Lakeland Ridge Weekly Update!
Friday, August 27, 2021
Welcome back Lakeland Ridge families,
My name is Jeff Huculak and I am honored to serve as the principal of Lakeland Ridge School. I hope you all enjoyed your summer and had an opportunity to rest and relax with friends and family. I would like to welcome everyone to a new school year! For those families that are new to Lakeland Ridge, welcome to our pack!
As you all know, there is no shortage of opinions regarding the best way to navigate our way through the school year with COVID-19. In mid-August, the province came out with provincial guidelines for schools and stated that individual school boards had the ability to create a plan that would best serve their students, staff, and families. On August 18, the EIPS Board of Trustees held a special meeting to discuss the Division’s re-entry plan. The Board approved the second of the four options put forward regarding the Division’s masking requirement for students, staff, and visitors for the EIPS Operations Guideline 2021-22 which:
Requires the wearing of masks for all children, staff, and visitors in kindergarten to Grade 6 division-wide, except those with medical exemptions. Students, staff, and visitors in grades 7-12 aren’t required to wear masks if the immunization rate in their community is greater than 70 percent. If the rate of youth immunization, 12-19 years of age, is less than 70 percent, masking is mandatory, in all grades (kindergarten to Grade 12) for staff, students and visitors. The Board passed a motion to revisit the situation on or before January 20, 2022.
I encourage all Lakeland Ridge families to carefully read the EIPS Operations Guidelines 2021-22 and EIPS Operations Frequently Asked Questions documents that were sent out to families. Since Lakeland Ridge school serves students from kindergarten to grade 9, our elementary students and staff will be required to wear masks and our junior high students and staff will not. However, masks will be required by all students and staff when entering and exiting the building, in hallways, in common areas, and when individuals are interacting with elementary students. Therefore, both elementary and junior high students are required to have masks with them. The safety of both students and staff is our number one priority and we are working hard to ensure safe practices are in place. We will be reviewing our guidelines and procedures with students during the first week of school.
Lakeland Ridge office staff have been back in the school for the last couple of weeks. Teachers and Educational Assistants will be returning to school Monday and Tuesday next week to prepare for classes. Prior to the start of the school year, teachers will be contacting parents to let them know which class their child will be in. Grade 7s and new junior high students will receive their timetables during our orientation on August 31. Grade 8 and 9 students will receive their timetables on the first day of school.
I look forward to a productive year working with students, staff, parents, and the entire Lakeland Ridge School community.
Sincerely,
Jeff Huculak M.Ed.
Principal
Upcoming Dates and Events
Sept. 1 - First Day of School Grade 1-9 (Regular Dismissal at 2:55pm)
Sept. 1-7 Kindergarten orientations (Kindergarten families were notified via email)
Sept. 6 - Labour Day - No School
Sept. 8 - Early Dismissal
Sept. 14 - School Council Meeting & School Council Elections 6:30pm (Location TBD)
Sept. 16 - Icon Picture Day (Entire School)
Sept. 17 - Icon Picture Day (Kinder Group A)
Orientation
Kindergarten Orientation
Information was sent out to families on August 25 outlining students' specific orientation time. Please contact the office if you have any questions.
Grade 7 Orientation
Our junior high orientation will take place Tuesday, August 31 from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm. Families may arrive between 1:45pm- 2:00pm. In an effort to keep numbers as low as possible, we ask that only one parent/guardian from each family attend. We recognize that parents may be unable to attend and therefore students are allowed to attend on their own. Parents may also drop their children off and pick them up at 3:00 pm. Upon arrival, families can proceed directly to the Kona (large) gym.
The orientation will start with a staff welcome and a short presentation at 2:00 pm in our Kona gym. Following the presentation, students will meet with their homeroom classes. Students will receive their timetables, get their locks and lockers, and receive a tour of our school. Teachers will be in their classes and will be available to answer any questions you may have.
All students, staff, and visitors must “mentally” complete the COVID-19 Alberta Health Daily Checklist before entering an EIPS building. If you are feeling unwell, you are asked to please stay home. Masks are optional for parents and students during orientation. However, junior high students will be required to bring masks on the first day of school. This year, masks will be required when entering and exiting the building, in hallways, in common areas and when interacting with elementary students.
Required Forms
The division has developed a series of forms all families are required to review and submit at the start of the school year to support school operations. All forms are available through your PowerSchool Parent Portal. If you have trouble accessing your Parent Portal account, contact your child’s school for assistance.
Note: Forms in PowerSchool often don’t display properly in Internet Explorer. Please use a different browser to review and complete the forms for your family.
Please refer to an email sent from the district on August 25th for more information on the following forms;
- COVID-19 Alberta Health Daily Checklist Acknowledgement (Due: Aug. 31, 2021)
- Pre-existing Medical Conditions (Due: Aug. 31, 2021)
- Correction and Verification Form (Due: Sept. 22, 2021)
Bell Schedule
Visitors in Schools
All visitors, couriers, and contractors must sign in at the front main doors and check-in at the office, complete the COVID-19 Alberta Health Daily Checklist, and be wearing a mask properly.
If any of the answers to the questions are “YES,” DO NOT enter the school or workplace.
Similarly, if feeling unwell or have COVID-19 symptoms—fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste, aches, pink-eye, nausea —DO NOT enter an EIPS-operated school or workplace.