An information bulletin released by the Langley school district said as of Friday, April 30, there have been 236 COVID-19 notifications in 39 Langley schools since September.
“The month of April has been the most challenging thus far,” the online notice said.
“As cases in our schools reflect what’s happening in the community, we recognize the effects of the third wave in our province and region and are seeing this impact our school communities.
On Sunday, the district reported four more schools have reported COVID-19 cases.
Our District has sent home a COVID-19 notification letter to Alice Brown, James Hill, RE Mountain and Langley Secondary school communities today (LSS sent April 30). Thank you to staff, @FraserHealth, and families for your support. Read here: https://t.co/MN4belimY3 pic.twitter.com/kdP9YJPGlP
— Langley Schools (@LangleySchools) May 2, 2021
Notices have been sent to families with children at Alice Brown Elementary, James Hill Elementary, Langley Secondary School and R.E. Mountain Secondary to advise that a person had tested positive for the coronavirus.
In each case, the person was self-isolating at home with support from local public health teams.
Fraser Health Authority will follow up with anyone potentially exposed to a confirmed case directly through contact tracing, the notices said.
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As of Sunday, May 2, 16 Langley school had reported COVID cases in the last two weeks of April, according to the updated Fraser Health online list.
R.E. Mountain Secondary and Peter Ewart Middle schools reported the most, four, during that period. H.D. Stafford, Langley Secondary, Shortreed, Walnut Grove and Willoughby each reported three cases.
Thank you to all our Ps and VPs. We are so grateful for your leadership and supporting our students, staff and families. #MySD35Community https://t.co/OYVz25lnZd
— Langley Schools (@LangleySchools) May 1, 2021
In the April 30 bulletin, Supt. Gord Stewart said K-12 educational staff are happy they have been provided the opportunity to get vaccinated in the Fraser Health Authority.
“We have heard reports from administrators, teachers, and staff who have expressed relief and a sense of optimism.”
Staff vaccinations do not change the COVID-19 notification process in our schools or case and contact management by public health, the district added.
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There was disappointing news for Langley grads, that under the current COVID-19 restrictions, large scale in-person graduation ceremonies, banquets and prom celebrations cannot go ahead.
“As a result, the District is working together with secondary schools to develop potential options but, will wait until after the May long weekend to make a decision on the formats of our graduation celebrations with the hope restrictions may change,” Stewart said.
Is there more to the story? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
