ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — All high schools in the St. John’s area will be closed for at least the next two days, the province’s English school district announced Monday night.
The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District (NLESD) posted a tweet around 11 p.m. Monday — followed about 40 minutes later by a news release — saying it was suspending in-class instruction at all schools in the metro area that have high school grades, for Feb. 9 and 10 at a minimum, on the advice of public health authorities.
“More details to come,” it posted, along with a list of affected schools: Gonzaga High, Horizon Academy, Holy Heart High, Holy Spirit High, Holy Trinity High, Mount Pearl Senior High, O’Donel High, Prince of Wales Collegiate, Queen Elizabeth High, St. Kevin’s High, St. Michael’s High and Waterford Valley High.
ATTENTION #nlschools
— NLESD (@NLESDCA) February 9, 2021
On the advice of Public Health, NLESD is suspending in-class instruction for all students in St. John’s metro area schools which include high school grades, for at least Tuesday & Wednesday, February 9-10.
Details to follow. pic.twitter.com/Po0WjkxKS1
The tweet was met with dozens of replies from members of the public — many urging the school board to close all schools in the region for two weeks as a safety precaution, others saying they will be keeping their younger children home from junior high and elementary schools, as well.
The school closures came a day after the district had announced in-class instruction at Mount Pearl Senior High School was being suspended after two students tested positive for the COVID-19 virus over the weekend.
Earlier Monday evening, administrators of many schools in the metro area sent an email to parents, acknowledging the stressful situation, pointing them to the mandatory daily COVID-19 questionnaire for children, advising them to keep sick children home, linking them to government resources and offering reassurance.
“We understand this is a stressful time for our students and families, but rest assured the safety of our students and staff remains our top priority at all times,” the emails read. “Please be patient and kind, and know that we are doing everything possible to provide a safe teaching and learning environment in compliance with the medical advice.”
Effective immediately, all extra-curricular and co-curricular activities in metro-area K-12 #nlschools are suspended. School administrators are currently notifying their school communities.
— NLESD (@NLESDCA) February 8, 2021
Details available at https://t.co/Hc6L46pfOP pic.twitter.com/EVEgmTYO9c
Online or remote learning is not currently an option for students at schools that are open, the emails indicated.
Classes at école Rocher-du-Nord in St. John’s are also suspended until Thursday. As for Lakecrest and St. Bon’s, both private schools, the former is closed at least for today (Tuesday) and the latter closed for the rest of the week.
Also on Monday evening, T.H.E. Creative Learning, which offers after-school programming, issued a statement on Facebook saying one of its employees had also tested positive for the virus, affecting the after-school program at St. Peter’s Primary School in Mount Pearl.
“Privacy is of the utmost importance in this situation, however, we can tell you that the affected staff member was tested as part of a routine request and was not symptomatic. This person has been a wonderful and responsible member of our program and this is a truly unfortunate situation for all of us. All staff, including this individual, wear masks at all times and strict cleaning protocols as advised by Eastern Health are followed,” the notice read, indicating the program would be suspended for the next few days pending guidance from health officials. “Eastern Health is in the process of letting parents know if children need to isolate or self monitor and to arrange testing where necessary.”
COVID UPDATE Dear Creative Learning Community, Those of you who are currently attending our program have already...
Posted by T.H.E. Creative Learning on Monday, February 8, 2021
The province announced 11 new COVID-19 cases at Monday afternoon’s briefing — the highest single-day number since April — all of them in the Eastern Health region.
The province’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said contact tracing was ongoing related to the cases at Mount Pearl Senior High, which was the only school closed at that point.
Fitzgerald also announced the immediate suspension of all group recreation and art activities, and increased measures at long-term care homes.
“If we have to close other schools, we will, but I think we need to have the evidence to support doing that before we make a blanket statement,” she said.
The NLESD news release stated that all school staff, with the exception of staff of Mount Pearl Senior High, are directed to report to work at their school, with teaching staff to begin preparation for online instruction.
A further announcement regarding continued instruction will be made on Wednesday.
“This measure is taken to allow Public Health to expand its contact tracing into other school populations in the metro area as a result of recent positive Covid-19 tests,” the release states.
“All schools in the metro area which include high school students, regardless of the configuration, (i.e., 7-12, 8-12, 9-12, 10-12) are included in this suspension of in-class instruction.”
Public Health officials will be working with the impacted schools in the coming days to provide direction.
“I know this is difficult news for many of our school communities, including our staff and administrators,” said Tony Stack, CEO/Director of Education. “The district continues to work closely with Public Health officials to ensure we take prudent, evidence-based action to protect the safety of our students and staff.”
Public Health officials will be working with the impacted schools to provide direction in the days ahead. This is early in the investigation and those impacted need not contact 811. If you or your child is considered a close contact of a person who has tested positive for Covid-19, you will be contacted by Public Health Officials.
Public Health will be providing further information later today (Tuesday, Feb. 9).
