March 16 Principal's Letter to parents

Dear Parents / Guardians,

Hopefully you received my first email this morning. First of all, I want to thank you for giving us time today to breathe and digest where we are going. I wanted to update you on where we are at in this process as a school. We met this morning as a staff to take care of our people, take stock of where we are at and look at what our priorities are in terms of taking care of students and families. We have been talking and discussing the next steps:

• Having students pick up personal items and clean lockers and look at ways to make that consistent with other schools
• Beginning to brainstorm for developing learning materials and the model of delivery and assessment for all learners that is outcomes-based, consistent and meaningful at all grade levels
• Staying connected with students and families in meaningful ways

We are trying to make sure we do all of these things in accordance with health protocols and Alberta Education directives while also take care of the needs of our students and families. We meet as Division Administration this afternoon where we are hopeful we will have a clearer picture of how we will provide learning  and support for our students and families. We have been working on the above topics but to plan without clear expectations and communicate to our community before clarification would not be prudent. It is my belief that one common message from the school is important at this time. We do not want mixed messaging or false information right now as anxiety is already high for all of us.

In my earlier email, I said we were hoping to have students come starting on Tuesday to pick up personal belongings. We have decided that we need to push that back to Wednesday and Thursday and have a tentative schedule of pick up times and procedures that are in accordance with safety guidelines and the LCI. After ensuring our plan is sound after today’s meeting, we will send  out details and a schedule to all families tomorrow AM.

There are many questions we still need answered around the potential delivery model, student access and assessment. Planning and preparation will continue over the next few days. We are confident that meaningful learning activities will be planned and delivered in due time. I will be updating you regularly through synervoice and the school website. I again thank you for your patience and hope you and your family are well.

Sincerely,

Darryl Christiansen