May 4th, 2021

Dear Preston High School Families,

As you are aware, the Ministry of Education announced that school boards will begin offering asymptomatic targeted testing to students. Testing must be offered to at least 5% of the elementary and secondary schools within the school board each week and must provide this testing opportunity to at least 2% of their student population per week. In WRDSB, testing will be available for approximately six school communities a week. All testing is voluntary and free of cost.

Preston High School has been selected to participate in this voluntary asymptomatic testing opportunity on May 8th. Information on testing location and times are included in the attached letter. LifeLabs has created Frequently Asked Questions available on their website that we hope you will find helpful and answer any questions you may have.

Life Labs will be doing the testing on behalf of the WRDSB as per the process outlined by the Ministry of Education.

Participating in the testing process is completely voluntary and is available for staff and students (and, in some cases, their respective families) in our school community. Testing is not to include individuals who have been exposed to an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 or those who have been advised to self-isolate. If a student or staff member is part of a class (or cohort) that has been dismissed from school and has been told to self-isolate, they will not be able to attend the clinic for testing and are advised to obtain testing at a COVID-19 assessment centre.

In accordance with Public Health guidelines, all attendees are screened and required to answer three questions upon arrival at our clinics:

1. Are you presently in self-isolation/quarantine due to travel history or have you been told to self-isolate by public health?

2. Do you have any new or worsening symptoms of COVID-19? These include fever or chills, cough, sore throat, extreme fatigue or tiredness, body aches, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, loss of taste or smell, loss of appetite, headache, nausea, or vomiting.

3. Have you had or been recommended to have a COVID-19 test by a medical health professional or public health within the last 14 days?

Anyone who answers YES to any of these questions will be turned away and directed to a COVID-19 assessment centre for testing.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together to keep our schools and communities safe.

Sincerely,

Paula Bender

Principal