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Fairfield Elementary School Update
December 7th, 2021
Students have been sharing how they can be a kind friend and we are decorating the foyer!
FundScrip Pick Up
For those who ordered Gift Cards through FundScrip, pick up will be on Friday December 10th from 3-4pm at Fairfield ES. Please come to the main doors for pick up.
Thank you to all who have participated and to the School Council for organizing!
Dielemans Orders
Thank you for your support of the school!
Twoonies for Turkeys
Please consider sending a twoonie, or any donation, to the school to help support families in Amherstview this holiday season! Donations accepted until Friday!
School Council - Meeting TODAY!
The next School Council meeting will take place virtually on Tuesday December 7th at 6pm. All parents/guardians are welcome to attend. Just email the school: frfld@limestone.on.ca and the meeting link will be shared with you. All welcome!
Good luck to the girls volleyball team competing today at the Boys & Girls Club! Thank you Mrs. Zarzecki for coaching!
Covid-19 Update from the LDSB
Dear families,
The past few weeks have been a stark reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Some schools have been significantly and directly impacted by positive cases over the past several weeks. We also recognize the upheaval that cases have on students and families in these schools. In the first three months of this school year, we have experienced more than double the cases in schools during 2020-2021. The majority of these cases have occurred at the elementary level, particularly among Kindergarten to Grade 6 students who, until recently, could not be vaccinated. KFL&A Public Health has been clear that most spread is occurring outside of school in the community, and within households or close contacts which is then introduced to schools. Certainly, there is some spread occurring within schools, and we continue to enforce mitigating strategies such as frequent hand hygiene, mandatory masking, physical distancing where possible, and increased ventilation to reduce the spread at school. We continue to work very closely with Public Health daily to review and amend protocols as required.
To help prevent cases in schools, Public Health amended its school screening requirements for school-aged children and youth in our region as well as staff and visitors. There was a bit of confusion regarding testing to return to school. Public Health has recently added greater clarity to the screening tool and directions for families should their student become symptomatic at school. We ask all families to be vigilant in following these directions. Additional Public Health communication and direction for the KFL&A region related to COVID-19 can be found on its website.
Public health authorities continue to say that the greatest protection against COVID-19 is vaccination. Students aged 5 to 11 are also now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Public Health has scheduled several vaccination clinics, including some in our schools, to provide greater accessibility to the vaccine. Please visit the Public Health website for clinic dates and locations and some frequently asked questions.
Limestone has recently received a shipment of take-home PCR self-collection and rapid antigen test kits to support greater accessibility to COVID-19 testing. The PCR self-collection testing option is intended for students who are symptomatic at school, or students and staff who identified as being part of an asymptomatic close contact cohort that has been exposed to COVID-19. We have a limited supply of these PCR tests kits, and Public Health will assist the board in determining when these should be distributed. We are seeking more PCR test kits to deploy to the system. Separately, we will be providing every student with five rapid test kits before the December break. These are intended to be used by students before holiday gatherings and prior to returning to school in January. Information sheets will accompany all test kits.
Parents/guardians picking up students on school property are strongly encouraged to wear masks (if able), especially as it is not possible to maintain 2m distance at all times at student drop off and pick up. Thank you!
School Clothing Orders
Spirit Days
*Wednesday December 8th - "Wacky Wednesday" - hair, hat and/or socks!
*Monday December 13th - Ugly (Holiday) Sweater day
*Tuesday December 14th - Holiday hat, hair and/or socks day
*Wednesday December 15th - PJ Day
*Thursday December 16th - Student Choice Dress Up Day
*Friday December 17th - Red, Green & Glitter Day
Covid-19 Protocols at School
- going directly to class line up area when arriving on the yard in the morning
- sanitizing before entering school and after each recess
- wearing a mask over mouth and nose while in the building
- maintaining distance where possible
- wearing a mask on the yard where distancing of 2m is not possible
Rainy & Snowy Days
We will also be spending as much time outside as possible for learning and movement as this also provides for a mask break for our students. Please have students dress for the weather including a rain coat and an extra pair of dry socks. We will stay in for recess should there be dangerous conditions such as temperatures below Public Health guidelines or lightning, for example; however, we will endeavour to spend as much time as possible for recess breaks outside even with some rain. When recesses are outside there is no indoor supervision and all students will be expected to be outside during that time.
Inclement Weather Update from the LDSB
When school bus transportation is cancelled due to poor weather or road conditions, Limestone schools remain open. When buses are cancelled in the morning, they are cancelled for the entire day.
Student walkers may proceed to school as usual if their parent/guardian has deemed it safe to do so. In the City of Kingston, students may choose to use Kingston Transit. Families who choose to drop off their student(s) at the beginning of the school day must ensure they pick them up at the end of the regular school day. Due to COVID-19 protocols, students cannot be dropped off at school earlier than 15 minutes before classes are to begin, and they must be picked up immediately following afternoon dismissal.
Upon arrival, students should proceed directly to their first period/home classroom or take the direction of staff.
Sometimes smaller student attendance numbers and staff absences lead to the consolidation of classes to continue learning while maximizing student supervision. Due to COVID-19 protocols, class cohorts will not be blended. Students will remain in their assigned classroom or will be moved into a larger space and kept apart from students in other classes.
Students who must remain home due to a lack of transportation to school may participate in asynchronous learning from home where possible. Classroom teachers will provide students with direction and assignment of asynchronous work, likely through the class’s online learning management system.
If your student is staying home due to a bus cancellation, or due to inclement weather conditions, please use the Board's SafeArrival absence reporting tool to report their absence: either inclement weather (walkers), or bus cancellation.
As a reminder, the decision to cancel buses rests with Tri-Board Student Transportation. Tri-Board bus drivers, operators and municipal roads officials assess weather and road conditions between 4-5 a.m. on school days using a variety of data including accredited weather forecasters such as Environment Canada.
Tri-Board and the school board report decisions to cancel buses around 5:30/6 a.m. Decisions sometimes happen quickly and can be different across the district based on different circumstances or conditions. This may include a decision after 5:30/6 a.m. based on changing or worsening weather and/or road conditions. Tri-Board and the school boards makes their decisions with the best information available at the time. The guiding principle in making these decisions is always the safety of students, staff and volunteers working at our schools and centres.
You are encouraged to sign up to receive direct notifications, either by email, or Tri-Board’s app. Delays and cancellations are also posted to Tri-Board’s Twitter account.
• Subscribe by email to specific bus routes
• Instructions on how to download the BusPlanner Delays App
• Follow TriBoard on Twitter
While the decision to cancel buses occurs occasionally throughout the school year based on weather and road conditions, the closure of schools is an infrequent and extraordinary measure. A decision to close schools is not taken lightly but is made when student safety and staff safety is at potential risk.
In the event of early dismissal and/or school closures, it is imperative that schools have updated emergency contact information for all students. It is essential that any changes to this information are provided to the school as soon as possible. This includes change to address, telephone (home, work and cell phones), and those appointed by parents/guardians as alternate emergency contacts.
Indigo
You can support Fairfield Elementary School while you shop!
If you are considering online shopping at Indigo please click the link below and a portion of the sales will be donated back to our school. If you purchase an e-gift card, 20% will be donated back. If you purchase other items, 5% will be donated back. E-gift cards can be used in store as well.
https://indigo.flipgive.com/f/950308 Happy Shopping!
Flip Give - An Easy Way to Support FES
The FES School Council is launching an ongoing fundraiser for the school. It is easy to join in, it is FREE for you, and you can support the school all year long with no extra cost to you.
We earn cash back on purchases made when you start your shopping using the FlipGive app or on the FlipGive website. Think about things you usually purchase, like groceries or birthday gifts. There is a long list of brands to choose from and you can shop for items and/or gift cards. A percentage of each shopping “trip” will be donated back to the school.
Join our “team” now and you’ll get a $5 bonus the first time you shop:
https://flipgive.app.link/teams/join?joincode=X7J9DX
Or
enter this code: X7J9DX
It’s completely virtual and contactless. Feel free to share this information with the online shoppers in your life. Any questions, just ask! Many thanks from the FES School Council.
A friendly reminder that dogs and pets are not allowed on the school grounds at any time.
Water Bottle
Safe Arrival - How to Report An Absence
How to report your absence:
1. Toll-free telephone
- Call 1-855-257-9349 toll-free to report an absence using the automated phone system.
2. School Messenger App
- Use your mobile device to download and install the free SchoolMessenger blue app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, the SchoolMessenger website portal, or from within the LDSB mobile app.
- The first time you use the app, you must select Sign Up to create your account. Please ensure you use the same email address your student’s school has on file. If you do not use that same email address, you will not be able to create an account, or may not be able to see the "Attendance" option. You may have already created an account when we introduced the Communicate broadcast system.
- Select Attendance, then select Report an Absence and follow the prompts.
- Visit the SchoolMessenger website portal.
- The first time you use the app, you must select Sign Up to create your account. Please ensure you use the same email address your student’s school has on file. If you do not use that same email address, you will not be able to create an account, or may not be able to see the "Attendance" option. You may have already created an account when we introduced the Communicate broadcast system.
- Select Attendance, then Report an Absence and follow the prompts.
Stay Up To Date! Please check the following regularly...
Fairfield ES Twitter https://twitter.com/fesfalcons_ldsb?lang=en
Fairfield ES Website https://fairfield.limestone.on.ca/
LDSB Website https://www.limestone.on.ca/
LDSB Twitter https://twitter.com/LimestoneDSB
LDSB Facebook https://tinyurl.com/wbhjtku
LDSB Instagram https://instagram.com/limestonedsb?igshid=1epyma6c0g5qd
Fairfield Elementary School
Email: frfld@limestone.on.ca
Website: https://fairfield.limestone.on.ca/
Location: 59 Kildare Avenue, Amherstview, ON
Phone: 613.389.2636
Twitter: @FESFalcons_LDSB