During these trying times we find more and more people in our communities in need of the small things that we normally take for granted. Please help us support these families in their time of need. Send in or drop off a monetary or something from the item list below. We appreciate anything you can help with..Thank you The D’Arcy McGee and Symmes Staff and Students

• Toiletry items (male & female), kleenex, toilet paper, landry detergent, non perishable food items (pasta, pasta sauce, canned vegetables, rice, condiments , flour, cereal, oatmeal, pancake mix, syrup, soups, spices, crackers, jello, sugar, coffee, tea, peanut butter, jam, cake mixes, juice, snacks.

Dear parents/guardians,

Last night, Premier François Legault held a press conference during which he outlined a set of COVID-19 measures specific to the holiday season. Following the press conference, Education Minister Jean François Roberge issued a press release which detailed the fore-mentioned measures. Please take note of the following:

For Students in Preschool and Elementary Schools:

• Preschool and elementary students will not attend classes at school between December 17th and January 3rd inclusive
• Scheduled PD Days will be maintained
• For classes scheduled during the period from December 17th to December 23rd (as per individual school calendars), students will be expected to work from home; teachers will maintain daily communication with their individual students during this period
• Emergency daycare will be available for parents who are deemed essential workers; the Ministry of Education will publish a list of those who qualify next week
• All preschool and elementary students will return to school in January as per their individual school calendars

For Students in Secondary Schools:

• Students will not attend classes in school between December 17th and January 10th inclusive
• Scheduled PD Days will be maintained
• Educational services will be offered to students in grades 7-11 through distance learning, according to the students’ regular timetable

For Students in Vocational and Adult Education Centres:

• During the period of December 17 and January 10 inclusively, students will not attend on site.
• For days within this period where students were scheduled to be on site as per centre calendar, distance learning will be offered when possible. No students can be present for labs or workshops.
• Local evaluation can be done at a distance.
• Practicums may continue as scheduled.
• For students who cannot continue their studies at a distance, centres will prepare review work or enrichment activities for students. Telephone communication with students can also be undertaken.

For Students who are Registered in the Western Quebec Online Academy:

• Classes will continue to run as originally scheduled, according to the WQ Online Academy Calendar.

The Ministry of Education will be publishing a Questions and Answers document, which the WQSB will make available for parents upon receipt.

As always, you are asked to direct any questions to WQQuestions@wqsb.qc.ca.

Sincerely,

George Singfield
Secretary General and Director of Corporate Services and Communication

Dear Families,

I hope you are all doing well.

Here is some information for this week:

Covid-19 Update

·         We currently have ONE active case of Covid-19 in our school

·         The class group has been isolating since November 6^th

Planning and Training Days

·         The Minister announced recently the addition of 3 ‘Planning and Training’ days that must be scheduled in each school

·         These days are similar to PD days – no school for students

·         The following 3 dates have been choses for Symmes and D’Arcy McGee:

Monday November 30^th 2020

Friday January 22^nd 2021

Monday February 15^th 2021

·         I have attached an updated school calendar to this email

Grad Photos

·         Grad photos will be happening between December 8^th-14^th

·         Photos will be by appointment only

·         Please sign up at: www.greenapplestudio.ca prior to the week of December 8^th

Classroom Moves

·         The construction in the Arts wing has been completed

·         As a result, we successfully transitioned classes that were occupying our science labs into their permanent classrooms

·         This means that we are able to start offering labs once again for our science classes

·         We will be moving 4 grade 8 classes out to the completed portables next week

·         These new Annexes look great and are set up with the same technology and resources as all of our other classrooms

Recent Remarks From Premier Legault

·         You may have heard that the Premier recently commented on the possibility of an extended Christmas break

·         We have not had any clarifications nor communications from the Ministry of Education of this subject

·         If/when we are given any directives or information, we will share it with our community

Have a great weekend!

Tara Laine

Principal

Symmes Junior High School/D’Arcy McGee High School

819-684-7472 x 437001

Dear Families,

I hope you are all doing well.

Here are the updates for this week:

Covid-19 Update

·         We currently have ZERO active cases of Covid-19 in our school

School Sweatshirts

·         We are in the process of adding another option to our selection of school sweatshirts

·         The online boutique will be updated in the coming days to include a traditional “2021” design

·         Please click the following link to place your order:

·         Because of the update, the deadline for ordering will be adjusted and the delivery dates may change

·         If you have already placed an order and you would like to change it, please contact VSP directly at: 819-777-6885

Report Cards/Evaluation Structure

·         The Ministry recently announced changes to the way we report on student progress

·         Schools will now have 2 terms, equally weighted at 50% each

·         The term 1 report card will be available on the parent portal on January 22^nd, 2021

Parent Teacher Interviews

·         We will be conducting parent teacher interviews through video-conference and by phone during the month of November

·         If your child’s teacher(s) have academic or behaviour concerns, we will reach out to you to you with an appointment time slot by the end of next week

·         If you are not contacted for an appointment, and would like to organize one, please contact me

·         You are also encouraged to reach out directly to your child’s teacher(s) for feedback

Donations

·         We are still collecting the following items:

–          Metal coat hooks ($3 at Dollarama)

–          Mats for winter boots

–          Power bars for student laptops

–          Cards/board games for classrooms

·         If you are able to donate, please send the items to school with your child

·         They should drop the donations off in front of my office – room 158

It’s amazing to know that we have made it to November! We are so proud of our staff and students who continue to amaze us with their resilience and hard work during these challenging times.  We are in for some beautiful weather this weekend – I hope you are all able to enjoy some of the sunshine.

Take care,

Tara Laine

Principal

Symmes Junior High School/D’Arcy McGee High School

819-684-7472 x 437001

AVAILABLE ONLINE NOV. 2 – NOV. 13