School Flu Vaccination 2020-21

The Public Health Program at Eastern Health is offering flu vaccine in school to students in Grades 4 to 12. Flu vaccine consent forms were sent home on October 29 and should be returned by November 6. These forms must be completed in full, signed by a parent or legal guardian and returned to school as soon as possible if you wish to have the student receive a free flu vaccine at school. Public Health will be at our school on December 2^nd and 3^rd.

The single best way to protect against seasonal flu is to get a seasonal influenza vaccine each year. Flu vaccination is recommended for all persons 6 months of age and older.

Only students with signed consents will be vaccinated. If you would like your child to receive the influenza vaccination at school please complete and sign the consent form, and return to school on, or before November 6^th. Students 16 and older can sign their own consent.

In addition, please note the following:

Do NOT sign the consent form if your child has already been administered the influenza vaccine by another healthcare provider.

If you do not wish to have your child vaccinated in school or your child is absent on the scheduled immunization day you can make an appointment at a mass flu clinic www.timefortheshot.ca or at your physician’s office or pharmacy.

A question and answer document has been prepared. You can view this document www.nlesd.ca

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Sherri Hopkins, your school’s Public Health Nurse at 437-2208.

http://www.easternhealth.ca/OurCommunity.aspx?d=1&id=1620&p=379

School Pictures

Picture Day is coming Tuesday, November 10 .

After Picture Day, order pictures on mylifetouch.ca using your Portrait ID and Access Code which can be found on your Picture Day order form.

Google Resources for Families

Student Council

Socktober- Bring NEW socks of all sizes, colors, patterns, and varieties to benefit the homeless in our area. Bin will be set up in the main entrance and bus entrance.

Dress up days: Student council members will go around to each class to get pictures of participants (for yearbook, newsletter, etc.) and enter their names into a draw. The more days you participate in, the more times your name is entered.

Monday- Patterns @ the Pumpkin Patch (Wear orange, black, and purple)

Tuesday- Tropical Trick or Treating (tropical clothes)

Wednesday- “Which Witch is Which” (twin day)

Thursday- Flannel Festival (flannel/cozy clothes)

Friday- Halloween Costume (Spooky Spirit Students sash for top costumes)

Cafeteria Service

Cafeteria service has started!

Chartwells is our school’s food service provider and this year we will be participating in Chartwells online ordering program Cafzone.ca. All cafeteria orders will be processed through pre-purchase ONLY. All precorders must be made by 8:30 each morning and there will be no ordering of cafeteria service after 8:30 each day. Students can purchase online through www.CafZone.ca or in person in the cafeteria before 8:30 daily. Caf Zone is a convenient online ordering system designed to make your mornings easier by making payments online. No need to send cash or cheques with your child anymore unless you would like to preorder in person in the morning. You can preorder meals up to two months in advance and pay conveniently online by visiting: www.CafZone.ca. You will need to create a profile for each child. Grade 9 students will have to identify their classroom number as food will be delivered to them for lunch. Senior high students will have to line up to pick up their pre ordered food at lunch. In the event that a meal was pre-purchased for a day your child may be absent you can submit a credit request up until 9am on that date to receive a credit to your account. You can submit through the website with our Contact Us/Credit Request section.

Ordering is Easy!

1) Create an account on CafZone.ca and add each child’s profile with their school & grade.

2) By selecting this button you will be able to select your dates and meal choices

3) Add orders for one or multiple children and proceed to Check Out

4) You will receive a confirmation email of your order

Please see the attached weekly menu and will find all ordering options online as well.

September School Reopening Information

We hope that you have all had an enjoyable summer and are now ready to head back to school. We have missed all our students and are looking forward to beginning a new year of learning. As you know, due to the unprecedented times in which we find ourselves with COVID-19, school start-up will look somewhat different than in years past. However, please be assured, we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of all. We are certainly looking forward to our students returning to school. As we make plans for our school reopening, we recognize that students and parents alike have many safety concerns regarding school reopening amidst the pandemic. We encourage you to review the NLESD’s Re-Entry Plan that was recently released as it outlines various measures to promote a safe environment.

https://www.gov.nl.ca/eecd/files/Safe-Return-to-School-Reopening-Plan.pdf

The District Plan has directly informed the HTH re-entry plan concerning our re-configuration and our safety protocols. Our goal is to deliver quality education in a safe and inclusive environment. We hope that the many changes that we are implementing this year will ease the concerns your family may have as we continue through these uncertain times. Please note that aspects and protocols of our school specific approaches to supporting student and staff safety are subject to change based on lived experience. Additionally, aspects of this re-entry plan are subject to change as more information is received from the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD).

Holy Trinity High shares the District’s core values including putting students first, learning and inclusion and this will continue to guide our work which is rooted in:

• • Social Emotional Learning (SEL),

  • Trauma-Informed Practice (TIP) and

  • Comprehensive School Health (CSH).

As students and staff prepare for a return to schools, staff will support students with the transition back to the classroom while at the same time manage their own transition and health. We recognize that this opening day letter is extensive but we wanted to ensure you had as much information as possible prior to school opening. Your child’s homeroom teacher will be sending an email with specific information and what classroom they will go to for the first day of classes on Wednesday, Sept 9.

Holy Trinity High First Day of School - Wednesday, September 9 (Day 1)

Wednesday is the first day of school. This year we will be having a staggered opening. Junior high students will attend our morning session only and Senior High students will attend our afternoon session only. Slot A Homeroom teachers will be sending an email to their students and parents to notify them of their homeroom class. On the first day of school students will have to go directly to their homeroom classroom. Students will not be able to stand and mingle in the school hallways.

Bus runs for Grade 9 students attending Holy Trinity High School will start at regular morning schedules. Students will begin classes at 8:05 am and be dismissed at 10:20 am on Sept. 9.

Bus runs for Senior High students attending Holy Trinity High School will start at 11:20 am to begin classes at 12:05 pm and be dismissed at 2:05 pm for September 9.

School Screening Questionnaire

Parents/guardians/students/staff must use this questionnaire daily to decide if the student or staff should attend school.

Daily School Screening Questionnaire

If you have answered “Yes” to any of the above questions in the pre-screening questionnaire, please DO NOT enter the school at this time. You should stay home and use the COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool to determine whether you need to be tested for COVID-19.

If you have answered “No” to all the above questions, you may attend school.

Contact Information

On the first day of school, we will be sending home information forms for all parents to sign and return. This year, it is more important than ever to ensure that the school has the most updated contact information. The school must be able to reach a parent/guardian immediately if a student has become ill.

Busing

Ms. Lacey, our school secretary has been sending emails to parents regarding busing this process is now complete. If you have not received an individual email notifying you of your child’s transportation eligibility, then unfortunately you are not able to avail of service for the beginning of the school year.

We are happy to inform you that the School District was recently advised that some funding will be available to support our efforts to acquire and mobilize the necessary resources to provide transportation service to the remaining “normally” eligible students (based on Government policy). In order to implement this additional service safely, it is not possible for the District to complete all of the required implementation steps in time for school opening. The goal is to have this additional service in place by the end of September.

The School District understands that this temporarily places some families in a difficult situation to start the school year. We ask for your patience during these very unusual times. Meanwhile, we hope that during these times employers will understand parents’ circumstances and work with them, in the spirit of accommodation and cooperation, to find ways to assist.

If you have any student transportation inquiries, please go to the School District’s Busing website and submit an Inquiry Form for your region (Avalon).

Health Room & Emergency Contact

If a student exhibits signs of illness throughout the school day, the student will be brought to a designated Health Room until pick-up. We respectfully request that all parents/guardians update their contact information, especially their cell phone numbers, as well as the Emergency Contact Information. If you are unable to retrieve your child, we need to have a valid contact person available to retrieve your child. If we call concerning your child’s health, we will need your child picked up immediately.

Visitors, Volunteers, and Family Access

Note that under "Safe Return to School" regulations: Visitors, volunteers, and parents/guardians will not be permitted inside HTH at this time unless specifically invited by the school Principal to attend a meeting that could not take place in any other way than face to face. We do ask that parents ensure their contact information is up to date as possible with any changes in address or phone numbers. If a student is signing out of school, school personnel will bring students who are leaving to the main entrance for pick up.

Masks

Students will wear masks on school buses and in all common areas of the school: hallways, bathrooms, office, health room, cafeteria line-up, etc. Masks are not mandatory in instructional spaces if students can maintain physical distancing requirements. Please ensure your child wears a mask on the school bus and that they have one with them for the first day of school to wear upon entry into the school.

Hand Hygiene

Hand sanitizing stations have been set up at every entrance and in all instructional and administrative spaces. Students and staff will be reminded to use hand sanitizer as they enter and leave school, as they enter and leave each instructional and administrative space, before and after they eat, and before and after they use the washroom. Students will also be reminded to wash their hands regularly. Teachers will model safe cleanliness procedures and will constantly remind students not to touch their eyes, noses and mouths.

Traffic Flow

HTH will predominantly have a one way traffic flow. The grade 9 stairwells will be “UP” only, while the senior high stairwells will be “DOWN” only. There are four exceptions where two way traffic will occur: main entrance, junior high foyer, stairwell linking the woodworking room to the first floor, and the main hallway leading to the cafeteria, gym and drama room. Students who are unable to use the stairs will leave class 5 minutes early to move to their next class.

Signage

Directional signage has been posted around the school. Signage has been placed where necessary on floors indicating that students must wait at particular intervals prior to entering washrooms or moving ahead in a cafeteria lineup. Hand cleanliness signage has also been posted next to each hand sanitizing station and by each sink.

Classrooms

All student desks have been placed in vertical rows facing the instructional boards with 3 feet of space between each row. Teacher desks have been placed in the same direction as student desks. Grade 9 students have been cohorted, meaning they will remain with the same classmates all year and will stay in the same classroom for all non-elective subjects. After the high school students have cleared the hallways, the elective subject teachers will retrieve the grade 9 cohort from their designated cohort classroom to bring them to the elective classroom (Art, Phys.Ed., Home Economics). The elective subject teachers will return the grade 9 cohort to their designated cohort classroom after the class has finished. High school students cannot be cohorted as there is too much variety in their schedules. All classroom doors will remain open, though handsets will be in the locked position to align with the Safe and Caring Schools Policies and Procedures.

Common Areas

Please note that students will not be permitted to gather in common areas such as the main lobby or cafeteria. With over 650 students at HTH we are not able to maintain the 2 meters social distancing guidelines required. Thus when students enter the building they will proceed directly to their first period class and sit in their assigned seat..

Nutrition Break

Nutrition Break will be added on to Period 2 in the schedule and will occur in the Period 2 class.

Lunch

There will be a staggered dismissal time at lunch, with grade 9 students being released first. Students who stay in to lunch will eat lunch in their fourth period class (first period after lunch).

Cafeteria

Students are encouraged to bring lunch as the school cafeteria will not be open to provide food at this time. We are working with Chartwells to determine how to proceed. We will provide an update about cafeteria services as soon as they are available. The cafeteria will not be open as a sit-down eating venue as physical distancing cannot be maintained. All of the microwaves have been removed from the cafeteria. Students will not have access to a microwave to warm up their lunch like they have been able to in past years.

Student Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

Arrival: The doors to the school will open at 7:50. If students arrive before this time they will have to wait outside the school until the doors are opened. Please do not drop your child off early. Upon school entry students must proceed directly to period 1 class. When entering the school building students will need to wear a mask and sanitize their hands.

Dismissal - It is anticipated that parents may be more inclined to transport their own child than avail of the school busing system. We therefore predict an increase in vehicular congestion. To address the time it takes to get all cars and buses on and off the lot and to ensure that our students are dismissed in a controlled manner to avoid congestion and improve physical distancing, we will be dismissing bused students first to help with parking lot congestion. This will allow vehicular traffic to pick up students in the back parking lot after the buses have left the school. Students will be dismissed in an orderly fashion using the designated arrows on floors and stairways to exit the building. Students will proceed directly to their car. All students are required to be out of the building by 2:20 daily with the exception for the Ensemble Performance students whose class takes place after fifth period. All students will be encouraged to use the exit closest to their mode of transportation and according to the closest exit using our one directional hallways. Bus seating plans will be maintained and provided to students and bus drivers. We will monitor school dismissal procedures and will make changes if required.

Therefore, students will leave the school in the following order:

1. Alternate Transportation Students- Main Entrance. Parents must not park their car in front of the main entrance of the school for accessibility reasons.

2. Bussed students

3. Driving students,walking students, and students getting picked up will be dismissed in a staggered manner.

School Parking

Parking spaces in our parking lot have been numbered. Teachers have been assigned numbers 1 to 31 and 71 to 93. Students are permitted to park in the remaining numbered parking spaces. We will be exploring student parking options. As we do not have enough spaces for all students to park their car in the school parking lot, preference will be given to Grade 12 students and we will have a lottery for parking spots during the first few weeks of school. More information about this will be available over the coming week. We are exploring other options to extend the parking lot as well. We will update you once we have more information.

Vending Machines

Vending Machines will not be available this year.

Fountains

Students are not permitted to drink from water fountains this year. Students are encouraged to bring their own labelled and refillable water bottle to school as fountains are refill stations only.

Recycling

Food and beverage container recycling will not occur at schools this year. Please bring food in reusable containers to be brought home for cleaning.

Lockers

Lockers will not be issued until the second week of classes. By Friday, September 11, 2020, students will have an opportunity to inform their homeroom teacher (Slot A teacher) of their desire to have a locker for the year. If a student declines, then they may not be provided with a locker at a later time. With the exception of siblings, students cannot share a locker.

Textbooks

Textbooks will not be issued until the second week of classes once all schedules have been finalized. If you have any textbooks at home that have not been returned please return them promptly so that your child can receive their textbooks for this year.

Extracurricular Activities

Please note that we will not be able to hold any extracurricular activity programs after school. We will be having Ensemble Performance 1105, 2105, and 3105 outside of class time as these are curricular for credit courses. Please see Ms. Stanley once school starts up for more info on Ensemble Performance.

Note: Some clubs may be able to start up virtually so stay tuned for more information!

Course Change Requests

High school students can request course changes using the electronic course change request form starting on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. Please do not send emails to request changes at this time as they will not be addressed. Students must employ the appropriate procedure (use of the course change request form) and then the Administration will review and process each request on an individual basis. The deadline for course change requests is Friday, September 11, 2020. Priority will be given to grade 12 students who require specific courses for high school graduation or for entry into specific post-secondary programs. Senior High Students requesting a course change are asked to complete the following form:

Course Change Request 2020-2021

Students will need to be logged into their NLESD Gmail account to complete the form. The master school course matrix will need to be used by students to determine the specific changes required:

2020-2021 Master Course Matrix

Please note that there is no guarantee that all requests will be possible. There are a variety of reasons why changes may not be possible. For example, we have a limited number of elective courses, if the current student enrolment in a class is maximized, a student will not be able to join that class. Priority for changes in course schedules will be based on student programming requirements for graduation. Teacher preference will not be entertained as a valid reason to switch courses.

Please note, Powerschool will be open later today.

No Final Examinations Grade 9 Pilot Project / No Senior High Mid-year Examinations Pilot Project 2020-22

Our school has accepted an invitation by the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District to become part of a pilot project in 2020-22. As a participant in this pilot project, we will not be administering mid-year examinations to high school students for the next two years or final end of year examinations to students in Grade 9 for the next two years. The purpose of this pilot is to focus on maximizing instructional time and student learning during this time period, rather than focusing on major formal exams. Therefore, instruction will continue as normal during the usual mid-year examination period and students will be required to attend classes.

Based on research conducted by the District’s Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting Committee, it is believed that students will experience no negative impact on year-end achievement results. To ensure a positive outcome from this initiative, student achievement data will be collected and analyzed over the two year period for our school and other participating schools.

There is ample research which indicates that at the intermediate level, a focus on formative assessments, with timely and effective feedback to the learner and the teacher, has a more positive impact on student learning and achievement than the use of time and resources to prepare and complete final examinations.