Dear Parents & Guardians,

On January 20th, the Ontario government confirmed that elementary and secondary students in seven public health regions will be allowed to return to on-campus, in-person learning as of Monday, January 25th, while also noting that all other schools in southern Ontario will remain closed to in-person learning for an extended period of time. (Click here to read the announcement).

This was an encouraging announcement for the School and our community as TCS falls within the jurisdiction of the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District (HKPRD) Health Unit, which was one of the health regions approved to re-open to in-person learning on Monday, January 25th. The HKPRD jurisdiction includes Northumberland County, Haliburton County and the City of Kawartha Lakes.

IMPORTANT NOTE: However, while the School exists within the HKPRD health unit jurisdiction, many of our students (and some staff) reside in other health unit jurisdictions which have NOT been approved for a January 25th return to in-person learning based on the most recent data and the advice of the province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. The goal of the provincial government, working in concert with public health, in delaying some students from returning to in-person learning is to limit the mobility of citizens in an effort to mitigate the further spread of the COVID-19 virus. This is consistent with the stay-at-home orders in effect as part of the current state of emergency in Ontario.

Yesterday’s government announcement directed schools/school boards who have students in health unit jurisdictions which have NOT been approved to re-open for in-person learning January 25th, to contact their local health unit for re-opening status.

We have contacted our local public health unit and, at this time, await further instruction as to whether students residing outside of the HKPRD health unit jurisdiction will be permitted to attend school in-person as of Monday, or if they will need to continue learning online for the time being.

We wish that we had more information to share at this time as we recognize that our community members are eagerly anticipating returning to on-campus, in-person learning.

Please watch your email inbox over the course of the next day or two as we are doing all we can to have more definitive information to share with all TCS families, after discussions with public health conclude.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to navigate this evolving situation. We know that staff and students alike miss being together as a community on campus and look forward to being together again.
 

Stuart Grainger
Headmaster