Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination: As of September 22, 2021, the Province of Ontario requires that all individuals* entering a gym facility, present proof of being fully vaccinated at every visit. Fully vaccinated is defined as 14 days after second dose. Proof of vaccination must be presented with government-issued ID. Children under 12 years of age are exempt.
Update to Families: YMCA SACC Closures
Issued: April 12, 2021
Dear Families:
As you are aware, as part of a province-wide stay-at-home order to contain the spread of COVID-19, Ontario's elementary schools will now be closed to in-person learning following the April School Break. As a result, YMCA Before and After School Child Care programs will not be operating.
We support this decision by our Province and are ready to adapt to recommended changes to meet any new requirements of the Province, local school boards, and Public Health authorities. We recognize this may look different across each region.
What does this mean for YMCA programs that take place in schools?
All YMCA Before and After School Child Care programs, YMCA Beyond the Bell programs and the Westwood EarlyON Centre operated by the YMCA will be closed to in-person services. We continue to offer virtual programming for the Westwood EarlyON on a regular basis and on-demand activities at YWeAreHere.ca.
How will this closure affect my YMCA Child Care payments?
Given this emergency school closure, all YMCA School Age Child Care payments will be suspended at this time, with the exception of any outstanding payments.
Should you have any questions about your payment, please contact your Child Care Administration Team in your region.
We know this is a rapidly evolving situation and has created a great deal of concern in our communities. We want to reassure you that we are working closely with our school board partners to ensure continuity of care once schools re-open for in-person learning. We are committed to keeping you updated on the impact to YMCA programs as this situation evolves or changes.
Yes, all YMCA educators must complete a daily health screening prior to entering the school each day.
Consistent with public health guidelines which are also in place in schools, only YMCA educators and children are permitted in our program space at this time. We encourage families to allow extra time at pick-up and drop-off as we adapt to these new routines.
Upon arrival for drop-off, please call or ring the doorbell for entry and a member of our child care team will meet you at the entry doors. At this point, you will complete the daily health screening process with your child and a member of our YMCA Child Care team will escort your child into the building and into the program.
When you arrive to pick-up your child, please call or ring the doorbell and we will get your child prepared and they will meet you outside. We will do our best to be timely, but this could take a few minutes for us to gather up your child and their belongings and bring them to the door to see you.
Like past years, you will receive a call from your child’s educator to introduce themselves. They will let you know what doors to use for drop off/pick up. We will have one designated door for entry and exit. Many of our classroom spaces have changed from last year in efforts to minimize impact with others in the school. If you miss your educators’ call please return it to ensure you have the most up to date info for the upcoming school year.
We are following directives from the school board/Ministry of Education at this time. If your school requires a mandatory mask for all grades, the YMCA program will follow this practise. If your school only requires masks for children in Grades 4-8, we will follow that process as well. We encourage all children in Grades K-3 to consider wearing masks in our programs.
Where space and staffing permits, junior and senior kindergarten as well as children in Grade 1 will be grouped together. As an extension of the groupings in the school environment, a sub-group will be created within our YMCA School Age Child Care program which can include children from different grades. Your child will remain with the same sub-group of children each day.
Following the completion of their daily health screening and entry to program, your child’s backpack and personal belongings will be put into a large Ziploc bag. Students will not be able to access the contents of this bag until their regular school day begins or they return home. YMCA educators will have water and disposable cups on hand for water as water bottles will not be permitted in program.
Snack will continue to be nutritious and delicious as always. No outside food will be allowed in program as per our normal practices. Snack is now catered and is a grab and go format, such as fruit and granola bar. Snack is no longer going to be available in a family style format until further notice.
The YMCA will work with our school board partners and public health to determine when a program is closed. We are mandated to share with public health when a child is symptomatic, and this will also be shared with the school. Based on our experience in full day a program is not closed when one child is sick, however with students being in different groupings during the school day we will rely on public health to direct us when children are ill. These practices may continue to change and evolve as we receive further direction.
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