Parents/Guardians,

A case of COVID-19 has been confirmed in our school. The individual is self-isolating and was not in school today.

Please know that when a COVID-19 case is identified that impacts one of our schools, HRCE takes direction from Public Health. Their team is now working to identify any students and staff who may have been in close contact with the confirmed case. If your child is identified as a close contact Public Health will be communicating with you directly. If Public Health does not contact you, it is because your child is not considered a close contact.

Attached, please find the notification from Public Health. Also attached is a Nova Scotia Health Authority flow chart that illustrates how Public Health officials respond to reported cases of COVID-19 in a school community. It illustrates some of the very specific steps that Public Health follows, including the communication components.

We understand you may feel anxious over the coming days. It is natural to want to know if your child may have been exposed to the virus. Public Health officials will inform those who are at risk of the next steps, but to protect the privacy of students and staff, other details including names, will not be released.

Next week in our school:

• In consultation with Public Health, Bedford South school is being closed Monday through Wednesday. This will allow for a deep cleaning of the school and time for Public Health to engage in contact tracing. A decision on when the school will reopen will be made next week.
   
• While the school is closed, our staff will provide at home learning for all students. Our staff will share more details early next week.
   
• Our enhanced cleaning protocols have been in place since the school opened in September. The possible exposure occurred on  November 23 and/or November 24 and in the time since, the high touch surfaces in our building have been sanitized each night. Additional comprehensive cleaning will be completed before the school reopens.

Children and young people look to the adults in their lives to guide them on how to react to worrying and stressful events. I encouraged you to speak with your children about any anxieties and remind them to treat one another with kindness and respect, in person and on social media. Should your child require additional support, you can contact the school.

Please continue to monitor your child(ren) daily for signs or symptoms of COVID-19, using Nova Scotia’s daily checklist at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/docs/Daily-COVID-checklist-en.pdf .

If your child(ren) has or develops signs or symptoms as described on the checklist, complete the COVID-19 self-assessment online at https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca or call 811 if you are unable to access the online tool.

I would also encourage you to visit www.novascotia.ca/backtoschool where you can find information and resources for you and your family.

If you have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will send an update to families at the beginning of next week.

Helen Healy,
Principal