March 27th, 2020 Update

Dear Maple Grove,
By now you should have received a letter from our Superintendent of Schools, Suzanne Hoffman, and a letter from the BC Minister of Education, Rob Fleming and Andrea Sinclair, President of BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils.  These letters outline various high level aspects of what’s happening with BC Schools during these unprecedented times.

I want to speak directly to you for a moment.  I’d like to thank all the parents and families who’ve reached out to Ms. Smith and I over the past two weeks. We truly appreciate your communications and thank you for your kind wishes.

It’s reassuring to see that so many of us are practising good physical distancing yet socially connecting using technology (looking out for friends, neighbours, family and our elders).

We know and appreciate many of us didn’t have the holiday we wished for.  Many of us had plans for travel/ relax in the sun that got cancelled on that Friday (the last day of school) and instead, we’re staying at home; self-isolating; on the phone with airlines and all-inclusives trying to make arrangements to reschedule or get our money back.  We’re so sorry that things didn’t work out for all of you and that we had to make these definitive changes to our break.

I hope that each of you, despite the challenging and unsettling circumstances, was able to find some time to rest and regenerate over the spring break.  We are in for very unusual times that are going to require patience, flexibility and understanding.

Ms. Smith and I have had several online meetings with district management over the past week.  For the most part, they were preliminary planning meetings designed to guide admin through Health + Safety (H+S) issues and what communication and teaching and learning may look like over the coming weeks.

The staff a Maple Grove want our communication to be timely and transparent.  We recognize and acknowledge that these are stressful, uncertain and anxious times- but people have been resilient!  We want to assure you that while these are uncharted territories, we will do all that we can to ensure we are successful.  We will walk slow and together!

This virus has regrettably touched or impacted many of our lives, our schooling and our economy.  And it’s been extremely difficult for people, not only here in BC, but globally.  We find ourselves coming to terms with a rapidly changing world adjusting to this new temporary reality that isn’t easy; but it’s necessary!  Please understand that we don’t have all the answers… and the answers we have may become outdated due to provincial or federal directives.

I want to review the four guiding principles, outlined by the Superintendent, that will guide decision making at both the school and District level as we move forward.

1. Ensure the health and safety of all students, staff and school communities.
2. Implement systems and structures within our current context to ensure timely, thoughtful and transparent communication with staff, students and the broader school communities.
3. Develop opportunities for all students and staff to stay connected to maintain a sense of belonging, value and community.
4. Support all learners through the provision of continuous learning opportunities during the suspension of in-person classes.

** School is essentially closed.  Okay, it’s not really.  There is NO in-session teaching for students.  In other words… students do NOT come to school unless contacted by the district or the school administration.

Plan for the Week of March 30 to April 3^rd.

March 30 to Apr 3

• No Staff will be in the building.
• Admin will be connecting with staff and discussing plans for reaching out to students in the future.
• Staff will be provided times when they can access the school, in small numbers, to gather any materials required to enable them to work from home and plan for student leaning*.
• All staff will be making contact with students and families
• Plan to be developed to allow students to access the school to collect materials or belongings they require and left behind.
• Ongoing check in with students and families to be taking place.
• Communication of student plan to collect materials to families.
• More information to families about plans for the following week to be sent and posted to school website.

teachers will essentially be working remotely and off site

Moving Forward

It’s hard to say what things will look like.  Discussions are underway now.  Likely BC students will continue to learn while in-school classes are cancelled.  Schools will offer at-home learning opportunities for all K-12 students online or through accommodations like course packages and telephone check-ins.

Teachers will determine what content to cover based on remaining curricular outcomes and plan tasks that are reasonable to do from home.

K-3 will likely focus on literacy and numeracy

4-6 will do the same and look for opportunities to infuse socials and science

7 will likely incorporate many of the core subject areas.

I want to close by thanking everyone in the Maple Grove community for your patience and understanding as we work through details and provide information.  Maple Grove staff want to assure you that we will always put health and safety first as we work to provide essential supports and services for our students and families.  We will follow all Public Health guidelines for any and all staff that are on-site as staff and student safety is priority number one.  Please be patient and work through your child’s teacher if you have questions.

“In-class” instruction is suspended until further notice.  In other words, the school is closed to students.  They are not allowed at school.

Thank you in advance,

Maple Grove Staff