Good Evening Eardley Community,
I hope this email finds you and your loved ones well. I have some new information to share. Please remember that this is current and up to date information and subject to change based upon information received from Public Health and the Ministry of Education.
- Unfortunately, the Outaouais region has now been designated an “Orange Zone”. Eardley Elementary is within this Outaouais region. This was designated at today’s press conference by Public Health. This currently does not carry any indication that schools will close, yet we will be paying close attention to the information released from the Government. Please be rest assured that we are following the strict directives from Public Health.
- Technology
Survey
- If you have not already done so and require access to technology at home in the event of a class or school closure, please complete the technology survey.
- This 11-question survey is to be completed by parents and guardians across the Western Quebec School Board to indicate the technology families have access to at home. A survey was conducted in the spring of 2020. This supplementary form will provide a more detailed and up-to-date picture of technology situations in September 2020. Further guidelines have been released from the Ministry of Education regarding requirements for online learning in case of school/class closures. The form will need to be completed separately for each child enrolled in the WQSB.
- Link –
- Access
to Remote Learning
- In the event that a class or the school has to close based upon the recommendation from Public Health remote learning will be put into place within 24 hours.
- The school has streamlined this process and will be using Office 365 and the Teams Platform to carry out any remote learning this year.
- WQSB is partnered with Microsoft and our work emails, student emails, cloud services etc. are all through Office 365.
- Attached you will find an incredibly useful document that will support your learning with Office 365. *Found on the first page of the document*
- All teachers are working with students in class to familiarize them with this platform as well.
- Academic
Resources Provided if Your Child is Absent
- If your child is absent from school it is our responsibility to provide academic resources. This is in the context of COVID-19 and the multiple absences the system is facing due to strict Public Health guidelines. This is different from remote learning. The teacher will provide academic resources that can be completed at home at your leisure. The resources are supplementary in nature and in no way mandatory. Additionally, any work completed at home will not be used for assessment purposes.
- Two
Options for Teachers
- Number 1 – Teachers are developing an online platform and uploading any pertinent academic resources for you to access at your convenience. (*This is a fluid document and will be updated accordingly).
- Number 2 – Teachers are sending an individual email with academic resources if and when a student is absent.
- Your individual child’s teacher will inform you which option they have chosen. They will share this information no later than Monday, September 28th.
- In the meantime, if your child is absent and you would like supplementary material, please email the homeroom teacher(s) and they will provide the work.
- Extra-Curricular
Activities
- Please note that the Minister of Education announced earlier that extracurricular activities could commence between two class bubbles. However, with the recent orange designation of the Outaouais region this is now strictly prohibited. This is a direct mandate from the Ministry of Education and Public Health.
- Eardley had not started any extracurricular activities between class bubbles, as we were awaiting further direction from the School Board.
- Please note that whether we are in a designated orange, yellow or green zone Eardley will not be mixing class bubbles for extracurricular activities. This stance is recommended from the Western Quebec School Board and one that takes into consideration a multitude of factors.
While I understand that this is a lot of information, I am doing my best to keep our community informed and up to date on this ever evolving situation. I appreciate your patience as we continue to navigate during these unprecedented times. Your child’s safety and security is my top priority and I will send new information and protocols as they become available.
As always, if you have a question or concern, please do not hesitate to contact me – I am an email of phone call away.
Please take care,
Samantha Halpin
Principal
Eardley Elementary
(819)-684-5955
Spirit, Strength, Wisdom