Confirmation of COVID-19 Self-Assessment Required in January 2022

Posted On Friday December 10, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we prepare for the start of the Christmas holidays, we want to share important information regarding self-screening for students who return to in-person learning in January 2022.

Confirmation of Self-Screening

The Ministry of Education has instructed Ontario School Boards to complete active screening for all students, staff and visitors to our schools following Christmas break during the month of January 2022. All students and staff are required to conduct daily screening for symptoms of COVID-19 before attending school using the COVID-19 school screening tool. Please do not send your child(ren) to school if they have symptoms or have not passed the self-screening tool. 

To meet these requirements, parents, guardians and students are required to follow the directions below. 

Elementary Students

A Self-Assessment Confirmation Booklet (see attached) is available for the month of January. This document will be printed by schools, and provided to every student. You will note that the booklet includes the checklist of self-screening symptoms and a “calendar” for the month of January with a box for the parent/guardian signature each day.

The first day back to school following the break is Wednesday, January 5, 2022. Parents and guardians are asked to complete the assessment and send a signed copy of the document to school with their child to confirm that your child (ren) are free of symptoms.

Secondary Students

Students must complete the self-screening tool, and confirm completion by one of the following ways:

  • Show the green check mark that appears on a student’s device after completing the self-assessment upon entering the school/classroom; or
  • Print the attached Word document and have a parent or guardian initial that the student has passed the self-assessment screening on the calendar portion of the document for the month of January 2022; or

If you do not have a printer or device, please complete the self-assessment and send a hand-written note from the student, parent, or guardian to school to confirm that they are free of symptoms.

Rapid Antigen Screening Kits – All Students

To support a safe return to school in January, rapid antigen screening kits will be provided to all students to complete voluntary screening at home over the Christmas break. A single kit containing five tests, will be sent home with each student prior to the Christmas break. Instructions on how to use the rapid antigen tests will be provided with the kit.

 

Travelling over the Christmas Break

The Durham Region Health Department has asked us to remind families of the federal guidelines for travel. As per the Durham Region Health Department and Government of Canada direction, unvaccinated students returning from travel outside of Canada must not attend school or childcare for 14 days after their return. Fully vaccinated students who have travelled outside of Canada and meet the requirements to be exempt from federal quarantine (including passing a pre-entry molecular COVID-19 test) to attend school upon their return. Further details can be found at the Government of Canada website. Please also review the Government of Canada’s Travel Advice and Advisories FAQ ahead of any international travel.


COVID-19 Vaccinations

COVID-19 vaccinations are still available for children age 5 and up. If you are interested in obtaining a vaccine for your child, please visit the Region of Durham website to book an appointment.

At this time, the Durham Region Health Department does not have COVID-19 vaccination clinics scheduled at DCDSB schools and there are currently no plans to have vaccines administered during school hours.

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to our students, families, staff, clergy, parish communities and community partners for your cooperation and collaboration this past year. I wish you a joyous Christmas holiday filled with love, peace and hope.

Yours in Faith,

 

Tracy Barill
Director of Education