Parent Peek at the Week
Preparing for School - September 3rd, 2020
Change and Flexibility.....
Change and flexibility seem to be the words that we are living right now, so it also seemed a good way to title this update! As someone who likes to plan and organize, the amount of ever changing information and needs is daunting. But with the terrific team we have here at Kawartha Heights, I also know anything is possible.
Thank you for your support and understanding as we have restaffed and reorganized and rescheduled. Below is critical information about some of those changes, so read on!
As always, if you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to get in touch. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Mrs. Sampson
Classroom Re-Organization
Over the last few weeks, over 50 Kawartha Heights students have registered for online learning. In addition, we have had fewer new enrollments in Year 1 Kindergarten than previous years. These two pieces together have meant that we are decreasing the number of classes at our school from 12 to 9, and 3.5 teaching staff will be moving to the online school.
All these changes mean that unfortunately we have had to reorganize our classes, and teachers have had their assignments changed (in some cases more than once!). Below please find the teaching assignments for this year:
Year 1/2 Kindergarten - Ms. Bartlett and Ms. Jones/Mrs. Holt
Year 1/2 Kindergarten - Ms. Richardson and Mrs. Charmley
Grade 1 - Mrs. Hansen
Grade 1/2 - Mrs. Rutherford
Grade 2/3 - Mrs. Beaton
Grade 3/4 - Mrs. Ross
Grade 4/5 - Ms. Howson
Grade 5/6 - Ms. Landry
Grade 5/6 - Ms. Baker
Core French/Planning - Mme Pilley
Library/Planning - Ms. Scott
SERT - Mrs. Robertson
CYW - Mrs. Hiscock
EA - Ms. Hawley
EA - Mrs. McCabe
EA - Mrs. Bolton
EA - Mr. Canning
EA - Ms. Van Hees
We have just completed the new class lists and we have done our best not to change classes unless absolutely necessary. After 4pm on Friday, September 4th, you will be able to once again go to the KPR portal at: http://classlookup.kprdsb.ca/, input your child’s OEN and find out their teacher for this year (just like you did in July). If you’re not sure of your child’s OEN, please contact the school. Unfortunately due to the amount of reorganization and restrictions that are in place right now, we are unable to entertain any class changes at this time.
A School Messenger email will also be sent to each family with this important information.
How are we working to keep everyone safe?
- each child will stay in a cohort with their class; each child will not have contact with more than 50 other children (equivalent of 2 classes)
- hallways will have arrows that designate the direction for walking and flow of traffic
- we will only use water bottle filling stations, no water fountains will be in use (please have your child bring a water bottle to school daily)
- classrooms will have minimal furniture; our goal is to have as close to 1m distance between each child as possible when in class. In order to accomplish this, we will need to remove much of the extra furniture you might have seen in the past
- students will keep their personal belongings in their desk area, including coats, sweaters, school bags
- minimal items (other than lunch) are to be brought to school
- we will have rearranged lunches and recesses to minimize the number of students who are congregating in one area, such as the halls or yard, at one time
In our next update, we will provide more detail about many of the things listed above. Staff are currently working hard to figure out what much of this will look like, so stay tuned!
Seeing is believing.... check out our new video series!
Staggered Entry
As with all schools in KPR, Kawartha Heights will stagger our entry so that students can get used to the new routines in smaller groups. Our stagger will look like the following:
September 14th and 16th: Students whose last name starts with A - L will attend school to begin to learn our new procedures in a smaller group environment.
September 15th and 17th: Students whose last name starts with M - Z will attend school to begin to learn our new procedures in a smaller group environment.
September 18th: All students attend school.
#studentquestionsmatter
#studentquestionsmatter Our first student question is in! When does school start? This week, all students who have opted for in person learning will get an email from Mrs. Sampson about your start date. You will either come Sept 14/16 or 15/17 and ALL students will be in attendance on Friday, Sept 18th.
#studentquestionsmatter Kayla & Courtney want to know if we'll have art class. We will, but in order to stay safe it may look a bit different. We'll need to make sure that our projects use supplies that we have at our desks, so we don't have to share. Keep those questions coming!
#studentquestionsmatter Kayla & Courtney want to know if we'll be able to hear teachers through masks, especially if you sit at the back of the class. It may take a little getting used to & we'll have to use good listening ears, but we'll adjust & be sure we can hear each other!
#studentquestionsmatter Eerik wants to know what we can do on the playground. Well Eerik, we can have fun! It will be a little different - we can't use things like balls & climbers, but we're going to learn lots of great new games while keeping a safe distance from our friends.
#studentquestionsmatter Kyrii wants to know what we do with our masks at lunch. Thanks for your question, Kyrii! Your teacher will decide with you and the friends in your class where the best spot is to keep them safe while you eat. Keep those great questions coming :)
Parents/guardians reminded to ensure their children have required vaccines for school
As schools prepare to reopen, Peterborough Public Health is asking parents and guardians to ensure their child is up to date on all required vaccines. To catch up on any missed vaccinations, just book an appointment with your healthcare provider before school starts. If you don’t have a healthcare provider, you can contact Peterborough Public Health to book an appointment in our Immunization Clinic at 705-743-1000, ext. 129.
By making sure student immunization records are complete, you can avoid school suspensions. Under the Immunization of School Pupils Act, students under the age of 18 must provide proof of up-to-date immunizations. Often the student’s immunizations are up to date, and it’s just the student’s record that needs to be updated. This can be accomplished by calling 705-743-1000, ext. 139, asking your healthcare providers to fax immunization information to Peterborough Public Health, or submitting updates online via the secure portal found at www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca and searching for “update your child’s record”. With all the uncertainty and fear that COVID-19 has created, ensuring that your child is up to date with their vaccines is one less thing to worry about!