COVID-19 Student Procedures

*revised August 24, 2020
*updated September 16, 2020 & November 20, 2020

Luther College High School welcomes new and returning students to school. We look forward to returning to in-class education, and we have put some mandatory requirements in place to keep everyone safe and healthy.

We encourage your son or daughter to bring a face mask of their choice, but a mask will be provided if they do not have one or lose one. It will be mandatory for students, staff and faculty to wear a mask in situations and areas where arms-length social distancing cannot be easily maintained.

The other mandatory requirements are:

1. Having your student stay home if they have COVID-19 symptoms;
2. Self-monitoring;
3. Using hand sanitizer at school;
4. Wearing a mask.

Symptomatic Students:

If your student has any symptoms of COVID-19 DO NOT come to school. Notify the school if your child needs to be away from school due to COVID-19 symptoms so their teachers can connect them with virtual learning. If a student is in a home where another family member is COVID positive, he/she is also required to stay home. Our main objective is to keep the Luther community safe. To control the spread of COVID-19, early detection of symptoms, testing, and isolation is key.

COVID-19 symptoms may include:

fever	cough	headache	muscle and/or joint aches and pains
sore throat	chills	runny nose	nasal congestion
conjunctivitis	dizziness	fatigue	nausea/vomiting
diarrhea	loss of appetite	loss of taste/smell	shortness of breath/difficulty breathing

If your student is exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, Luther College recommends that you:

Refer to the Self-Assessment tool provided by the Saskatchewan Health Authority. If the results advise follow-up, call 811.

Isolate – if your student is going for a COVID-19 test, they will have to self-isolate until Public Health contacts you with your test results.
- If testing is not required, Public Health requests that the student is symptom free for 48 hours before returning to class.

Test Results - Public Health may take up to 7 days to contact you with your student’s test results.
- As a service to our Luther community, our school nurse can access your student’s electronic medical file through eHR Viewer, a secure provincial electronic database where COVID-19 results are recorded. COVID-19 results are displayed on the student’s main page, therefore the nurse does not need to access any other medical information that may be contained within your student’s health record. This enables you to learn results sooner and arrange for a quicker return to class.
- If you request the nurse to access eHR Viewer, please contact Lindsay Dubini in the main office with the date and time of the test, and the nurse will follow up with you. This service is optional, and any information will be kept confidential in accordance with HIPA (Health Information Protection Act).

Please keep the main office informed of your student’s expected date of return.

Self-monitoring

All staff, students and visitors ARE REQUIRED to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms every day during the 2020-2021 school year.

This includes:

You must take his/her temperature before and after school every day. If you/your child's temperature is 38.0 degrees Celcius or higher they MUST stay at home and call Health Line 811 for instructions on COVID-19 testing or returning to school.
Your child must answer the following questions each day and call Health Line 811 for directions if you answer YES to any of the questions. Contact the school if your child is advised to stay home or go for testing. Health Line or Public Health will be in touch with those who had testing. They will inform you when your child can return to school.

Do you feel sick today?
Have you or anyone in your household experienced any cold or flu-like symptoms in the last 14 days?
Have you or anyone in your household been outside of Canada in the past 14 days?
Have you or anyone in your household been exposed to anyone diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus?
Have you lived in, visited or worked in a community or facility deemed an area of concern for COVID-19?

Medically high-risk students

If your child is immunocompromised or has medical condition putting them at risk for COVID-19, talk to your doctor about the risks of returning to school. If your child was told not to return to school, please call the school nurse, Jan Ferguson. Virtual learning will be available for those at-risk.

Face Masks

Health officials have agreed that wearing a non-medical mask (e.g. cloth or other materials) – even if you have no symptoms – is an additional measure you may take to protect others around you, particularly in situations where the recommended physical distancing cannot be maintained.
Wearing a non-medical mask will not prevent you from getting sick. However, it is another way of covering your mouth and nose to prevent your respiratory droplets from contaminating others or landing on surfaces.
Avoid moving the mask around or adjusting it often as it can become contaminated on the outside by touching it.
Masks should not be shared with others.
Cloth masks are to be washed daily and changed if wet or soiled.
See the attachment on wearing a mask properly.
If your child has a medical condition putting them at risk for COVID-19 but the family doctor recommends returning to school, a surgical mask should be worn to protect him/her from the virus. Surgical masks can be purchased on-line. If your child requires a surgical mask but is waiting for a supply to arrive they can see the school nurse for a mask.

Visitors

There will be no guests on campus unless arrangements are confirmed in advance. Visits can be done via Zoom or teleconference. Any deliveries can be received at the front door.

If a visitor needs to enter the school, they must answer the screening questions and have their temperature taken. They can use the mounted infrared thermometer at the front door. A sign in sheet with date, name and contact number will be logged at the main office in the event we need to do contact tracing.

Hand Sanitizer

Please ensure your child has hand sanitizer with him/her. It will also be available in each classroom. This should be used before putting on a mask or face covering, before and after each class, before and after meals, after using the washroom (first choice is soap and water) or after using a tissue for your nose.

Saskatchewan Health Authority recommends using hand sanitizer that is 70% alcohol and approved by Health Canada. You can check the DIN or NPN number of your hand sanitizer.

Additional Health Resources

COVID-19 Asymptomatic Preventative Measures
Practise proper cough and sneezing etiquette.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
Clean and disinfect your home regularly.
Maintain safe food practices.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Avoid unnecessary travel; and avoid large crowds and practice physical distancing of ideally two metres whenever possible. Avoid shaking hands, hugging or kissing.

Mental Health Resources

Living through the COVID-19 pandemic can cause anxiety and worry. There are mental health supports available to help you through this difficult time.

Luther College High School has two counsellors and a school nurse that your child can see. Dorm students have access to the Homewood Health website or app. Counselling is available in the student's language.

Additional resources are:

HealthLine 811 - Mental health and addictions service continues to be available, providing 24/7 crisis support, advice to help manage a caller's situation, information and connection to community resources.

www.onlinetherapyuser.ca - Free online therapy for adults in Saskatchewan experiencing mental health difficulties or stress, with a focus on depression and anxiety. Accessible any day, any time, from any computer.

Wellness Together Canada - Connects people to peer support workers, social workers, psychologists and other professionals for confidential chat sessions or phone calls, and also offers credible information and help to address mental health and substance use issues.

Mobile Crisis - Centres are located across Saskatchewan and operate 24/7. 306-757-0127

Kids Help Phone - Offers professional counselling, information and referrals to those aged 5 to 29. You can phone, text or chat online. It's confidential, free and available 24/7. 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT or 686868. Download the Always There app for additional support or access the Kids Help Phone website.

Hope for Wellness Help Line: Call 1-855-242-3310 (toll-free) or connect to the online Hope for Wellness chat. Available to all Indigenous peoples across Canada who need immediate crisis intervention. Experienced and culturally sensitive help line counsellors can help if you want to talk or are distressed. Telephone and online counselling are available in English and French. On request, telephone counselling is also available in Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut.

Canadian Mental Health Association: 306-535-4292

Walk-in mental health counselling services are available at:

Catholic Family Services 306-525-0521 or cfsregina@cfsregina.ca 160 McIntosh St. Regina, SK, S4R 4Z4
Family Service Regina 306-757-6675 or info@family service regina.com 1440 Broadway Ave #200, Regina, SK, S4P 1E2

Healthy Minds Canada: www.healthymindscanada.ca has online mental health resources

Mind your Mind: www.mindyourmind.ca a website for youth by youth that has information, resources and tools to help youth manage stress

Teen Mental Health: www.teenmentalhealth.org is dedicated to helping improve the mental health of youth by the effective translation and transfer of scientific knowledge