The Wellington Catholic District School Board continues to implement measures to prioritize the well-being our students and staff and support healthy environments in our schools.
Healthy Active Living and Nutrition
Our schools promote healthy active living through outdoor education, health and physical education, recess play, as well as a variety of intramurals, clubs and extra-curricular activities in our schools. We look forward to a full offering of activities this year and encourage our students to participate.
We also offer snack and breakfast programs in our schools for students, including the Food and Friends program through the Children’s Foundation of Guelph-Wellington and the Food4Kids weekend program offered through the Rotary Club.
Keeping our Students Safe and Healthy
In our Wellington Catholic DSB schools, we encourage the staff and students to continue to follow universal protective health strategies to keep everyone healthy and safe. Students, staff, and visitors are encouraged to wash hands regularly, practice good respiratory etiquette (e.g., sneezing into Kleenex or elbows rather than your hands), and being considerate of other’s personal space. We encourage the use of outdoor space to take advantage of fresh air throughout the day.
Students who are feeling unwell and showing signs of illness are encouraged to stay home until they are feeling well enough to return. Staff and students may choose to wear masks if they wish and will continue to be respected in their individual choice on masking.
Ventilation
We continue to implement a number of protective strategies to improve the air quality in our schools. Each of our classrooms has standalone HEPA filter units and all of our schools have mechanical air filtration systems with MERV 13 filters.
We continue to optimize the air quality of our classrooms and schools to provide the best possible learning environment for our students. A list of the ventilation measures taken in our schools can be found on our website at - https://www.wellingtoncdsb.ca/apps/pages/ventilation,With updated reporting on measures occuring throughout the 2023-24 school year.
Public Health Monitoring of Illness in Schools
The Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health Unit monitors general illness rates in our schools and community. The public health unit publishes information on COVID-19 cases in our community and local and provincial trends. Please see information at the following link:
https://wdgpublichealth.ca/covid-19/covid-19-information-public/status-cases-wdg
Cases of respiratory illness generally increase throughout the fall and winter months. Please review the most current guidance from the Ministry of Health throughout the season: https://www.ontario.ca/page/protection-covid-19-and-other-respiratory-illnesses
Staff, students and families can also take this self-assessment if they have any symptoms of illness or tested positive for COVID-19: https://www.ontario.ca/self-assessment/
We will continue to partner with the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health and follow their guidance to reduce and respond to illness within our schools.