Dear Parents/Guardians:

The Ontario government has updated its Operational Guidance document for schools, for the 2021-2022 school year.  COVID-19: Health, safety and operational guidance for schools 2021-2022 was updated and re-released on August 13, 2021. 

In addition, the Ontario government today released new mandatory vaccination policies for high-risk settings.  In publicly-funded schools, the Ministry of Education will introduce a vaccination disclosure policy for all school board employees, with rapid antigen testing requirements for staff who are not immunized against COVID-19.

The Ontario government is also extending eligibility for the Pfizer vaccine to all youth, who were born in 2009.  Beginning on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, all children turning 12 years old before the end of 2021 will be eligible to receive their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and can book their appointment through the provincial booking system, through their public health unit, local pharmacies, or walk-in vaccination clinics across the province.  The Ontario government is also working with public health units and publicly funded school boards to run voluntary vaccination clinics in or nearby schools to make obtaining a vaccine even more convenient.

Read the complete announcement.

Throughout the summer, the St. Clair Catholic COVID-19 Team has been working to update the Board’s procedures to protect the health, safety and wellness of students and staff.  Both the updated COVID-19 operational guidance document and the COVID-19 vaccination policies from the Ontario government (above) will be used to help inform measures that will be in place at St. Clair Catholic schools when classes resume in September.  You will receive further updates as the Board’s return to school plan is finalized.

In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying these last weeks of summer.  We look forward to seeing our students in both our in-person and remote learning schools on September 7th!

Sincerely,

Deb Crawford
Director of Education