In British Columbia, we have been incredibly fortunate through this global pandemic to have the advice, guidance, and leadership of Dr. Bonnie Henry. As we have done from the earliest warnings of this global concern, we will be following her sage advice. Dr. Bonnie Henry has asked us to all commit the next two weeks to enhanced restrictions so that we can reverse the trends we have been seeing in recent weeks. We did this before and saw immediate and tangible success. These Provincial Orders and guidelines will be in place until November 23, 2020 and will inevitably be reviewed along the way, with a decision to loosen or tighten restrictions. The order goes into effect at 10 p.m. Saturday, November 7th, 2020, and will remain in place for two weeks, until midnight on Monday, November 23rd. Please note that St. John’s Academy, has and will continue to ensure the safety of our staff and students are at the forefront. We will continue to do temperature checks upon arrival, insist on handwashing and usage of the hand sanitizing systems and limit traffic in the one – way hallways. PLEASE ensure you do the daily screening test prior to arrival. The administrative team, staff, and students will continue to be required to wear masks and ensure physical distancing of 3m/6 ft isn’t possible. We will continue the admirable and appreciated measures of cleaning our workspaces before and after each use, awareness of how our out of school activities affect our in school activities (and vice versa), and maintain our commitment and mandate of mutual respect for all. Please be aware of how many are in the kitchen – limit it to 3 and student bathrooms – limit of 1. Hall passes are to be used as this will decrease traffic in and around the schools. Your contributions and commitment to these next two big weeks are sincerely appreciated.
St. John’s Academy will continue to be a safe environment for students, focusing on both social-emotional and physical health. Local decisions will be rooted in what is best for students.
SJA will prioritize guidance and utilize municipal and provincial recommendations as a guide.
SJA will make reasoned judgments to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The principal will work with faculty, staff, and community to communicate decisions and data guiding those decisions. We look forward to seeing all students on Sept 8th, 2020.
Under the updated health and safety guidelines, masks will be required for staff, middle and secondary students in high traffic areas such as buses and in common areas such as hallways, or anytime outside of their learning group whenever physical distancing cannot be maintained.
Exceptions will be made for students who cannot wear masks for medical reasons.
Even when wearing a mask, staff and students will still be required to maintain physical distance from people outside of their learning group. Efforts will be put in place to ensure there is no crowding, gathering or congregating of people from different learning groups in a school setting, even if non-medical masks are being worn. Schools will also ensure non-medical masks are available for staff if someone should become ill while at school.
Other health and safety guidelines include: