January 7, 2022
Dear NSMS families,
ÍY, SȻAĆEL - Good Day
We want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and welcome you back. Our North Saanich and District teams have spent our time together this past week reviewing and updating Health and Safety Protocols and creating a clear plan to prepare for the potential of School Closures if our school community is adversely affected by COVID. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a strong staff who are committed to ensuring that we remain safe while supporting the continuity of learning at NSMS.
We will meet on the field on Monday morning (9:00) in our divisions and then our homeroom teachers will individually take their class into the building, do a Daily Health Check, wash and/or sanitize their hands and then show students a welcome back presentation. This presentation will share reminders and updates of our already existing Health & Safety Protocols and emphasize the importance that all students, staff, and visitors follow these expectations at all times.
Starting on Tuesday morning, classes will meet in designated areas outside and go directly to the classroom through a specified entrance (to be shared by their teachers). Each day in their classroom, teachers will go through the morning routine reminders: mask-wearing, distancing, Daily Health Check, hand washing, and then to lockers by a pre-arranged process.
Some of the enhanced Health and Safety measures we are implementing throughout the day include altering the doors for our school access (fewer students heading into more entrances), implementing our previously used hallway flow with the one-way arrows, staggering locker access for all students throughout the day, and designating specific student washrooms to limit the number of different students using each facility. These changes will help us to reduce congestion and promote social distancing at North Saanich. We will also be re-implementing a staggered dismissal process at lunch, recess and after school to relieve congestion at our entrances and the front of the school at dismissal time. Further measures include limiting access to our Learning Commons, Computer Lab and gym for Intramurals (scheduling specific classes to each area daily as an option for students).
Our NSMS team understands that recent events have been extremely stressful for families. We are committed to working together with you to make 2022 successful for everyone in our learning community. We look forward to having everyone back at school next week. Go Hawks!
Sincerely,
David Mark Steve Newlove
Principal Vice-Principal