Last week, that invisible enemy that our kind has been battling for over a year and a half, took aim at the heart of our community.
On Thursday, Sept. 16th, Kipling School emailed a letter to parents, informing them that confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been diagnosed at the school.
Luc Lerminiaux (Director of Education at Prairie Valley School Division) explains:
“Once we received confirmation that individuals at the school had tested positive for COVID, we began working with SHA to help identify close contacts. Normally, that would be the students in the classroom with those individual or individuals.
SHA then provided a letter, and we provided an accompanying letter, that was sent out to families to notify them about the situation.”
He went on to say that in those letters, parents were told that the school would be working closely with SHA (Saskatchewan Health Authority) officials and would be implementing protocols that had been put in place beforehand.
“Individuals who have been identified as a close contact are required to self-isolate at home. But students who have been designated as close contacts can come to school to receive instruction. They are required to mask at all times, including when they are outside. And students who are close contacts can only participate in extracurricular activities if they are able to provide proof of vaccination to the school.
Unvaccinated students who are close contacts can also come to school to receive instruction, as long as they are showing no symptoms. But outside of school hours, those students must self-isolate at home.
As well, any staff members who were unvaccinated would be required to self-isolate at home.”
As of press time, there have been 11 confirmed cases of COVID diagnosed at Kipling School.
SHA has declared this an “outbreak” meaning that there has been at least one case of transmission within that setting.
Lerminiaux notes that the protocols being followed this year are different from those that PVSD had in place last year.
“Right now, we have one classroom that has transitioned to remote learning.
This is a change from last year.
Last year, when one case of COVID was confirmed, the entire classroom was immediately transitioned to remote learning. This was our protocol last year, because vaccines weren’t available.
In this case, we did decide to transition this one classroom, since there were a fair number of individuals who tested positive in that classroom. Given the numbers we were seeing, we felt it was important to put a ‘pause’ in place and have those students go to remote learning for a while.”
But now, vaccines are available.
So, this year, exemptions have been put in place that allow students who are close contacts to continue coming to school. That way, we can allow as many students as possible to continue receiving in-person instruction.”
Should more confirmed cases be diagnosed, Lerminiaux says that the school will continue to follow the same protocols:
“That’s a hypothetical question that’s difficult to answer, since so much would depend on what the particular circumstances were. But we’re following protocols
that have been vetted through our Public Health Officer. We are working closely with SHA officials. So, unless we were advised that the situation required a change in protocol…we would proceed with the measures that have been put in place.”
In the event that it becomes necessary to transition more students to remote learning, Lerminiaux says that the school would do all it could to assist those students…who might need access to the technology required to make that transition.
“We are confident that we have the resources to help students access the technology that they might need. We have a number of laptops and iPads available. We also have cell phones that could be used as ‘hot spots’ in the event a student had limited access to wi-fi.
As we did last year, we would work with the school administration to identify those students who needed help to access the required technology. We are determined not to let that be a barrier to learning.”
He adds that the staff at Kipling School have been exemplary in the way that they have dealt with this outbreak.
“Staff at the school have been outstanding in their responsiveness to this situation, through personal calls to families whose children have been identified as close contacts, as well as in a number of other ways.
This responsiveness is key. This is a very anxious time, particularly for families who have not had to deal with COVID through a family member or friend. It’s one thing to read or hear about it in the news. It’s an entirely different thing when it hits you at home.
So, our staff at Kipling School have been working hard to help families get through this. And I think it’s important to point out that staff members have done this, while battling their own anxieties.
I can’t say enough good things about the staff in Kipling, or anywhere in our school division. They continue to put our students and their families first no matter what circumstances they’re facing. They are pretty spectacular people.”
Above all, Lerminiaux says that staff at Kipling School and throughout PVSD will continue to focus on the well-being of students, staff, and families.
“As it has always been, the health and safety of our students, staff and their extended families, is our top priority.
In our classrooms, we take strive to reassure our students. At the same time, we use what we learned last year and take every precaution we can. Through masking, distancing, sanitation and helping our students to develop good hygiene practices, we’re working to keep everyone healthy.
As well, we have counsellors and social workers available, who are there to help students and families who might be struggling.
We are committed to keeping in-person learning going, because we think that is important.
But we want to make sure that people can feel confident that our school are safe places to learn.
So, we’ve put measures in place that, in some cases, might be even more stringent than the precautions people take in their own homes. And we are gong to continue to work closely with SHA to ensure in-person learning can continue safely.
I would encourage everyone both in our schools and in our communities to continue following the recommendations of health experts. Also, vaccines are proving to be very effective tools. So, we would encourage everyone to consider vaccinating themselves and everyone in their family who is eligible.”
