Parent Peek at the Week
Week of October 19th, 2020
KUDOS to our wonderful ECE's!
In case you missed it....
Self portraits
Pavement Games
Fall Birch Trees
Important Dates
Monday, October 19th - Day 4
Tuesday, October 20th - Day 5
Wednesday, October 21st - Day 1
Thursday, October 22nd - Day 2
- Happy Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day to Mrs. Charmley and Mrs. Holt!
Friday, October 23rd - Day 3
- Deadline to sign up to "opt in" to online learning from face-to-face at Kawartha Heights (please see below)
- All classes begin a new math focus: the Spatial Sense Strand
Online COVID-19 Screening Tool
A reminder that we are kindly asking all students and staff to complete the online self-screening tool daily, before coming to school. We know it can be confusing when your child isn't feeling well - what should you do? By completing this simple online tool, you will be given easy to follow directions on next steps. Please keep this website handy:
https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/
If you prefer to print and keep the screening tool at home on paper, please see the tool listed below.
Moving to and from Online Learning
In particular, parents who would like to move their children from in-school to online learning need to start the process by speaking with the principal of their home school. Families will need to register by October 23 if they wish their children to make the change on the next available start date of Monday, November 2.
Similarly, families who wish their children to switch to online classes on Monday, November 30 will need to register between November 2-20. Please note that this process will not occur in December.
In other words - to start learning online, then families need to:
Register Between:
October 9-23 to start school online on Monday, November 2
Register Between:
November 2-20 to start school online on Monday, November 30
Please note: After registering for the VES (Virtual Elementary School) and while waiting for their online classes to start, students will be supported by their home school until they transition to the virtual school. They will have two choices during this waiting period: either attend class in person at their home school until the VES start date, or complete work assigned by their child’s teacher at home.
Calling in Student Absences
At Kawartha Heights, student safety is our highest priority. It is important that you report your child’s absent.
In order to report your child’s absence you will be using School Messenger. It allows you to report your child’s absence quickly and conveniently, in any one of the following three ways:
· By calling 1-844-434-8119 toll free;
· By logging into the Parent Portal website at studentabsence.kprdsb.ca to set up the ability to report absences online; or
· By downloading the SchoolMessenger mobile app onto your iOS or Android device, to report absences.
You will be able to use whichever of these methods you prefer to report your child’s absence, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You also will be able to report future absences at any time.
As an added feature, we are using an automated telephone system to contact parents who have not reported their child absent. School Messenger will continue attempting to reach multiple contact numbers, for a predetermined amount of time. If the automated system has not been able to reach someone in that allotted time frame, our office staff will follow up.
By using the toll free number, website or app to report your child absent before our morning bell time, you will NOT receive a call.
Please do not call the office to report absences unless you are having trouble with School Messenger.
A good idea is to downloading the School Messenger mobile app and also cut out the image below and keep it on your fridge for easy access.
Important Pieces of Information
1. Indoor Shoes: We have now been allowed to develop a protocol for safe use of indoor shoes. We are kindly asking families to send in shoes that can be left at school. As we head into the colder and wet weather, this will also help to keep our classrooms a little cleaner. Thank you for adapting as the protocols change!
2. Arriving late to school: Unfortunately we have more and more families arriving late at school - one day alone last week we had 12 students come late. Please be aware that not only does this disrupt your child's learning as well as the class, but with the new COVID protocols, it is extremely challenging. Each time a child is late, Mrs. E. has to meet them at the door, then arrange for support staff to be pulled from classrooms to escort them to their class to ensure we have no cross cohorting in the hallways. We want to work with students on their learning, not focus on escorting them to class. I know some mornings can be challenging, but please do all you can to arrive at school on time. We really appreciate it!
3. Edsby: Just a little reminder that Edsby is our main communication tool that we use with families. If you aren't already connected - please let me know. We don't want you to miss anything important!
4. iPads: Some of you have been in touch, asking about how we are using technology in the classrooms this year. For now, all our school's Chromebooks have been distributed to families who are doing online learning. This leaves us with our iPads - enough for 6 for each class. Following strict protocols (only one child using one iPad per day, each child always uses the same iPad on a schedule, strict cleaning protocols completed by teachers at the end of each day), we are now able to get these up and running in classrooms in a way that is safe.
Information from the KPR Board Office
Wanted: Parent Involvement Committee members
KPR is seeking parents who are passionate about student success and parental involvement in schools, to serve on our Parent Involvement Committee. One parent from each of KPR’s three regions will be selected for the Parent Involvement Committee at the following Regional School Council Association meetings:
Clarington, October 21, 7 p.m., email kpr_info@kprdsb.ca for details
Northumberland, Date TBA, email kpr_info@kprdsb.ca for details
Peterborough area, October 20, 6:30 p.m., email kpr_info@kprdsb.ca for details
The Committee meets monthly throughout the school year to support, and provide advice regarding, meaningful and inclusive parental involvement in all of our schools. For further information on the work of the Parent Involvement Committee, please visit http://www.kprschools.ca/en/our_schools/getinvolved/parentinvolvement.html
Speaking of online information…
…with KPR’s increased focus on digital communication and the move by thousands of students to virtual learning, we are no longer printing our traditional “fridge calendar”. Here are some important dates that were approved by our Trustees and the Ministry of Education earlier this year:
PA Days: Friday, November 27; Monday, February 1; Friday, May 14 (secondary ONLY); Friday, June 11 (elementary ONLY), and Wednesday, June 30
Winter Break: Monday, December 21, to Friday, January 1
March Break: Friday, March 12, to Friday, March 19
Should there be any changes due to the constantly evolving nature of COVID, we will let parents know. The dates also are posted at http://kprschools.ca/en/our_schools/resources/schoolcalendars.html