Dear Families,
Happy New Year!
2021 promises to be another interesting year that will continue to test our resilience and strength.
I hope you all enjoyed a restful holiday season.
Here are some important updates:
Provincial Announcements Regarding Re-Opening Schools
· ALL Secondary students will learn from a distance for an additional week
· Learning from home will continue next week with students following their 9 day/4 period schedule
· Please remember to contact Ms. Jessica Pilon (jpilon@wqsb.qc.ca, 819-684-7472 ext. 437010) if your child will be absent from online classes
· Grade 7 & 8 students will resume in-person learning on January 18th and they will attend EVERY day
· Grade 9, 10 & 11 students will resume in-person learning on January 18th and they will attend EVERY OTHER day – we will send out the schedule next week
· The hybrid schedule will remain in effect for our senior students until February 5th
Provincial Announcements Regarding Reporting and Evaluation
· The Minister announced this week that ALL ministry exams are cancelled
· The affected exams are: Grade 11 English, Grade 11 French, Grade 10 Math, Grade 10 Science, Grade 10 History
· We are working with our local consultants and teachers to determine what the final exam period will look like and I will communicate with everyone once we have established a firm plan
· The Minister announced that Term 1 and Term 2 will be weighted differently, with Term 1 weighing less than Term 2
· We are waiting to hear what the final weightings will be and will communicate once we know
· The Minister announced that schools could decide to push out the Term 1 report cards until February 5th
· We have decided to move forward with our plan of issuing Term 1 report cards on January 22nd – they will be published to the parent portal
Provincial Announcements Regarding Masks
· The minister announced that all students would be required to wear procedural/surgical masks at all time when on school property – of course they can be removed briefly to eat/drink
· Students will no longer be permitted to wear cloth face coverings
· Schools are responsible for distributing 2 procedural/surgical masks per day for each student
· The expectation is that students must wear the masks provided by the school
· We are working on our plan for distribution and we will share it with you prior to the start of in-person learning
Please refer to the attached letter from the WQSB for added details.
We are so proud of the work that our students and staff have done this week with their virtual classes. Navigating these changes is challenging for all of us and we appreciate the ongoing patience and support of our community. I am confident that we will continue to work together to provide a safe, positive and engaging learning environment for our students.
Please take care and have a wonderful weekend.
Tara Laine
Principal
Symmes Junior High School/D’Arcy McGee High School
819-684-7472 x 437001