Good Morning Eardley Community,

I hope this email finds you well.  I have an update for you this morning, please find the important info below.

• Extended Winter Break – Yesterday Mr. Legault and Mr. Roberge unveiled their holiday plan. The attached letter from George Singfield details the implications for the youth sector (elementary school).

Here is a brief breakdown –

• Elementary Schools will be closed for the Winter Break effective December 17^th, 2020 and will remain closed until January 3^rd, 2020 (inclusively).
  • Daycare will be open on December 17^th and December 18^th for essential service workers – the published list of essential service workers will be available next week.
  • Teaching staff will be remote working/teaching.  Academic work and activities will be prepared and organized for the students and the teachers are to make daily contact with each individual student.  This may be done virtually or over the phone. Please stay tuned for more info, each homeroom will be sending home information detailing the assigned work and a contact schedule.  
  • Eardley will maintain their PD Day on January 4^th, 2021 – Daycare will remain closed as indicated on our Calendar for an all-day staff training.
  • The school will re-open on January 5^th, 2021.
• School Photos
  • With the help of Home & School, we have organized holiday photos for our students. We understand that a little cheer this time of year can go a long way! Please find attached a memo detailing all of the necessary information for our school photos. The PDF is writeable and using the “fill and sign” tool option you can fill out all of the necessary information.
  • Please note that we are using a Winter Theme to help facilitate these photos.
  • Please send your completed forms directly to Home & School @ eardleyhs@gmail.com

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Wishing you all a safe and happy weekend,

Samantha Halpin

Principal

Eardley Elementary

Good Morning Eardley Community,

I hope this email finds you well and enjoying our morning snow! The students are surely excited about Winter! I have a short update for you this morning.

• Extra Training & Planning Days
  • This was announced in previous communications; however, please find attached a letter from George Singfield, the Secretary General.
  • The School Calendar indicates our additional planning and training days – November 30^th, December 11^th and April 23^rd.
  • Daycare Services on Nov 30^th, Dec 11^th and April 23^rd.
    • Daycare will be free to students who were registered before the September 30^th deadline.
    • Registration will only be open to students who were registered before the September 30^th deadline. The deadline for registration is November 20^th @ 3:00pm for daycare services on November 30^th.
    • *If additional space is available for students who did not register before the September 30^th deadline, we will send an additional communication. However, if space is available the parent/guardian will be charged the regular rate for a PD Day*
• School Photos
  • With the help of Home & School, we have organized holiday photos for our students. We understand that a little cheer this time of year can go a long way! Please find attached a memo detailing all of the necessary information for our school photos. The PDF is writeable and using the “fill and sign” tool option you can fill out all of the necessary information.
  • Please note that no external company will be entering the building, this has all been facilitated with staff on site. We are incredibly appreciative and thankful to Home & School and our staff for all the hard work that went into organizing this initiative.
  •  
• Family-Teacher Meetings
  • A friendly reminder that our virtual Family Teacher Meetings are next week on November 26^th & 27^th. This is an opportunity to touch base with your child’s teacher in regards to their academic and social-emotional progress. Please find attached the memo detailing the sign-up process.

That’s all for now.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Please enjoy the snow and stay safe.

All the best,

Samantha Halpin

Principal

Eardley Elementary

Good Afternoon Eardley Community,

I hope this email finds you well. I have an important update for our community today.

• Additional Planning & Training Days
  • As noted in a previous update, the Ministry of Education has allotted three additional planning and training days to the school calendar. Attached, you will find our updated school calendar for your review.
  • The additional days are: November 30^th, December 11^th and April 23^rd.
  • Please note that the school will be closed and these days are similar to a PD Day.
  • Why? To promote conditions conducive to the deployment of distance education services, if necessary; to facilitate the sharing of best practices; and to enable school teams to better plan for the months ahead.
  • Daycare Services during on Nov 30^th, Dec 11^th and April 23^rd.
    • Daycare will be free to students who were registered before the September 30^th deadline.
    • Registration will only be open to students who were registered before the September 30^th deadline. The deadline for registration is November 20^th @ 3:00pm for daycare services on November 30^th.
    • *If additional space is available for students who did not register before the September 30^th deadline, we will send an additional communication. However, if space is available the parent/guardian will be charged the regular rate for a PD Day*
• Term 1 End Date
  • Our Term 1 Report Card date has shifted again.  I sincerely apologize for the additional change, as there was a misinterpretation of Ministry documents. The first term report card is to be issued in January and not before. Therefore, our Term 1 report cards will be available on the portal January 22^nd.
  • Term 1 will end January 8^th, 2020.
  • Our Family Teacher Meetings scheduled for November and March are still occurring as touch base with parents/guardians to discuss progress (both academically and socially-emotionally). Please see the attached memo.
• School Fees
  • Our school fees have been approved by both our Governing Board and School Board. Please find attached the breakdown of school fees.
  • We have been directed by the School Board to only start accepting school fee payments in January 2021. Therefore, this is just an FYI to be prepared once the invoices are sent out.
  • Please note that our Governing Board and the school is aware that there has been a dramatic increase in our supervision fee this year. The reason for this is due to an increase in supervision due to Covid-19. Additionally, our Governing Board has voted to offset the total supervision cost and is only charging a portion of the total fee.
• Daycare Services
  • We have received enough registrations for the November 27^th PD Day and therefore, our Daycare will be open and running.
  • Please note that the deadline to register is today – November 13^th, 2020
• Drop-Off & Pick-Up
  • Please note that our protocol has not changed from the beginning of the year.  We are asking for parent(s)/guardian(s) to park on the surrounding streets and walk their children on to school property. This is for safety and security, as we have line-ups for walkers and drop-off and we have had close calls with multiple vehicles driving onto school property. We thank you for your understanding and patience.
  • Daycare parent(s) & guardian(s) are to drive through the bus lane and drop off at the front door.
  • We are currently looking at our practices as we enter into the Winter season and will send an update on practices and protocol as they become available
• Late Drop-Off and Early Pick-Up
  • We kindly ask that students are not dropped off after 8:15am or picked up early before our end of day at 2:30pm.
  • Why? We have to keep track of every student who is in our building on a daily basis in the event that we have to conduct contact tracing for Public Health. Therefore, with multiple ins and outs, this poses the opportunity for error and creates an abundance of volume in the front office.
• Possible Winter Shut Down
  • As many of you may have read or heard, it has been reported that Mr. Legault and Mr. Roberge are looking into the possibility of an extended Winter Break or March Break.  Please note that this is not confirmed and I have no additional information regarding what is being reported in the media. As soon as more information becomes available, I will share with our community.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, feedback or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me. I understand that this ever evolving situation is challenging and brings forward frustration.  We will continue to work together as a united community to focus on the well-being, safety and success of our students and staff here at Eardley. Remember to take time for yourselves; this is more important than ever these days.

All the best,

Samantha Halpin

Principal

Good Morning Eardley Community,

• Fundraiser – One last push to raise funds for the Home & School Association of Eardley Elementary!  Please see the attached flyer detailing all of the goodies you can purchase.  Your support is greatly appreciated and will go a long way.  Deadline is: end of the day today.
• School Photos – We are working on organizing school photos in a safe manner that does not involve an outside company entering the school.  Please stay tuned for a detailed memo coming home with all of the necessary information!

Thanks to the Home & School Association for all of their hard work and dedication to making our school the best it can absolutely be!

Happy Thursday,

Samantha Halpin

Principal

Good Afternoon Eardley Community,

I hope this email finds you and your loved ones well. I have a short update for our community today.  Please see below.

• Home & School
  • Please see the attached Fundraiser Flyer from Home & School.
  • Orders are accepted up until November 12^th, 2020
• Parent/Guardian Workshop
  • Please see the attached documents for helpful resources “When a Parent is Facing Cancer” & “Cancer Coaching”
• Indoor Shoes
  • With the change in weather and the movement of physical education indoors, we are asking that students please come prepared with proper footwear. The addition of indoor shoes has been discussed and the necessary Public Health guidelines are being followed.
• Locker Use
  • As winter weather approaches we are assessing the use of lockers for both JR and SR hallways. This process has to be done thoughtfully to ensure we are following all Public Health guidelines and ensuring the 2m distance between class bubbles.
• Addition of Three Training & Planning Days
  • The Ministry of Education has announced the addition of thee training and planning days to each school’s calendar.
  • Why?
    • To promote conditions conducive to the deployment of distance education services, which have now become part of the education landscape in Québec
    • To facilitate the sharing of best practices
    • To enable school teams to better plan for the months ahead
  • The planning and training days must be scheduled between October 29 and the end of the 2020-2021 school year. They must account for a maximum of one additional day per month
  • These days will be treated in the same fashion as PD Days – the school will be closed and we will open our Daycare if there are sufficient numbers to run the Daycare.
  • Our School Council will be meeting next week to approve the addition of the three planning and training days and our amended school calendar will be sent once approved.

That’s all for now.  As always, if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Wishing you all a safe and enjoyable sunny Thursday.

Samantha Halpin

Principal

Good Evening Eardley Community,

I hope this email finds you well. I am emailing to let you know that there has been a confirmed case of Covid-19 at Eardley Elementary.  The attached letter details all of the necessary information needed at this time.

Eardley will continue to apply all Public Health directives that have been put into place to ensure the safety of our staff and students. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Wishing you all a restful and safe end to your weekend,

Samantha Halpin

Principal

Good Afternoon Eardley,

I hope this email finds you well. There is a short update today, please see below.

• Eardley Halloween
  • Happy Halloween from us here at Eardley to you! We are having a wicked fun day and the students are having a blast!
• Eardley Daycare on PD Days
  • Please find attached a memo regarding Eardley’s Daycare opening on PD Days.

Please have a safe and fun Halloween!

Samantha Halpin

Principal

Good Morning Eardley Community,

I hope this update finds you well! Please see below for an update.

• Halloween
  • Please find attached a letter from Gatineau Police regarding Halloween.
  • Please also find attached our communication for our Halloween Spirit Day @ Eardley!  We are very excited to celebrate tomorrow and have some much needed fun!
• Assessment & Reporting Update
  • Please find attached a detailed memo indicating the changes to this year’s reporting.
  • We will be holding virtual Family-Teacher Meetings this year in November. The attached entitled “Family-Teacher Meeting 20-21” details all of the necessary information for signing up. We encourage all families to sign-up to discuss their child(ren)’s progress.
• Red Zone Extension
  • Mr. Legault announced earlier this week that our Red Zone designation will be extended due to the high number of daily cases.
  • Please find attached an excellent infographic that explains the impacts on the education system “Health Measure by Regional Alert”
• COVID Protocols & Procedures
  • I have attached our fact sheet detailing our processes and protocols for sick students – “Symptom Health Protocol”.
  • Please note that a student must be acute symptom free for 24 hours, without the use of medication and fever free for 48 hours, without the use of medication.
  • We are working exclusively with Sante Publique and following their directives. I understand that during cold season this proves to be frustrating; however, please know that we are taking every precaution and following the Public Health guidelines. Unfortunately, this is outside of a local schools decision making process.  I will keep our community informed if anything changes.

I want to express my sincere gratitude for our community’s support since the beginning of school.  This has been no easy task and our parent(s)/guardian(s), students and staff have been nothing short of phenomenal! I continue to be immensely proud to be part of this family!  We will continue to take each day one step at a time and focus on the health, safety and happiness of our students and staff.

Wishing you all a safe and happy Halloween.

Samantha Halpin

Principal

Good Morning Eardley Community,

I hope you all have enjoyed your weekend.  I have a short update this morning, please see below.

• Halloween Spirit Day
  • Please find attached the Halloween Spirit Day Memo.  It details the fun activities we have planned and the protocols for costumes.
• Family-Teacher Meetings
  • Please find attached the memo that details our virtual Family-Teacher Meetings this year. With Term 1 being delayed by the Ministry, it was still recommended that parent(s)/guardian(s) meet with their child(ren)’s teacher(s) to discuss both academic and social-emotional progress.
  • Our meetings will take place during the evening of November 26^th and during the day of November 27^th. Each meeting will be 15 minutes in length and will take place using our virtual Microsoft Office Platform “Teams”. Please note that once you sign-up for a slot, your child’s homeroom teacher will send a virtual link for your scheduled date and time. We encourage all families to sign-up.
• Indoor Shoes
  • With Fall upon us and Winter right around the corner we encourage families to send a pair of indoor shoes.
  • Additionally, with the completion of our renovation (yay!), physical education is now being taught back indoors.  Proper footwear is necessary when entering into our gymnasium
• School Fees
  • Our Governing Board has approved our School Fees. We are waiting on the final approval from the School Board to publish our school fees and start our collection.  We thank you for your patience as we navigate this through the pandemic.

That’s all for you.  Here’s wishing you and your loved ones a great start to a new week.

Please stay safe and stay healthy.

Samantha Halpin

Principal