whether our school board will be closed for a longer period of time or if we will return to in-person learning as scheduled on Monday, January 25, 2021. This decision will be made on the advice of Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and we will provide you with an update when we receive one.

Parents/guardians of students in Developmental/PLP/SLC small class placements who are currently learning in-person will receive a separate communication with more information. If your child is currently engaged in remote learning, you will not receive a further communication.

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we all do our part to flatten the curve and hopefully return to a more normal schedule as soon as possible.