stannecadmin

Hello Families,

We continue to work on staffing and class placements. Our meet the staff BBQ is Tuesday, September 27^th, beginning at 5:30.

Come out for a fresh Burger or Dog – Chip/Drink Combo for only $7.00. Tables will be set up for you to relax and eat.

Spend some time on our blacktop for a game of 4 square. Check out our new outdoor classroom and creative playground. Jump in the GaGa ball pit for a quick round with your kids.

Visit our library and the exciting Book Fair. You don’t want to miss the Book Fair!

Classrooms will be open from 6:00-7:00.

It has been a while, so we look forward to everyone being able to gather as a school community.

See you soon.

St. Anne School Staff

Hello Families,

There has been a recent increase in youth vaping in schools. Vaping, or e-cigarettes, are a banned substance in schools. The Smoke-free Ontario Act prohibits smoking tobacco and cannabis or use of an electronic cigarette (vape) in public places.

You must be 19 to purchase e-cigarettes and vaping supplies. Similar to tobacco products, it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes and vaping supplies to anyone under the age of 19.

Many youths believe vaping is a safe alternative to smoking. Vapes contain nicotine. Getting addicted to nicotine can make it harder for teenagers to focus and concentrate. E-cigarettes also contain chemicals that could cause cancer, and there are many reports of serious lung problems connected to vaping. Additionally, vaping can make teenagers more likely to start smoking regular cigarettes, or other drugs.

Here are some resources to help you talk about vaping with you children:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm_x4DUF6Qo

https://www.lung.org/getmedia/302f26c0-d4b1-451f-a05a-092a93183b6c/vape-conversation-guide.pdf

Vaping on school property is a safe school’s offence and subject to local by-laws and fines for staff, students, and guardians.    

Thank you,

St. Anne School Staff

Hello,

The St. Anne Thanksgiving food drive starts Friday, September 23!

Please send in non-perishable food items or personal hygiene products.

This year more than ever, families in our community need your help. Gas, inflation, and the cost of groceries etc. have created additional challenges. We hope to support as many people as we can with your generous donations.

We thank you in advance for supporting our community.

Thank you,

St. Anne School Staff

Hello Families,

Due to increased enrollment, we are fortunate to add a teacher and class to our school enrollment. As a result, please note that we have been provided direction from the School Board to reconfigure all class placements from grades 3 to 8.

The process for creating class placements is more complicated that what it may appear. The Ministry of Education sets class size compliance thresholds and we meet those by first looking at school level compliance and then at Board level compliance. The School Board reports to the Ministry on Board level compliance.

For the WCDSB to be in compliance, we have had to redistribute numbers within split classes and create some split classes in schools that previously met school level compliance.  But again, we must look at compliance as a whole Board and not as individual schools.

Our staff will be working diligently over the next few days to reconfigure our class placements. We are not in a position to take requests about placements.

We will not be moving students to the new classrooms until we have been able to hire a teacher for the additional class we are adding. We hope this will be soon, but HR will direct us. Many schools are in the same position and so a lot of work is happening across the region to place or hire additional staff.

In addition to this, we will be adding a portable for this staffing increase, and timelines can be lengthy. We may have a class temporarily in the library or gym.

We thank you for your patience and understanding. We follow Ministry policy, and School Board direction. Our staff, as always, will work hard to create balanced classrooms. Class sizes will be reduced, and this is a significant benefit to our kids. We will update you soon, if your child’s class placement is changing.

We ask for your patience as it will take some time to sort through all these changes, but we will provide updates.

Thank you,

St. Anne School Staff

Dear Parents and Families,

We want to share an important update about school buses. Due to the ongoing bus driver shortage and lingering impacts of the public board’s cyber attack on our shared bus planning software, some routes will need to be temporarily cancelled.

Most bus routes are operating normally. However, some routes are experiencing more frequent and prolonged delays (30 minutes or greater).

This temporary measure will be effective Monday, September 19, 2022 and will continue until Christmas, at which time our need for cancellations will be reviewed.

We understand the significant impact this decision will have on our students and their families and caregivers. Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region (STSWR) does this only as a last resort. We hope that this proactive message will allow families and caregivers to better prepare for and react to the cancellation of bus routes.

Please note that delays have not been caused by our current bus drivers.  When they are late, it is because they are trying to support students on bus routes that have no driver, with the best of intentions.  They do not have to do this.  They are trying to help.  Please be kind to them!

What Happens If A School Bus Route is Cancelled?

Effective September 19, 2022

A school bus route will be cancelled when the driver shortage causes a route to be late by more than 30 minutes consistently. Affected students and families will be informed immediately of the cancellation period.  Cancellations are done on a week to week basis.

Supporting Student Learning

If a school bus route is cancelled, families are responsible for transporting their children to and from school each day.

Where this is not possible, students should access asynchronous learning materials posted by their classroom teacher on their Learning Management System (LMS), either D2L or Google Classroom. Additional activities can be found here: .

Families should contact their school to let them know if they are unable to get to school.  The school can also help families to sign out a Chromebook if necessary.

Stay Informed

Families will be informed the day prior to any cancellation. Cancellations will be posted on the STSWR website with an expected return date.

• Register for notifications on the STSWR parent portal
• Check the Bus Delays page on the STSWR website

The Bus Delays page will be updated with cancellation information each afternoon by 4:30 PM.

Questions?

Please contact Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region (STSWR).

Hello Families,

At our school we strive for excellence and manners matter. Phoenix Nation – we are asking for a little kindness, a little compassion, and a little understanding.

Our bus drivers are working very hard and we need them! Some of them are your neighbours. They are working with a software system that continues to crash on a daily basis through no fault of their own.  They are on buses with up to 72 children – who do not always make positive choices.  They are covering extra routes and shifts for drivers who may be sick or unable to attend work.

They bus company is struggling to find workers willing to do the task, for the salary and hours that are offered.  The technicians that would normally be answering the phones, and your questions, are working to build routes one student at a time since the cyber-attack a few weeks ago.

The bus drivers that we have are, for the most part, doing an excellent job.  We need to thank them for showing up – even if it is a little late from time to time.  We need to thank them for getting 250 of our kids home safely each day.  We need to show a little compassion and empathy to them each and every day. They are all doing their best. We are all doing our best.

What can you do?

Simple – when getting off the bus at school, turn to them, look them in the eye and say “thanks for coming to work today.”  Help us remind your children on the bus to simply sit quietly, chat with their friends and be respectful.  When getting off the bus at your stop, you can once again say “thank you” with a smile on your face.  A smile and some manners can go a long way!

Let’s show our appreciate Phoenix Nation and be the best bus route in the region.

Thank you,

St. Anne School Staff

Hello Families,

Please see the attachment for all the great things happening at the Allison Neighbourhood Community Centre. Don’t miss out.

Fall 2022 Program Schedule (1)

Thank you,

ANCC

Hello Families,

While we have certainly come a long way in the past few years, we still need to be vigilant with keeping one another safe and healthy. If your child is not feeling well, it is best to remain home until 24hrs symptom free. The screener tool is the best way to determine if you should send your child to school.

Please review below for more specific direction on current COVID-19 Protocols.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS – Fall 2022

 Management of Cases and Contacts of COVID-19

 Daily Screening:

COVID-19 Daily Screen for Non-Immunocompromised People

COVID-19 Daily Screen for Immunocompromised People

In the community (including in schools and childcare settings), it is the responsibility of the individual with COVID-19 symptoms or a COVID-19 positive test to determine who their close contacts are and to notify them of their potential exposure.

If You Test Positive / Isolation Requirements

If you test positive for COVID-19 and have symptoms, you must:

Isolate until symptoms have been improving for 24 hours (or 48 hours if gastrointestinal symptoms) and there is no fever present.

If you test positive for COVID-19 and do not have symptoms:

You do not have to isolate and may attend work / school, and you are not required to wear a mask – although wearing a mask is recommended. If symptoms develop. You must isolate immediately.

Once your symptoms have cleared, you must:

For a total of 10 days after your symptom onset, continue to wear a well-fitted mask in all public settings (including schools and childcare).

Isolation Requirements for Close Contacts of Positive Cases

A close contact is defined as an individual who has a “high-risk exposure” to a confirmed positive COVID-19 case, an individual with COVID-19 symptoms, or an individual with a positive rapid antigen test result.

“High risk exposures” include:

• Anyone living in the same household during the infectious period.
• Anyone who has had direct contact with infectious body fluids of the case (e.g., coughed on or sneezed on)
• Anyone who has been in close proximity (less than 2 meters) for at least 15 minutes or for multiple short periods of time without consistent and appropriate use of masking.

If you have had a “high risk exposure”, you must:

For a total of 10 days after the last exposure to the COVID-19 positive case or individual with COVID-19 symptoms, wear a well fitted mask in all public settings, self-monitor for symptoms and self-isolate immediately if you develop any symptom of COVID-19 and seek testing. 

Masking, Physical Distancing & RAT Testing

Masks are not required for students, staff and visitors in schools, school board offices, or on student transportation.

The WCDSB continues to support a mask-friendly environment in schools and workplaces, and recognize there are times when staff or students may need to wear masks in alignment with provincial or federal guidance or may choose to wear masks if there is a high incidence of illness in our community. Masks continue to be available upon request to staff and students in the 2022-23 school year.

There are no longer any physical distancing or cohorting requirements.

Rapid antigen tests are provided to staff/students upon request, and/or upon return from an unplanned absence. Schools are being supplied accordingly.

Re-Entering Canada After Foreign Travel

Federal Government International Travel Requirements

You must isolate for 10 days starting on the day you enter Canada, if you:

• know that you have COVID-19 or
• show signs and symptoms of COVID-19 or
• have received a positive result for any type of COVID-19 test taken less than 10 days before the day on which you enter Canada or
• have any other reasonable grounds to suspect you may have COVID-19

Isolation ends after the 10th day from the day on which you entered Canada.

Positive Case Reporting

There is no provincial public health requirement for workers who test positive or have isolated due to COVID-19 symptoms to provide proof of a negative test result or a positive serological test result to their employers in order to return to work. It is expected that students and staff who have tested positive or who have symptoms of COVID-19 will follow public health isolation recommendations.

Due to a software malfunction, STSWR and our bus operators will not be able to post late notices on websites for transportation routes that are not running on schedule.  Further, late notices cannot be sent to parents via e-mail or text message as normal.

 We apologize for this late notice and the issues it will create to your schedules.