Coast Mountains School District 82 is committed to keeping staff, students, parents and school communities informed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They have created a COVID-19 Info menu on homepage menu bar at the top of their website which includes the latest updates, information, as well as resources to help support learning while families are home due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of in-class instruction.

A Message for CMSD82 Staff, Students & Families:

Coast Mountains School District 82 continues to work closely with the Provincial Health Officer, the Ministries of Health and Education, and Northern Health in monitoring the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).  We all play an important role in preventing the spread of COVID-19 within our school communities.

We share some general operation details for your immediate information, in an effort to provide up-to-date information on COVID-19 and the impacts to our school district:

• As we prepare to support student learning from a distance, schools are not open to students, the public or CMSD82 family members. Employees who need to enter their work site, are prohibited in bringing family members with them.  All in-class instruction has been suspended and schools are not receiving students or the public.  Parents/guardians are asked not to return to school to pick up resources or personal effects unless contacted by their child’s School Principal.  A schedule will be prepared by each school to allow for the safe pick up of resources and personal belongings that follows the social distancing guidelines set out by the Provincial Health Officer.
• All StrongStart Centres are not in session while in-class instruction has been suspended.
• The health and safety of our employees is paramount.  All return-to-work plans will reflect safe work practices and social distancing guidelines recommended by the Provincial Health Officer.  All building access will be controlled to ensure physical distancing.  Each school will be developing a Safety Procedures for Building Entry and Occupancy that will be shared with employees no later than Sunday afternoon/evening, March 29.
• Support Staff (Clerical, Educational Assistants, First Nations Support/Youth Workers & Others) will be contacted by their School Principal by Sunday afternoon/evening, March 29 regarding their work plans.  We ask for your patience and that you wait for your School Principal to contact you.  The work plans for Custodians, Maintenance and IT employees have been established and these employees have been informed.  StrongStart Coordinators will be contacted by Agnes Casgrain, Director of Instruction regarding their work plans. The Human Resources Department have provided approval to those individuals who have been designated as working from home.
• Teachers will remain at home Monday morning, March 30 and proceed to their school for a two-hour session in the afternoon at 1:00 p.m., while following social distancing guidelines, to learn and prepare for what continuity of learning will look like for their students.  School Principals will be reconfirming these work plans with their school’s teaching staff.  The Human Resources Department have provided approval to those individuals who have been designated as working from home.
• For employees working at home, as approved by the Human Resources Department and by their Principal or Manager/Supervisor, it is recommended they use their district laptop.  When picking up your laptop from your school, before taking it home, please turn on your computer to allow important updates that need to be applied for approximately 15 minutes for reconfiguration of your Microsoft Office 365 Account.
• Each school and work site has been thoroughly cleaned over Spring Break and extra health and safety measures have been put in place as per the Provincial Health Officer’s guidelines.
• The Board of Education Office Complex will be closed to the public until further notice.  This encompasses the main Board Office, Accounting, Purchasing, Payroll, Human Resources, IT, Maintenance, etc.  Visitors are asked to call or email district staff instead of coming to the Board of Education Office Complex in person.  If uncertain how to reach district staff, please contact the main reception desk at (250) 635-4931 for assistance.  Note that deliveries will continue to be received by the Board of Education Office (main office) from Canada Post and/or couriers.
• All community use bookings for the use of CMSD82 schools and/or sites were cancelled effective March 13 going forward until further notice.  This preventative action was taken in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and support Health Official requests for social distancing.

We encourage families to continue to check for updates through the school district’s website at www.cmsd.bc.ca or the Twitter feed @CoastMtnSD.

Thank you for your understanding during this difficult and challenging time.  Your patience is appreciated.

Sincerely yours,

Janet Meyer
Acting Superintendent of Schools