COVID-19

Useful links

COVID-19 Response

GRAMMAR INFORMATION:
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Grammar is working hard to ensure a safe teaching and learning environment for all. 

Highlights of these efforts include the following: 
  • Installation of high-grade air purification units in every classroom.
  • Continuation of our cohort models in the Prep and Middle Schools.
  • Addition of appropriate gathering protocols in Senior School.
  • Continuation of our heightened hygiene protocols.
  • Provision of ten N95 masks for each member of faculty and staff.
  • Emphasis on the proper wearing of three-ply masks, as recommended by the Department of Health & Wellness. 
In addition to these efforts, we have crafted protocols, which reflect current provincial guidelines, for Covid positive cases and exposures. I ask that you carefully review them below. 
 
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COVID POSITIVE CASE AND EXPOSURE PROTOCOLS
 
POSITIVE CASE
 
If your fully vaccinated child or child 11 years old or younger tests positive for Covid, your child must attend to the following: 
  • Have a parent or guardian inform the school. 
  • Isolate for a minimum of seven days following the onset of symptoms or a positive test if asymptomatic.
  • May leave isolation after Day 7 if there are no symptoms or symptoms are improving and there has been no fever for at least 24 hours.

If your unvaccinated or partially vaccinated child or child who is immunocompromised tests positive for Covid, your child must attend to the following:
  • Have a parent or guardian inform the school. 
  • Isolate for a minimum of 10 days.
  • May leave isolation after Day 10 if they no longer have symptoms or symptoms are improving and there has been no fever for at least 24 hours.

If someone in your household has Covid, and your child cannot isolate from the person who has Covid, then the child must abide by the isolation rules for testing positive, regardless of vaccination status, and attend to the following: 
  • Have a parent or guardian inform the school.
  • Test on Day 3 or 4 and again on the last day of isolation. 
  • May leave isolation if the last test is negative.
 
EXPOSURE TO A POSITIVE CASE
 
Your child is considered exposed to Covid if he or she has come into contact with a positive case under the following conditions:
  • Your child was within six feet of a Covid-positive person for at least 15 minutes while indoors.
  • A Covid-positive person coughed or sneezed near your child.
  • A Covid-positive person touched, hugged, or kissed your child.

If your child was exposed to a Covid-positive person, and your child is older than 11 and not fully vaccinated or your child is older than 11 and is immunocompromised who has not had a booster, your child must attend to the following: 
  • Have a parent or guardian inform the school. 
  • Immediately isolate for seven days.
  • May leave isolation after two negative rapid tests done on Day 6 and Day 8 or after one negative PCR test done on Day 6 or 7.
  • If symptoms develop, the child must remain isolated and get tested.

If your child was exposed to a Covid-positive person, and your child is fully vaccinated (two shots of Canadian approved vaccines) or is 11 years old or younger, your child should attend to the following: 
  • Have a parent or guardian inform the school.
  • Get tested 72 hours after exposure and watch for symptoms. (A negative PCR test means no further testing is required unless the child develops symptoms. A negative Rapid Test, requires a second rapid test 48 hours after the first.)
Please note: Your child may continue attending school until he or she receives the test results. At the same time, the child should abide by the following: 
  • Practise physical distancing when at school, including while eating or drinking.
  • Wear a properly fitted, three-layer mask.

If someone in your household has tested positive for Covid-19, your child should attend to the following:

If you are able to isolate away from the positive household member: 
  • You should also follow the detailed testing and self-isolation instructions for close contacts found in this resource:  nshealth.ca/information-covid-19close-contacts
  • Because the positive case is in your household, there is a higher risk of COVID-19 transmission than fa regular close contact, even with the positive case isolating away from you.
  • As a result for close contacts who are fully vaccinated (or are a child 11 years and under) without symptoms, you will need to have an additional negative test result before returning to work, school or childcare. You can do this test as soon as you are able. You should still get tested 72 hours after last exposure and monitor for symptoms.

If you need or choose to isolate with a positive household member (for example: parent with child), follow these instructions: 
  • Isolate with your family member until they have recovered. 
  • Get tested every 3 to 4 days during the positive household members’ isolation period with a final test on the last day of their isolation.
For further information about positive cases, exposures, close contacts, and isolation, I ask that you carefully review the information in the following links: 
 
 
Finally, in the event a Covid-positive person is identified at the school, we will make every effort to inform the families of the relevant class. 

Our plan reflects the recommendations of the Department of Health & Wellness and the Department of Education.

Below are highlights from the 2021-2022 Reopening Plan in regard to masks, hygiene protocols, and further safety protocols, including student pick-up and drop-off, school visits, and more:

Reopening Grammar 2021-2022 Highlights

List of 3 frequently asked questions.

  • Masks

    While under Covid-related restrictions, Grammar remains committed to the belief that (after vaccinations) wearing a mask is the best means to keep us safe. As such, we will apply the following protocols with respect to masks:
    1. Masks need to be the recommended 3-ply design.
    2. All staff, teachers, and students will wear masks in all areas of the school. 
    3. Masks will be worn outdoors where physical distancing cannot be maintained.

  • Hygiene Protocols

    1. Hand sanitizer will be available in all classrooms and common areas. 
    2. Where sinks are available in classrooms, students will be encouraged to routinely wash their hands. 
    3. Cleaning of bathrooms and commonly touched surfaces (such as door handles, handrails, etc.) will occur throughout the day. 
    4. Cleaning and disinfecting of the school will occur each evening. 
    5. High-grade air purification units will be in every classroom.

  • Safety Protocols

    Grammar is committed to a safe school environment where entry to the building and property is carefully controlled and monitored. As such, our protocols include the following:  
    1. Thermal Cameras will be used at assigned entrances.
    2. Assigned, supervised entrance points will be used for morning drop-off. 
    3. Only faculty, staff, students, and scheduled guests will be allowed to enter the building. 
    4. During the day, parents, guardians, and visitors may only enter the school by appointment, and they must wear masks. 
    5. Parents, guardians, and visitors will refrain from congregating on school grounds at all times. 
    6. Before school, students may not enter the building. When supervision is available, students may wait on the playground. 
    7. During morning drop-off, parents and guardians must remain in their cars.
    8. After school, all students who are not enrolled in the After School Program or supervised by a teacher or staff member in a scheduled activity must leave the school grounds. 
    9. Parents must arrange for students to be retrieved at the end of the school day.
    10. Prep School pick-up will take place in the driveway, as per last year, between 3:10 and 3:30.
    11. Middle School pick-up will take place in the driveway after 3:30. Middle School parents are not permitted to enter the driveway until this time. We encourage parents to pick up Middle School students on a nearby street. If a parent has picked up a Prep School student and is picking up a Middle School student, that parent must leave the driveway and return at the appointed time.
    12. Senior School pick-up will take place off-campus. We ask that parents arrange a designated pick-up location with their Senior School student. 
All official updates from Grammar will be communicated via email.

Please visit our Grammar Connect page to see how our community stayed connected amid the first provincial lockdown in Spring 2020.

Find below all Halifax Grammar School communications related to COVID-19 to date:

List of 1 frequently asked questions.

COMMUNITY INFORMATION: 
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To stay up to date on potential exposure locations, please check Nova Scotia Health's Potential Exposure List daily.

For the latest information on COVID-19, please visit the Public Health Agency of Canada and Nova Scotia Public Health websites.

If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, please call 811 (in Nova Scotia) for assessment information.

Trusted Resources:

Public Health Agency of Canada
Nova Scotia Public Health
World Health Organization
Global Affairs Canada

Halifax Grammar School

945 Tower Road,
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2Y2