June 26th, 2020
Today marks the end of another school year in the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB), but it definitely has not been just another school year. On March 13, we left our classrooms and schools with the goal of protecting our community and helping to slow the spread of COVID-19. In the 15 weeks since, we have come together as a system – teachers, students, families and support staff – to continue our learning at a distance. We celebrate, with great pride, the dedication to problem-solving and learning that was seen across the WRDSB as we faced, together, one of the greatest challenges to public education.
As part of our usual year-end procedures, Google Classrooms and Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) will be closed down as of Friday, June 26 at 11:59 pm. However, the at-home activities on WRDSB@Home will remain accessible to students and families over the summer break.
We want you to know that we will be working hard over the summer preparing for our return to school, and will communicate details to you when we have a clearer understanding of the road ahead. We can’t emphasize enough that the well-being, health and safety of students and staff will guide every decision and detail as we create our plan.
The Ministry of Education recently released their preliminary plans for reopening schools in the 2020-2021 school year. We will be preparing for three possible scenarios for the 2020-21 school year:
- Scenario One: Continued fully remote learning
- Scenario Two: Adaptive delivery of learning with enhanced health and safety protocols
- (For example, a combination of remote and in-person learning)
- Scenario Three: A full return to in-school learning with enhanced health and safety protocols
Returning to School: We want to hear from you
Feedback and input from our students and families are essential as we work to create a plan for the 2020-21 school year.
Parents and guardians of students in JK-Grade 12 and students in Grades 4 through 12 are invited to participate in a survey to share their experiences with distance learning and provide input on key considerations as we plan for the return to school. The survey is available to families and students until July 10, 2020.
Connecting from a Distance
As you know, this video series showcases WRDSB educators who have adjusted their typical in-person classes to a distance learning setting.
This week, we talked to Noriko Fukumoto, a Special Education Resource teacher at Sir John A Macdonald SS. She shares with us the importance of her role during this time of distance learning and the significance of regular communication with students, families and educators to ensure student success. The shift from face-to-face to distance learning has changed her mode of connection, but not her student relationships.
Fukumoto has also focused her learning strategies on the connection of well-being and the environment, and using her own experiences as an example for her students.
WRDSB@Home
Want to continue learning over the summer break? WRDSB@Home as well the Ministry of Education’s Learn@Home webpage will remain accessible over the summer, so feel free to access the more than 750 at-home activities that are available.
Tech@Home
Don’t forget about Tech@Home. This website contains resources to help students and families troubleshoot technical problems they may be experiencing, with Chromebooks, iPads and more.
