In Our House

Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year! We hope you have been able to enjoy the summer months, full of health and happiness. As we prepare for school start-up, we continue to develop detailed plans, considering both learning and the safety of our students and staff.

Our school division has been working hard to find a balance between returning as many activities and events as possible, and also continuing to keep students, staff and community members safe. BRSD is implementing strategies that we believe will make it possible to safely return more activities to our schools, while also mitigating risk of illness as much as we can. These strategies are outlined in the BRSD back-to-school plan that has been posted on the division website and can be accessed here. Please note, the plan that was sent out via email yesterday was that of 2020-2021. Please reference the 2021-2022 plan. We apologize for this mistake. We encourage you to review the document carefully so you know what to expect when classes resume on September 7th.

Please check out our 2021-2022 staff video. If you wish you reach out to one of the champions in our building, please visit our Staff Directory on our school website!

We want to ensure that students who are new to our school have the opportunity to see the building prior to the first day of classes. If you wish to take advantage of this, we will be inviting students in on September 2. See the schedule below. As per the BRSD School Re-entry Plan, students will be expected to wear masks in hallways and common areas. Parents/guardians will not be permitted to accompany their child into the school during this scheduled orientation. However, should you and your child wish to visit the school together, please reach out to the school and we can arrange an alternate time that will work.

We are asking that students arrive no more than five minutes prior to their scheduled time. Students will meet their homeroom teacher outside the main entrance.

9:00 - 10:00 - Students in 6A, 6B and 6C only

10:15 - 11:15 - Students in 6D, 6E, 6F and 6G only

11:30 - 12:30 - Students in Grade 7 and 8 who are new to ÉCKS.

Please check out the following video which provides you with a look in and around our school.

Five of the exterior doors will be utilized as entrances and exits for our students. Starting on September 7, students will arrive at school and will be required to head immediately to their assigned entrance. You can find the latest copy of the entrance map on our school website. I have also attached one for your reference. On the first day of school, we will have staff outside the front of the school for any students who need help in navigating the entrance map.

In the event, students are late or returning from an appointment, they will need to enter the building through the main front entrance. As the exterior doors will be locked, we ask that you call the school when you arrive so we can welcome your child into the building. The number for the school is 780-672-7785. There is also a doorbell if you are unable to call.

As detailed in the BRSD Back-to-School plan, microwaves are once again permitted. One microwave per classroom will be available for student use. Homeroom teachers will determine grade and age-appropriate procedures for their use and will share that with students in the first couple of days. We ask that you refrain from sending food requiring heating for the first week of classes. Please remember that microwaves are intended for warming (i.e., not cooking) food and that microwave popcorn is not permitted. We continue to encourage the use of Thermos containers to bring warm food from home to avoid line-ups.

ÉCKS will continue with a closed campus and students will not be permitted to leave the school grounds during lunch break. Students will be expected to eat in their homeroom. Students will be expected to head outside for half of their lunch hour so please ensure your children has dressed appropriately every day.

The last 18 months have been an incredibly challenging time for all of us. Disruption and uncertainly have led to an increase in stress levels and anxiety for students, families, staff and communities.

Battle River School Division has a dedicated Wellness Support Team whose work is designed to support students, families and staff in staying well.

The BRSD Wellness Support Team includes, but is not limited to:

· BRSD Family School Liaison team.

· BRSD Mental Health Capacity Building team.

We want school to feel like a place where everyone belongs. It is the goal of the BRSD Wellness Support Team to help all students and staff feel safe, calm and connected at school.

Every school will have ongoing access to a member of the BRSD Wellness Support Team. In collaboration with school administrators, the Wellness Support Team will assess what supports are required at each school. This will guide the services provided for students and also for staff.

If a student under the age of 14 is requiring ongoing support, caregivers will be contacted by the FSLW team. Parents and caregivers can also reach out to the Wellness Support Team for referrals to 1:1 in-school mental health support or access to community agencies.

Watch for activities and events designed to support student wellbeing and belonging throughout the year.

We want to take the opportunity to inform you about the pickup and drop-off zones. Also, the heavy importance of students using the crosswalk which is located on the corner of 46 Street and 49 Ave. Student safety is very important to us and we worry when students run out into the street, especially because the roads around our school are very busy.

We look forward to welcoming parents into our building this year! With that being said, it remains imperative to safe operations to know who is in the building. Therefore, only families who have an appointment will be permitted into the school. Appointments can be made by calling 780-672-7785. It is expected that all visitors to the building feel well and will wear a mask upon entry into the school. Any visitors to ÉCKS will be welcomed at the door by one of our staff members who will accompany you to the office to check-in. Please note that all exterior doors will be in a locked state throughout the day. Please call or use the doorbell upon arrival at ECKS.

Hello parents and guardians!

We’re excited to welcome students back, starting September 7. Our school team is hard at work making sure everything is ready.

We have received a request from Alberta Health Services to share information about upcoming COVID vaccination clinics with you, as well as a vaccine consent form. The COVID-19 vaccination program for people aged 12 to 19 will be taking place in schools, organized by Alberta Health Services. We are sharing information on their behalf.

If you are not interested, please feel free to simply delete this email.

If you are interested, here is a link to the information Alberta Health Services provided: https://www.brsd.ab.ca/download/362411

Here is a link to the vaccine consent form, for children over the age of 12 who have not yet had two doses of immunization against COVID-19: https://www.brsd.ab.ca/download/362412

If you would like your child to be vaccinated, please send the completed form back with them on the first day of school, September 7. Once AHS has the information, they will organize the date of a vaccine clinic in our school, likely before mid-October.

If you would not like your child to participate, or your child is already fully vaccinated, there is no need to complete the form. COVID-19 vaccination is completely voluntary and no children will be vaccinated unless the consent form is returned.

AHS has let us know that, if there are extra doses of vaccine available, parents can also receive one dose during the vaccine clinic at the school. If you want to do that, please let us know so we can inform AHS.

All of us have been missing the activities that were not available last year and are looking forward to being able to do more in the year ahead. We can't wait to see students again next week!

We appreciate the support and patience of each of our families as we navigate this new school year. We want to thank you in advance for making the daily self-assessment part of your morning routine. It is important that we all do our part to keep our school safe. We will be providing you with more information as it becomes available and please feel free to contact the school with any questions you may have. We look forward to working with you in providing a positive experience for your child!

Email: charliekillam@brsd.ab.ca
Website: https://ckillam.brsd.ab.ca/
Location: École Charlie Killam School, 46 Street, Camrose, AB, Canada
Phone: 780-672-7785
Twitter: @ECKSchool