COVID-19 Update – September 2021
Welcome!
We are excited for the safe return to school starting Wednesday, September 8, 2021.
In this update, families can read about:
Keep up-to-date on the latest COVID updates. Questions or comments? Please email [email protected].
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Important Dates
September 2 & 7: Professional Activity Days
- Click here for scheduled professional activities
September 3 – 10: Elementary Remote Learning Transition Survey Open in Parent Portal
September 6 – 8: Rosh Hashanah
- We invite families to read: Letter to Families on Rosh Hashanah and the First Day of School
September 8: First day of School starts WEDNESDAY
September 8 & 9: First days of Kindergarten
- On Wednesday, all children new to Kindergarten and/or the school are invited in for a short visit with a caregiver. Your child’s school will contact families to arrange for a short visit.
- On Thursday, all children new to Kindergarten begin full-day attendance. All children entering Year 2 of Kindergarten begin full-day attendance.
September 30: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
- We are committed to reconciliation and ensuring that the tragic history and ongoing legacy of Residential Schools is never forgotten. This day is a Federal Statutory Holiday and not a Provincial Statutory Holiday. HWDSB will continue to honour this day and encourage students and staff to wear an orange shirt because Every Child Matters.
Chair and Director Message
We are so excited to welcome everyone back for a safe return to school on Wednesday, September 8.
Many families and students may be anxious as we come back to school. We want you to know that this is normal. Our staff are prepared to support the health, safety, and well-being of your child/ren. Wellness comes first.
As we start school in the fourth wave of the pandemic, we must stay vigilant and support public health measures. The case status in Hamilton continues to rise. Children under 12 are unvaccinated and among the most vulnerable. We will do everything that we can to wrap protective measures around our students so they can continue to learn with minimal disruptions.
The learning experience at HWDSB is based on the direction guided in the Board Annual Plan 2021-22. We are all moving forward, aligned in our mission: We empower students to learn and grow to their full potential in a diverse world. Equity, inclusion, and human rights are crucial supports that provide service to our achievement and well-being goals.
Families are asked to take the time to review the COVID-19 updates and protocols, stay connected and subscribe to our website as well as your child/ren’s school website(s) and follow us on social media. Staff are in school to answer your questions. We appreciate your patience as we maintain our standards in customer service.
Have a safe and successful school year.
Dawn Danko, Chair of the Board
Manny Figueiredo, Director of Education
Public Health Measures
Together with Hamilton Public Health Services, staff at HWDSB have worked through the Return to School Guidance to develop protocols specific for our schools. COVID protocols are internal documents that guide school operations in the areas of health measures, elementary schools, secondary schools, school offices, learning, specialized services, and more.
Families and community members can now review a highlight of the protocols.
Click here to access our COVID Protocols Overview.
Screening Measures: A One-time Attestation AND Daily On-site Verification of Self-Screening
Elementary and secondary families and students can expect two parts to efforts related to screening measures. These include a one-time attestation to be completed before the first day of school, and the second is to engage in daily active screening verification.
The on-site verification of self-screening process with students will continue for at least the first two weeks. Ongoing consultation with Hamilton Public Health Services will determine the next steps and the continued use of active screening.
| One-time Attestation for all elementary and secondary students
**To be completed before the school starts. |
Parents and caregivers, and students over 18 years of age, are asked to complete one-time attestation to declare that you will participate in active daily screening. The attestation can be completed in the Parent Portal.
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| Daily On-site Verification of Self-Screening – Elementary | The screening process with students will continue for at least the first two weeks. Ongoing consultation with Public Health will determine next steps and the continued use of active screening.
The screening would be verified where an educator would check the completed screening on paper, or on a device. If the student does not have verification, they will remain in class, with a mask and distanced as much as possible from others. Parents will be contacted to verify screening. |
| Daily On-site Verification of Self-Screening – Secondary | Secondary students will continue to validate their daily screening when they arrive at school each day. Students will show their screening to their educators using their personal or board device. |
Masks are mandated for all students, including Kindergarten students. Reasonable exceptions on the requirement to wear masks will apply. No medical notes are required. A form is available in the Parent Portal if your child/adult student claims an exception to the requirement to wear a mask while in a school or school bus.
HWDSB is responding to the challenge of returning to in-person learning during a pandemic with a welcoming, inclusive initiative that involves Reimagining Wellness. Wellness comes first and that’s why we have created a series of activities and lessons that address the needs highlighted during the school closures for COVID-19: the need for safety, routine, support, growth, community and more.
Activities that fit into three categories: Community & Team Building, Physical Activation and Social Emotional Skill Development. Within the categories, the weekly themes will cover personal and collective identity, understanding and managing emotions, self-care, collective empowerment, and collective action.
Privacy and Immunization Status
COVID-19 vaccination is one more layer of protection and safety in the fight against COVID-19. Asking someone about their vaccination status has become normalized. As students and staff come together in schools, we remind everyone that someone’s health information is confidential, which includes receiving a vaccination or not. Please do not ask someone if they have received the vaccination or engage in conversations about someone’s opinion about vaccinations.
HWDSB’s immunization disclosure policy is in effect. We follow all provincial guidelines. Educators will support inclusive classrooms that promote respect and support each other’s wellness.
HWDSB is required to support public health in contact tracing and outbreak management. Information on confirmed cases of COVID-19 that involve a student or a staff member in a school setting will be posted on the COVID-19 Advisory Dashboard. In the interest of privacy, information will not identify the student or staff member that has received a positive COVID-19 test.
Staff continue to work with Hamilton Public Health Services to confirm details related to contact tracing as well as procedures related to dismissed cohorts and closures. Information will be shared on our website once it becomes available.
Volunteers
There will be a temporary pause on welcoming volunteers in our schools as staff await more information from the Ministry of Education about how the Immunization Disclosure Policy impacts them. We anticipate this information soon.
Ventilation
Ventilation is an important protective measure for safe school environments. Over the course of the summer, HWDSB has worked to improve ventilation in various locations ahead of the 2021-22 school year. This work includes:
- 14 ventilation upgrade projects funded through the CVRIS program that are scheduled to be completed for September 8, 2021.
- 1,039 HEPA units to be provided in accordance with Ministry of Education direction. This includes all Kindergarten spaces, schools without mechanical ventilation, and where we have active ventilation projects underway and not yet completed.
Visit our Ventilation webpage for more details and to read our Frequently Asked Questions section. There will be additional school-specific ventilation information released on September 3, 2021 through the Ministry of Education’s Standardized Ventilation Reports.
Return to Athletics
HWDSB is excited to announce that plans are underway for the safe return to athletics, after the pause on extracurricular last year brought hardship to students, staff and communities like. Read the update on athletics here.
Learning at HWDSB
The HWSTS Transportation Portal is now open. Parents will be able to confirm transportation arrangements for students who qualify. Please ensure you have your child’s OEN (Ontario Education Number) in order to use the portal. This is a 9-digit number that can be found on any old report card issued in the Province of Ontario.
If you do not have a report card for your child, and cannot supply the OEN, please contact your child/ren’s home school. Staff are only able to share OEN with the authorized email address on record for each student, without any identifying information.
If your qualifying student won’t be using school bus services and would like to opt-out of transportation, please follow this opt-out link to complete the Decline Transportation Form.
Device Return
Elementary students who still have a device from last year are asked to bring it to their educator on the first day of school, Wednesday, September 8. Please label the device with the child’s name.
From September 3 to 10, families who want a change for their child/ren between learning models can make their choice in the Parent Portal. Read the Letter to Families on Remote/In-Person Transition here.
Families requesting a transition between remote and in-person learning this September are reminded that students will begin the school year in their original selection and will transition in early October. Students who did not previously select the Remote Learning option in the June 2021 survey are considered in-person learners by default.
Learn at Home Resources for Elementary
Learn at Home resources support daily learning from home activities for kindergarten, primary, junior, and intermediate students in the areas of literacy, math, art and physical activities.
These resources are intended to support students awaiting placement in Remote Learning and are not required materials.
New De-streamed Grade 9 Math Course
In June, the Ministry of Education released curriculum for Ontario’s new Grade 9 math course (MTH1W) for use this September. De-streaming ends the practice of placing some students in pathways or programs, based on perceptions of their ability. De-streaming is an important equity measure that seeks to ensure that a student’s pathways decisions are personalized to fit their interests and aspirations. Read our previous blog post for more details.
Updated on Tuesday, September 07, 2021.