Looking for a great book to read for Black History Month? The library is currently featuring Black History Month books as well as many others by Black authors

Dear Families,

I hope you are all doing well.

Here is some information for this week:

Extra-Curricular Activities

• At a press conference earlier this week, it was announced that Extra-Curricular activities can resume starting January 31st
• Participating students will be required to wear masks at all times

Report Cards

• Reminder that Term 1 report cards will be posted to the Mozaik Parent Portal on Monday January 31^st

Rapid Tests

• We have received Rapid Antigen Tests for students
• Please understand that these are not tests that are to be sent home, but are to be used at school if a student develops symptoms during the school day

WQSB App

• Please see the attached postcard advertising the WQSB Mobile App
• This App can help you stay connected and up-to-date with transportation information, school calendars and our virtual library

Have a nice weekend!

Tara Laine

Principal

Symmes Junior High School/D’Arcy McGee High School

819-684-7472 x 437001

• General learning Content for Parents
• Information for Parents of Sec. 1 students
• Information for Parents of Sec. 2 students
• Information for Parents of Sec. 3 students
• Information for Parents of Sec. 4 students
• Information for Parents of Sec. 5 students

This morning buses are running late on some routes

Classes are also cancelled ( NO ONLINE CLASSES TODAY JAN.17)

Please click here to read notice from WQSB

Please click here to read notice from WQSB (french)

Dear Families,

I hope you are doing well.

We are looking forward to welcoming your children back to school on Monday January 17^th.

Recent Announcements

Please refer to the attached letter from the WQSB with details from the most recent Press Conference held by Premier Legault.  

Letter from WQSB (English)

Letter from WQSB (French)

I would like to highlight the following key points:

Masks

• All secondary students must wear procedural masks at all times when inside the building and on school buses
• We will continue to provide masks for students that need them
• Students can remove their masks when actively eating or drinking during lunch time – they must be seated
• We have not been provided with N95 masks

Extra-Curricular Activities

• All extra-curricular activities are suspended until further notice

Management of Covid-19 Cases

• Public Health is no longer communicating positive Covid-19 cases to schools
• Therefore, I will not be able to accurately report the number of cases we have in our school
• Public Heath is working on a summary of guidelines which is scheduled to be shared with us the week of January 17^th

Student Absences

• If your child is experiencing symptoms, they must immediately isolate for 5 days
• It is absolutely essential that we all continue to take on the collective responsibility of keeping children at home if they are feeling unwell
• Please continue to report absences directly to our attendance secretary Ms. Demers at: melaniedemers@wqsb.qc.ca
• Your child can continue to access asynchronous learning activities/homework through Teams

Rapid Test Kits

• Secondary schools have not been issued rapid test kits for students

Staff Shortages

• We are anticipating some challenges with staff absences
• We are in the process of developing a contingency plan for our school with our efforts focused on keeping students in school
• It is likely that your child will have supply teachers cover classes more than usual

Carbon Dioxide Sensors

• Carbon dioxide sensors have been installed in all of our classrooms
• These sensors measure the quality of air flow within the classroom and readings are sent every 10 minutes to the buildings department at the WQSB
• If the carbon dioxide levels exceed the recommended level for safe air quality, students will be relocated

Midterms

• Based on the loss of in-person teaching time, and the anticipated higher rate of student absenteeism, we have cancelled the formal midterm session for our D’Arcy students
• Teachers will communicate changes to their overall evaluation structure in the absence of midterms directly to students

Report Cards

• The publishing of report cards has been delayed to January 31^st
• This will provide some additional time for teachers to conduct in-person assessments as necessary

We realize these are challenging times for families and the decision to send your children back to school right now may feel unsettling.  As a parent in the same situation, I completely understand.  Please know that as always, we are committed to providing the safest environment we can for teaching and learning.  We expect that there will be some bumps in the coming weeks.  Please continue to be patient with us as we navigate the changes and hurdles.  It has been a while since I have said this in an update email, but now more than ever, we are truly in this together.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Have a restful weekend.

Tara Laine

Principal

Symmes Junior High School/D’Arcy McGee High School

819-684-7472 x 437001

Dear Families,

Happy New Year!

I hope you all enjoyed a peaceful holiday season.

Here is some information for this week:

Covid-19 Update

• As I’m sure you are aware, keeping up with testing has been challenging for the health sector
• There has been significant lag times with reporting cases back to schools
• I have had some families reach out to me directly to communicate a positive test result but with the exception of the one case I reported to you on Christmas day, I have not heard from Public Health about these other cases
• I am only able to report cases confirmed to me by Public Health to our community
• Because of this, I don’t feel as though I can accurately report how many cases we have in our school community at this time

Online Teaching and Learning

• Teachers and students once again started virtual classes today
• As of now, we are expected to continue online until a return to in-person learning on January 17^th
• I have attached the WQSB expectations for staff, parents and students to this email

Guidance Support

• Please visit our school’s guidance page for resources to support your child during these ongoing challenging times:

Connexions Webinars

• I have attached flyers for some upcoming free webinars offered by Connexions
• Parent-Child Speech & Language Workshops
• Grieving Child / Youth
• ADHD & Youth
• Staying Safe Online

This is certainly not the way we had expected to start 2022!  I remain hopeful that we will return to in-person learning soon.

Please be reminded that next Friday January 14^th is a PD day – no virtual classes for students.

Take care,

Tara Laine

Principal

Symmes Junior High School/D’Arcy McGee High School

819-684-7472 x 437001

Dear Families,

I hope you are doing well.

Please find the attached letter from the WQSB regarding the closure of schools this week.

Reminder that January 6^th is a day of Planning and Organization (no school for students) and January 7^th is a day of online learning (students follow their regular day 4 schedule on Teams).  We are scheduled to return to in-person learning on January 10^th.  As always, I will communicate any new information we receive.

Happy Holidays!

There is so much to be grateful for.

Take care and stay safe.