January7,2022

DearASD-NFamilies:

Happy New Year! We hope you all had a restful and happy holiday season. We look forward to welcoming our students back to school virtually next week.

Home Learning will begin for all schools on Tuesday, January 11th. Your child's school or teacher will be in contact with you directly with information on what is expected for your child's learning on Tuesday and going forward.

Please note that, for the most part, home learning schedules and accessibility to school staff will follow regular school schedules. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD) has indicated that it will re-evaluate guidelines during the week of January 17th ,  and it will announce whether school will continue virtually or return to in-person learning. We will continue to provide updates to you as we receive them.

EECD has also acknowledged that exceptional circumstances require some students to attend school in person during this time. Schools and administrative staff will reach out directly to families to identify students who meet these exceptionalities.

Public Health has also made fundamental shifts in their approach to testing, isolation and contact tracing over the last two weeks. You can find the most updated Public Health protections and guidelines at:

https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/corporate/promo/Covid-19/positiveresu...

     Schools are also impacted by these changes in Public Health's approach. Therefore, we would like to advise all parents of   the following:

•      When learning resumes next week, Public Health will no longer be notifying schools when there is a positive COVID-19 case in their building.

          •      The person who tests positive will now be expected to contact their close contacts as indicated in the  above link.

•      Students who test positive will still be expected to isolate as per the above Public Health guidelines (refer to link);the same applies to any household close contacts of a positive case.

     •      Students and staff, who have received close contact notification from a person testing positive for COVID-19 outside of their household, are expected to monitor for symptoms. If symptoms develop, they are expected to register for a Rapid Test (POCT) or a PCR test, depending on their individual risk factors.

     •      Schools will no longer be receiving Rapid Tests from the province for distribution.

We understand that there have been a lot of changes in the past weeks. As stated at the start of the school year, we will continue to adapt to the challenges we face. We will also continue to follow directions from Public Health and EECD to keep our students and staff as safe as possible.

Thank you for your continued patience, cooperation and understanding as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Mark Donovan

Superintendent

ASD-N