Charles H. Hulse Public School Students To Be Relocated to Parkwood Hills Public School Effective, Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Effective Wednesday, April 22, 2015 the students and staff of Charles H. Hulse Public School be relocated to the Parkwood Hills Public School building at 60 Tiverton Drive. Transportation will be provided for all students. Students and staff will resume regular instruction

on Wednesday

in this new location.  The school phone number will remain the same – 613-521-8535 .  Full details regarding the transition plans are outlined in the attached letter to parents.

The childcare program, including the extended day program, operated by Andrew Fleck Childcare Services has been relocated to Alta Vista Public School, 1349 Randall Avenue. These programs will continue to run from this location until further notice.

The Charles H. Hulse Public School building will be closed to all students, staff and any community use permits until further notice.

While the school was deemed a safe work site by the Ministry of Labour and was approved for public use by Ottawa Public Health (OPH), the school district decided to close the school on April 17th because of continued symptoms and odours. Despite extensive measures to clean and ventilate the building, this week the pesticide odour re-emerged and some symptoms continued to recur when staff returned to work.  Based on this, OPH has advised that there could be a potential ongoing health hazard at Charles H. Hulse Public School, including the area used by the Andrew Fleck Child Care Services daycare. OPH is continuing its investigation alongside partner agencies to determine the cause of the reported symptoms.

The school district is working in partnership with Ottawa Public Health, the provincial Ministries of Environment and Labour, Public Health Ontario and Health Canada in an effort to determine the cause of the problem and ensure an appropriate solution is found. Associate Director of Education Norah Marsh said “We are fortunate to have such a strong and collaborative working relationship with Ottawa Public Health and our other regulatory partners.  Our shared commitment to the safety and well-being of students and staff is guiding our investigation.  We will not resume operation at the site until Ottawa Public Health can advise that there is not a potential ongoing health hazard.”

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board apologizes for the inconvenience that has been created for staff, students and their families.  Marsh explained “This is an extremely unusual situation and one that is very difficult for everyone.  We are grateful for the support that we have received from staff and parents as we work to resolve this issue. We will continue to communicate directly with parents as we manage this transition.  In the meatime, our staff has worked hard to have a new school location ready to welcome students on Wednesday, April 22nd.”