Friday, March 11, 2022

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Further to our letter of Wednesday, March 9, please find below an update to COVID-19 health and safety measures. All changes below are effective March 21, 2022.

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Masks will no longer be required for students, staff, visitors and spectators in schools, school board offices and on student transportation. Eye protection for staff will also no longer be required. Some students and staff may choose to continue wearing masks and eye protection.

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Anyone returning from international travel must wear a mask at all times when in public spaces (including school and childcare) and maintain a list of all close contacts for the first 14 days in Canada. Individuals must also monitor themselves for signs and symptoms of COVID-19.

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Cohorting and distancing will no longer be required in schools. Assigned seats and cohorting will no longer be required in student transportation.

Elementary students can play and learn together across cohorts, classes and grades, indoors and outdoors, and during lunch and recess. Shared spaces such as libraries, tech labs, theatres and music rooms can be fully utilized without distancing.

Limitations on in-person gatherings and assemblies will also be removed; therefore, schools can plan and host in-person events (e.g., proms, graduation ceremonies, and assemblies).

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Daily on-site confirmation of screening for all students and staff will no longer be required. Staff and students should continue to self-screen every day before attending school using the COVID-19 school and childcare screening tool.

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The board will continue to use rapid antigen tests (RATs) to support symptomatic testing only for staff, students and children. Schools are expected to continue distributing RATs to staff and students who return from an unplanned absence.

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NNDSB will be modifying its contact management guidance:

• Asymptomatic individuals who are close contacts of a case or a symptomatic individual in the community are no longer required to isolate but must self-monitor for 10 days following last exposure. During the self-monitoring period, close contacts must wear a well-fitted mask in all public settings and avoid activities where they need to take off their mask (for example, playing a wind instrument in music class or playing high-contact sports).
• Asymptomatic household contacts of a case or a symptomatic individual are also not required to isolate if they are 17 or younger and fully vaccinated; 18 and older and have already received their COVID-19 booster; or tested positive for COVID19 in the last 90 days and have completed their isolation period. Asymptomatic household contacts who are not required to isolate are also required to self-monitor for 10 days following last exposure, as outlined above. Children under five who are asymptomatic household contacts are required to isolate for five days. The COVID-19 school and childcare screening tool has been updated to align with the recent changes made to federal travel requirements.

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In addition to staying informed via the board’s website, families can find NNDSB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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NNDSB follows the direction of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and the public health unit when devising COVID-19 plans.

Thank you,

Near North District School Board

 

 

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This letter is to advise you that Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, announced several changes that may affect Near North District School Board (NNDSB) students and staff after the March Break.

NNDSB will review material from the Ministry of Education and consult with the Nipissing Parry Sound District Health Unit to devise next steps. Information will be communicated with families via letter, the website and social media.

NNDSB follows the direction of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and the public health unit when devising COVID-19 plans.

Thank you,

Near North District School Board

Friday, Jan. 14, 2022

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Further to our letter of Wednesday, Jan. 12, this letter to families provides more information about the return to in-person learning on Monday. Near North District School Board (NNDSB) will continue to share details about the return to school as they become available.

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Many workplaces are expecting to be short-staffed due to the transmissibility of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, and the new requirements around self-isolating. NNDSB is anticipating staff shortages, too.

If schools are not able to safely operate with the number of available staff, NNDSB will close schools. The announcement may be made the night before, the morning of the closure, or possibly even during the day in certain circumstances.

We understand the lack of notice will be problematic for many families. Unfortunately, it is a reality we face, and we want to give families advance notice so they may make contingency plans if their child’s school is closed.

NNDSB will work within the parameters outlined by the Ministry of Education, and situations will vary from school to school. If a school is closed, it will be communicated to affected families by the school through SchoolMessenger. Information will also be shared on NNDSB’s Facebook and Twitter accounts as soon as possible.

While schools may be closed, learning will continue online. Teachers will reach out to families about remote learning opportunities in the event of a school closure.

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Effective Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, it will be mandatory that all JK/SK students wear masks.

High-quality, three-ply masks will be made available for all students at all schools. Schools also stock medical-grade masks for all students if needed.

Non-fit-tested N95 masks will be available for all staff.

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The Ministry of Education announced it will be providing families with rapid antigen tests to assist in keeping schools safe for students and staff. The kits, like those sent home with students before the winter break, will be distributed next week.

NNDSB will be distributing all tests it has received. Schools and board offices do not have a stock of tests. More tests will be distributed once NNDSB receives more. Next. week, students will be given two tests each.

Instructions will be included with the tests. If the instruction sheet is misplaced, you may find the instructions for the tests here. There is also an instruction video. Rapid antigen tests are only to be used if a student is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19.

All staff and students will be required to confirm they have successfully self-screened every day before coming to school.

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If your family borrowed a device(s) from NNDSB for the return to online learning, please return all devices, charging blocks and cables to school next week.

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On the advice of Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and the local health unit, indoor high contact and high-intensity activities (such as wrestling, basketball, multi-cohort choirs and wind instrument ensembles, for example) have been paused. For the week of Jan. 17, all extra-curricular activities and practices will be paused. All interschool sports will be paused until Jan. 31, pending review by the health unit and co-terminus school boards.

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As always, any important news will be shared with stakeholder groups, including families, by letter. The board’s website is also updated, with pandemic news located on the COVID-19 alerts page. News is also posted to the board’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

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NNDSB follows the direction of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and the public health unit when devising COVID-19 plans. The health and safety of students and staff remains our top priority.

Thank you,

Near North District School Board

Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Monday’s letter advised families of the move to online learning, effective tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 6. This letter is to keep you up-to-date about Near North District School Board (NNDSB) plans and procedures as we ready staff and students for the move to virtual learning.

In addition to the monthly Letter to Families that will be sent out Friday, Jan. 7, NNDSB will continue to send COVID-19- and remote learning-related update letters to families as new information arrives.

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Students in special education classrooms as identified through the Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) process will be able to resume in-person programming in their schools on Monday, Jan. 10. Staff will be contacting families whose students will be able to attend in-person. Transportation will be arranged. If your child qualifies for in-person programming and you have questions, contact your child’s school.

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Childcare and school-aged Early Years programs are permitted to provide emergency childcare for children of healthcare and other eligible front-line workers during the period of virtual learning. Early ON Child and Family Centre programs will not be operating in schools during this time.

The following is a list of school sites where programs will be operating:

North Bay and area: YMCA of Northeastern Ontario is operating childcare at Woodland and will begin their school-aged program (in the school) on Monday, Jan. 10. Hours will be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; West Ferris Day Nursery will operate their childcares (they are currently not operating any of their school aged programs) from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at West Ferris, Silver Birches and Ferris Glen; West Nipissing Childcare will operate a school-aged program at 131 Michaud St. in Sturgeon Falls, serving students from White Woods; St. Theresa’s in Callander will open, with a program operated by the North Bay YMCA.

Almaguin area: Mapleridge and Sundridge Centennial, operated by the District of Parry Sound Social Services Administration Board, will open sites to accommodate 15 students per location from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Parry Sound area: YMCA of Simcoe Muskoka will operate a school-aged program at Parry Sound Public School from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Parry Sound YMCA will run a school-aged program as well.

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Supporting a smooth transition to remote learning:

To ensure a smooth transition to remote learning, we ask Near North families to review and consider the following information:

• Families that need the use of board-provided technology to access remote learning are asked to complete the Technology Request Survey to communicate technology needs. Families that have devices for their students are not required to complete the survey.
• Inform the school if there have been changes to your email, phone number or other contact information. This information is critical to support ongoing school/family communication during times of remote learning. Reach out to your child’s school if communication is not being received.
• Visit the Near North Passport to Learning webpage to access a variety of resources and helpful links to support remote learning including technical support, information about virtual learning platforms, and instructional resources.
• Review the Tips for Remote Learning document to learn about best practices for remote learning.
• Contact the family help desk number if you are unable to login to your NNDSB parent or student account: 705-472-5169 (North Bay), 705-773-7975 (Parry Sound).
• In addition to using the online Microsoft Office products available to students through Office 365, all NNDSB students are provided with five licenses to download the most recent Microsoft Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote). Click here to learn how to install these applications.
• TVO Learn and TFO/IDÉLLO are ministry-partnered sites that provide supports for students learning remotely by accessing additional educational resources developed by Ontario-certified teachers.

Minimum requirements for engaging students during remote learning:

During remote learning periods, students and parents will be provided with a daily schedule or timetable that includes 300 minutes of learning opportunities, with a combination of synchronous (all students and teacher learning remotely but together in real time) and asynchronous (learning on one’s own schedule) learning activities. Programming will be based on the full Ontario curriculum and include opportunities for guided instruction, large and small-group learning, synchronous check-ins, and asynchronous independent work.

Teachers will be available to students at all times during the teachers’ assigned teaching timetables, as they would be if they were face-to-face in a classroom setting. Educators will continue to use their professional judgement to provide flexibility to students on an individual basis when students are unable to participate in synchronous learning.

Process for Exemption from “Synchronous” Learning:

To ensure equitable access to learning, Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) No. 164, requires school boards to allow students to be exempted from the minimum requirements for synchronous learning – for example, this may be because of poor internet connectivity or family scheduling, etc. In accordance with PPM 164, Near North District School Board has created an online exemption form to facilitate synchronous learning exemption requests.

Please note, students who have completed a synchronous learning exemption form will be provided with ‘asynchronous’ learning opportunities in accordance with the 300-minute instructional day. Furthermore, daily attendance is still required (daily contact with their educator). Assessment, evaluation and reporting continues to apply to all students who have been exempted from the minimum requirements of synchronous (live, interactive) learning. Students will be expected to complete and submit assignments and will receive feedback from educators.

Please continue to visit the Near North District School Board website to access the most up-to-date information. Additional remote learning links and information can also be found here.

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The board’s website has a COVID-19 alerts page where families will find NNDSB’s operational guidelines, the updated self-assessment survey and links to Ministry of Health and the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit information.

NNDSB follows the direction of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and the public health unit when devising COVID-19 plans.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Near North District School Board

Monday, Jan. 3, 2022

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The team at Near North District School Board (NNDSB) hopes you and your families had an enjoyable, and restful winter break. It is vital that we all take the time to rest and recharge.

This morning, Premier Doug Ford announced that students in Ontario will return from the winter break virtually, rather than in-person for at least two weeks. In order to accommodate this, NNDSB staff will be working Wednesday, Jan. 5 as a turnaround day to prepare students and families for a remote return to class on Thursday, Jan. 6. Students will not have class or assignments to do on Wednesday.

Students in special education classrooms as identified through the IPRC process and who are currently placed in alternative programs in system classrooms will be able to resume to access face-to-face programming in their schools next week. Educators will reach out to the families of these students on Wednesday to discuss the next steps for learning and to make the necessary arrangements.

Families that need the use of board-provided technology to access remote learning are asked to complete the Technology Request Survey to communicate technology needs. Families that have devices for their students are not required to complete the survey.

In preparation for at-home learning, additional resources can be found via this link.

As always, any important news will be shared with stakeholder groups, including families, by letter. The board’s website is also updated, with pandemic news located on the COVID-19 alerts page. News is also posted to the board’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Near North District School Board

Friday, Dec. 31, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Yesterday, the province made several COVID-19-related announcements.

NNDSB staff are looking into the announcements and making plans for a safe return to school. As always, the board will send out relevant information as it becomes available.

The province’s self-assessment screening tool has been updated; please make sure you are using the most recent version. The tool, and other COVID-19 information is curated on the COVID-19 page of the board’s website.

All are reminded that when returning to school all safety protocols – masking, hand washing, social distancing, etc. – remain in effect.

We hope that you have an enjoyable weekend.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Near North District School Board

Monday, Dec. 13, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we get nearer to the start of the winter break, Near North District School Board will be sharing information as it relates to a safe return to school on Jan. 5, 2022.

Please click this link to find a letter to families from Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, regarding the rapid antigen tests that students will be bringing home next week.

This letter, and any other COVID-19 related information, can be found on the COVID-19 Alerts and Resources page of the board’s website.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Near North District School Board