Skip to content

COVID-19 outbreak declared at Sylvan Lake middle school, classes move online

Ecole Mother Teresa School has moved to online classes until after the Winter Break
24101923_web1_20200604_SLN_EMTS-DriveThru-Parade_2
(File Photo)

An outbreak of COVID-19 cases has been declared at Ecole Mother Teresa School.

Students at the Sylvan Lake middle school have been moved to online classes, and will return to in-person classes on Feb. 22, following the winter break.

“Due to the number of students [66 per cent] and staff [52 per cent] in quarantine we recognize that we needed to look at other possibilities for alternative learning,” a letter sent to EMTS families Jan. 31 states.

The letter continues to ask parents to continue monitoring for signs of COVID-19 as part of their daily routine.

“We recognize that this has been a long haul, we are praying for ‘normalcy’ to return again, and we thank you for your diligence and support,” the letter says.

Last week a mechanical malfunction occurred in the attached Fox Run School, causing students from both schools to be sent home. Some students from EMTS were housed in the gym Our Lady of the Rosary School while awaiting parents to pick them up.

OLR was notified a student from EMTS was in the school’s gym while awaiting pick up on Jan. 27, but they did not come into contact with any students from OLR.

“We would like to reiterate that our students [at OLR] were never in shared spaces and that custodians did a deep clean and disinfected all areas where EMTS students were congregated,” a letter to OLD families, dated Jan. 30, says.

Staff at OLR and Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools do not believe there will be an impact on the school from this instance.

Catholic school students will be on winter break from Feb. 15-19.

“As we progress toward the beginning of 2021, we wanted to remind our school community of the importance of limiting social contact not only while at school, but also outside of school hours.”