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COVID-19 Updated Mar 16 2020

Dear Parents and Students

During these quickly changing times, I felt it appropriate to update you with the current
situation regarding the possibility of returning to school next week. As I type, schools are not
yet closed in British Columbia. However, things are rapidly evolving. Last Thursday night, I was
waiting for my connecting flight from Calgary to Cancun when I heard about the updated travel
advice, which caused me to change my plans, as I want to ensure I am healthy and avoid the
prospects of self-quarantine for fourteen days upon my return. Unfortunately, Nadine has a
separate itinerary from myself and was waiting for her connecting flight in San Francisco. As
she was in the USA, she will not be anywhere on the campus with the exception of our house
for a total of 14 days. I am pleased to say that neither of us has any flu-like symptoms at the
moment.

In the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Education with the support of the Ministry of Health has
established a Boarding School Emergency Response working group that is collaborating with
one another in an attempt to make our schools as safe as possible. We are having discussions
about the best way forward for our schools.

Should school remain open, please note the following:

A declaration will be sent out requiring community members (staff and students) to identify if
they have been outside of Canada in the past fourteen days by Friday. Should this be the case,
community members will not be allowed to attend school for a minimum of fourteen days
without exhibiting any flu-like symptoms. We have four members of staff that will not be
allowed on campus. Thank you to those parents that have already contacted us to let us know
that you were travelling and that you will stay away from the school campus for fourteen days
from when you returned to Canada.

Families will have complete discretion as to whether or not to send their children to
school. Students will be considered ‘educated off-site’ and marked present should a family
decide to have their child work from home. Further details will be sent on how to access work
with a template that will be created. Please note there is no need to feel pressured to come to
school even if the doors remain open. We will do everything we can to provide meaningful
learning opportunities online for our students.

2371 Shawnigan Lake Road, V0R 2W5, Shawnigan Lake, BC

Tel: 250-220-4888. Email: info@stjohnsacademy.ca

As ever, staff and students that display any signs of illness should remain away from school.
Please rest assured that we are closely monitoring the situation and will keep you abreast of
any developments to our procedures, which may include school closure even if it is not
mandated by the Ministry of Education.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at dave.pontich@stjohnsacademy.ca should you have any
questions or concerns.

Yours faithfully

Dave Pontich