COVID-19

July 20, 2021

Dear parents, guardians, and students;

AHS will be providing catch up immunizations in the South Zone for students who did not receive their routine immunizations during the 2020/2021 school year. AHS Public Health appreciates your understanding while the immunization program was suspended, due to the COVID-19 pandemic response. We recognize the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on students, families, and school communities.

The program will begin in southern Alberta the week of July 26, 2021 and continue through August. Booked appointments will be offered at our COVID-19 clinic immunization sites, as well as at local public health offices throughout the zone. By making use of our COVID-19 clinic sites, which are already in operation, we can increase our offering of immunization to students and families before the 2021/2022 school year starts. We will still continue to provide school immunization services at the earliest opportunity, and ensure that every eligible student has access to vaccines for which they have received consent for.

Catch up immunizations are available for students who are enrolled in the upcoming 2021/2022 school year in Grades 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. If your child is due for a routine immunization, please contact 1-888-635-0318 or call your local public health office to book an appointment. Immunization is an important way to prevent disease and protect your child’s health and the health of those around them from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Immunization is an important way to prevent disease and protect your child’s health and the health of those around them from vaccine-preventable diseases.

The vaccines are included as part of the Grade 6 school immunization program are Hepatitis B vaccine, which is important to prevent serious damage to the liver, and Human Papillomavirus vaccine, also known as HPV vaccine, which helps prevent against certain types of cancers. The Grade 9 vaccines include a dose of dTap vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis and a dose of meningococcal vaccine, which protects against meningitis. For more information, please visit - AHS Immunization | Immunization (immunizealberta.ca).

Once again, I want to thank all parents, guardians, and students for their patience with the school immunization program. Wishing you a safe and healthy school year.

With kind regards,

Allison Gonsalves, MD, FRCPC

Medical Officer of Health

Alberta Health Services, South Zone

To: All Parents/Guardians
From: Darryl Seguin, Superintendent

On Friday, Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange announced guidelines for continuing student learning in Alberta. We were pleased that her recommendations aligned so closely with what our principals and teachers in Livingstone Range School Division were already working on for our students. 

Here are some details that I want to highlight for you:

Student Learning

• Kindergarten-Grade 3: Focus on language/literacy and math/numeracy. Teachers will assign an average of 5 hours of work per week. 
• Grades 4-6: Focus mainly on language/literacy and math/numeracy, with some time spent on social studies and science. Teachers will assign an average of 5 hours of work per week. 
• Grades 7-9: Focus on language arts, math, science and social studies. Teachers will assign an average of 10 hours of work per week. 
• Grades 10-12: Focus on core courses required for high school graduation (English, math, social studies, biology, chemistry and physics). Teachers will assign an average of 3 hours per subject of work per course per week. CTS courses, such as cosmetology or automotive classes, often require specialized equipment. As such, CTS courses will be looked at on a course-by course-basis and may continue to some degree. 

Exams

• Grade 6 and Grade 9 Provincial Achievement Tests are cancelled.
• Grade 12 Diploma Exams are cancelled. 

Grade 12 Students

• Students on track to receive 100 or more credits will still be eligible to graduate. 
• Principals will have the ability to award up to 15 credits to students in Grade 12 whose program has been negatively impacted by class cancellations, to ensure eligible students graduate.
• Many students and parents wonder if graduation ceremony events will happen. At this time, it is too early to know. More information will be shared as it becomes available. 

Beginning this week, students will start their education continuity with blended learning that includes online and offline experiences. Each school will determine the best way to deliver curriculum, and your child’s teacher or school will contact you with further details.

For parents who want to help supplement their child's learning, more than 4,000 resources aligned with Alberta's curriculum are available on http://www.learnalberta.ca/. 

Although this is an uncertain time for families and students, we are confident that learning will continue in Livingstone Range School Division. I thank the administrators, teachers, and staff who spent last week working and planning with students’ best interest at heart, and who will continue to be passionate educators even with social distancing.

Please continue to check www.lrsd.ca and your school’s website for updated information. This is our official website where you’ll find authoritative, trusted information. Livingstone Range School Division does not have a Facebook profile, although many of our schools do. Please visit legitimate Division and school websites and social media for current official information. 

Parents, students, and staff all have a responsibility for continued learning during this pandemic, and together we will do great things.

Darryl Seguin
Superintendent, Livingstone Range School Division

Superintendent Update for Parents - March 17, 2020

Find up-to-date information from these official authorities online:

• Alberta Health updates and Chief Medical Officer of Health for Alberta daily press conferences on COVID-19 - here 
• Prevent the Spread Poster (Alberta Government) - here 
• COVID Self Assessment - here
• Health Link 811 services - here 
• Alberta Health Services COVID-19 information - here 
• Government of Canada travel health notices - here 
• World Health Organization - here 
• World Health Organization myth-buster graphics - here 
• Canada’s Public Health website - here 

March 15, 2020

Effective immediately, all classes are cancelled for all students across Alberta, including Livingstone Range School Division.

At a press conference from Edmonton on Sunday, March 15, Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange made the announcement and shared the following with school jurisdictions:

“The safety of our students, teachers and staff is the number one priority for all of us – for me and my Cabinet colleagues, for Dr. Hinshaw and for school staff.

“With that in mind, we will be indefinitely cancelling classes across the province. Students are expected to stay home.

“We are all in this together. And I hope you all agree this is the right decision.”

Livingstone Range School Division teachers and staff will still be expected to work, and student progression will be a top priority for all. In coming days, we will work on the details of what learning looks like for our students. We will communicate this plan to parents as details become more clear.

We understand that this will have a profound impact on families. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we all contribute to flattening the curve of outbreak and keeping Albertans as safe as possible. As Minister LaGrange said, we indeed are all in this together. 

We will continue to communicate with staff and parents via our usual channels. Please check www.lrsd.ca and https://www.lrsd.ca/our-division/covid-19 for regular updates.

We have a zero-tolerance illness policy for students and staff.

This parent guide for school attendance will help you determine when to keep your child home from school. 

PDF: Assessment Guide for Parents

PDF: March 13 Superintendent Update for Parents

PDF: Frequently Asked Questions for LRSD Staff

PDF: Frequently Asked Questions for Families

PDF: Talking to Kids About COVID-19

PDF: Information Sheet for Staff & Families