Dear Families,

Thank you for your patience as you have waited for our return to in-class instruction plan.  We hope that you and your family are safe and healthy during this time.  We have missed our students being at school and are looking forward to their return.

Remote learning will continue for all students until June 25th, however, schools will also be offering in-class learning, beginning on June 1st. In class learning is optional and the decision of each family.  We will continue to support students whether at home or as we welcome them back to school.  To assist us with our planning, your child’s classroom teacher will send you a survey today about whether or not your child(ren) is returning to in-class instruction.  Please complete the survey by Wednesday May 27th.

The model for instruction is guided by two key priorities:

1. Schools will adhere to provincial and district health and safety protocols; and
2. In their planning, schools will use the provincial protocols to limit gatherings, transitions of students and to support physical distancing.

We have composed an A/B class structure that considers composition factors such as: family/siblings on the same day, class composition, unique learning and support needs, etc. If your child is attending in-class learning, please send your child to school on his/her designated day as we cannot exceed the 50% density maximum for K-5 and 20% density maximum for grade 6/7 on any instructional day.

Monday: K-6 Group A and the children of Essential Service Workers (ESW)
Tuesday: K-6 Group B and the children of ESW
Wednesday: Deep Cleaning Day and the children of ESW
Thursday: K-7 Group A (no grade 6’s) and the children of ESW
Friday: K-7 Group B (no grade 6’s) and the children of ESW

*Our grade 5/6 and grade 6/7 class are considered community of learners; therefore we are not splitting these classes by grade level. Instead, the grade 5/6  class will be split into group A/B and will have the option of coming Monday and Thursday or Tuesday Friday.  The grade 6/7 class will be split into an A/B group and will attend Monday or Tuesday.

Ensuring Safety:

1.What is the District Safety Plan?  Click on safety plan  and go to https://www.surreyschools.ca/covid19/

2. Following the Surrey School District health and safety plan, we must request all parents refrain from entering the classrooms or school, unless it is necesssary. So this means:

• There is no dropping off lunches – please send your child to school with a recess snack and lunch.
• Parents who typically walk their child to school and wait with him/her in the classroom lineup are asked to park their vehicles, walk their child to his/her classroom door and after they see their child has safely entered the class, the parent can leave.  Please read below about our soft start plan (no more waiting in line ups outside the classroom doors).

FAQ’s

1. Bell Schedule and what will recess and lunch look like?

• Our bell schedule will remain the same.
• We will have indoor recess and lunch hours – students will be supervised at recess and at lunch (as they have been all year).  Teachers will follow our regular supervisions schedule at recess – to ensure students are physically distancing as they eat snacks and play.  At lunch the students will play in the class and our regular noon hour supervisors will supervise as they would on an indoor day.
• Students can bring their own toys from home to play with during lunch.
• So when do students go outside? Teachers will sign up for a spot to take their class outside (this may happen more than once a day – recess and lunch). We will create a schedule where teachers can sign up their class to play in a particular zone (gym, playground, or field).  On this schedule teachers will need to indicate number of students they have that day playing in this zone.  More than one class can sign up for a zone  – as long as the count does not go over 50.

3. Will we have a staggered start and end time of day?

• Start and end time for the day will be the same (classes in session at 8:35 am, school ends at 2:27 pm)
• We will have a soft start in the morning. Teachers will have their outside classroom doors open from 8:15 – 8:35 am.
• Parents of primary students (K-3) will walk their children to class and leave. For those classes that are upstairs in the new wing, there are 5 different entrances on the main floor in which students can enter and head upstairs to their classes.
• A soft start like this will allow students to come in and wash their hands and get settled. This will also support physical distancing before school.
• After school: primary parents can come to the classroom door from 2:25 – 2:45 pm to pick up their child. Once the teacher sees the parent, the teacher will dismiss the child to the parent.  Intermediate students will be dismissed at 2:27 pm (no waiting for parent pick up at the door).

4. Will the school playground be open before and after school?

• Playground equipment will not be available before and after school.  We will be opening our playgrounds for school use only (during school hours) from 8:35 am to 2:27 pm.

 If you have any questions or concerns, please call the school or email Ms. Chohan.

Sincerely,

Ms. Chohan

 

Please see this video message for parents, students and staff regarding ongoing preparations leading up to next week’s return to optional in-class instruction.

What can you expect in the coming days? Likely two things, says Supt. Jordan Tinney:

• A timetable for your school, likely with alternating days Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday for elementary and, for secondary, a schedule where your child can receive direct support from their teacher on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
• A survey asking you if you are certain that your child will not be attending school. We need to know this information because we are planning for all children and if students don’t arrive at school, we will be phoning home as part of our safe arrival programs and we don’t want to make unnecessary calls. We also need to know how many students will be attending so we can plan for bussing.

 

“All along we’ve been talking about slowly and steadily, we’ll get there,” says Tinney. “This week, teachers are preparing and doing their orientations to a whole new look and feel to school for them. Next week, when parents arrive, you’ll also encounter new routines and we will need your patience and support.

“We have never done this before, and so we’re all learning together.”

The video, as well as full written transcripts of the superintendent’s message in English, Punjabi and Chinese are available at https://www.surreyschools.ca/covid19, where you can also find other helpful information and resources.

Thank you.

Typically at this time of the year, our school hosts Ready, Set, Learn to support three and four year olds in our community. Ready, Set, Learn is about fostering positive connections between families, the school system and local community agencies. As a result of Covid 19, we are unable to facilitate Ready, Set, Learn. In light of this, our District has developed a website called surreyschoolsone.ca that provides parents with activities to support learning at home. It has also provided some activities, resources and a list of community partners you may find helpful. Please see the list of ideas below:

Literacy Activities:

• Drawing and Writing at Home
• Read the Pictures
• I Spy
• Listening and Noticing Walk

Numeracy Activities:

• Set the Table
• Count the Laundry
• Heavier or Lighter
• Shapes on Point

Social Emotional Learning Activities:

• If You’re Happy and You Know It
• Bubbles
• Engage
• We Like Routines

Other Videos:

Mrs. Mac (StrongStart Teacher) – Makes Playdough   – (Playdough Recipe)

Monique Grey Smith – You Hold me Up

Charlotte Diamond – Wash your Hands

Community Partners that are providing virtual learning opportunities:

• Surrey Libraries:  Providing storytime from home, fun resources for kids, ebooks and more!
• Surrey Art Gallery: Providing virtual tours of the gallery, online art lessons, and more!
• Child Care Options Resource and Referral: group chats, meditation sessions, and children’s stories and songs via zoom.
• Options-First Steps: support for refugee families, translation and supports for families.

Dear Pacific Heights families,

I hope you are continuing to be well in these very different times.  Here at school we continue to  plan and look ahead to next year.  In that spirit, it is my pleasure to welcome Mr. Stephen Hardy to the Pacific Heights community.  Mr. Hardy will be the principal of Pacific Heights as of July 1st, 2020.   I know based on my experiences working with Mr. Hardy, that he is a thoughtful and kind person.  He is a curricular leader with a student centered focus.  He is a great fit for Pacific Heights. Please read his message below:

Hello Pacific Heights Community,

My name is Stephen Hardy and I have the great privilege of having been appointed Principal of Pacific Heights starting July 1. I am both excited and honoured by the opportunity to be part of such a great school. A little bit about me. With the exception of 2 years at SFU as a Faculty Associate and 3 years as Principal of an independent school, I have been an educator in Surrey since 1992. For the past 5 years, I have worked as a District Principal in Human Resources and while I have enjoyed working at the District level, I welcome the chance to return to school-based work. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about the Pacific Heights community and look forward to meeting you all.

Sincerely,

Mr. S. Hardy

 

Here is a link to this week’s COVID message from Jordan Tinney.   There will be more information coming next week:

https://vimeo.com/416223054

 

Principal’s Message

Dear Pacific Heights Families,

This past month has tested our strength, resilience and resourcefulness.  I am hoping you are staying as well as you can right now.

Our wonderful teaching staff has been hard at work planning learning activities for the week and then touching base with students throughout the week to provide further support. Our staff recognizes that it is not easy for families to adjust to distance learning. We know there will be frustrations and there will be bumps, but our teachers are committed to their students and are doing all they can to help you along.

I am most impressed with  how our community has stepped up during this pandemic.  Parents have stepped up to teach their children at home – not an easy task! Our dedicated teachers have launched distance learning, working odd hours throughout the day so they can be there for their own families and for your children.

Please note that this Friday, May 1st, it is a professional day.  This means our teachers will be busy learning through workshops they have signed up for and for this reason, your child may not have learning activities assigned for Friday.

Please remember that our ultimate goal is that we all stay healthy, physically and emotionally, and that we all stay engaged.  Please know that each and everyone of you is missed.  We will see each other soon and for me personally, that gives me great hope.

Please stay safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Ms. Chohan

Good Deeds – Paying it Forward

Liam Kerry, in Ms. Beare’s class, has found a way to spread kindness to seniors living in retirement communities and long term care, to help combat the isolation and loneliness they are experiencing right now.  Liam’s mom, Erika Kerry, has set up a program called the Grand-Friends pen pal program, which matches up seniors to kids to video chat, send emails, or have kids send in artwork and fun videos – all to spread cheer. The plan is that when this pandemic subsides, the grand-friends can meet in person and carry no their friendship. Click here to read the Peace Arch news article  to learn more about this program.

Liam has been participating in the artwork and video portion of the program. Liam sends in all kinds of artwork, science experiments, and telling jokes. He enjoys spreading the cheer and says, “I do not want seniors to be sad cause they miss their families”.

Below is Liam holding the artwork he sent off to his grand-friend and a video of Liam doing a science experiment. Please do not conduct this experiment unless you have adult permission and supervision.

Principal’s Message

Dear Pacific Heights Families,

I hope you are all staying healthy and safe during this unprecedented time of social distancing due to Covid-19.  During these past two weeks I have most definitely missed the students of Pacific Heights. I have been able to connect with some of you over the phone or email – and it has been good to hear that you are staying healthy and safe.  As many of you know, I have two children at home, so I do understand both the joys and challenges of being your child’s teacher.  I also feel like I am doing a lot more cooking and baking!

Our teachers and support staff (EA’s, ABA’s, CCW) have been working hard to implement a distance/online learning program that is responsive to the needs of our students. Depending on the grade level our classroom teachers are using either Office 365 (Teams, FlipGrid), email, phone calls, websites, and filmed lessons  – all to connect and teach our learners.  There is no “one size fits all” approach. Our goal is to work together with students and their families to support learning and overall well-being.

A learning principle that is always at the forefront of our minds is we know children learn in different ways in different rates.  What this means is some children will work through the learning activities quickly and can take advantage of extensions provided by teachers, while other  children are going to require some support.  This support is available to you – please contact your child’s teacher if your child requires more support.

The Ministry of Educations guidelines for elementary school are to focus on literacy and numeracy.  Our teachers are doing this along with providing students with extra projects and learning (STEM, Science, Art, music) if that is what the students need.  You can expect teachers to be providing feedback to students and families regarding the work students are handing in for assessment.  You can also expect teachers to contact students to see how they are doing with their learning and activities assigned.  It is very important that parents/guardians and students ask questions and communicate their concerns regarding the learning to their classroom teacher.  We are in this together – your feedback is appreciated.

Assessment
– There will be a final reporting period with a CSL report
– Teachers will be assigning learning activities and providing feedback

Technology
– For those families who require a device, please contact your child’s teacher so arrangements regarding pick up can be made.

Sincerely,

Ms. Chohan

Boundary Changes

Prior to Spring Break notices were sent home informing families who will become part of the Edgewood or Douglas Elementary community in the coming school year.  Last week, we contacted families who had not received the notice either because their children were not at school or the family had a recent address change.

If you have questions regarding which catchment your are in – please call the school and we can verify for you.

There will be information coming soon about an online Parent Information Presentation. The online presentation will have information regarding Edgewood and  Douglas Elementary, and the transition for next fall.  We will also provide an overview  of some of the work happening this spring and next fall to get ready for the school.

Click here for the Edgewood Elementary School blog and click here for the Douglas Elementary School blog.  Both blogs include an area to ask questions.  In order to help us plan for the evening, we ask that you please forward any questions you may have so we can include answers to these questions in our presentation, or do our best to answer these questions during the evening.

More details regarding the catchment boundary options, public consultation, and the Report to the Board of Education can be found at bit.ly/sd36consultations.

Staying Connected as a Community

With all of us social distancing in our homes – we need to find creative ways to stay connected.  Ways to keep each other inspired and positive.  So we have a fun challenge for the month of April:  how you are paying it forward at home?  What action are you taking that is being helpful to your family and/or neighborhood without expecting anything in return? You are doing a good deed for the sake of being helpful.  For example, Kiera and Kaelyn Chong created a positive chalk art message on their sidewalk (as seen in picture above).

Please email your picture or video to Ms. Chohan: chohan_s@surreyschools.ca

Your good deed will be highlighted in our school IG account.

In the month of May we will be posting videos of our talented students.  May was when we were going to hold our annual Variety Show where we showcase the talents our students have (telling jokes, singing, playing instruments, dancing, etc.).  We will now be highlighting these talents on either our school blog or IG account.  So, start practising your talent and film it for our May showcase on IG!

 

Dear Parents,

Please click here  for a message for parents and students from the Surrey School District.

Firstly,  hope you are well and looking after yourselves and loved ones, following the safe health protocols and practising social distancing. I’m sure many of you are finding creative ways to connect with family and friends with the use of technology. What we are all experiencing is unprecedented territory.  Each day brings new information and many new questions.

Be assured that we are working with the Ministry of Education and District to create an educational program for our students that will take effect later next week.

Please continue to monitor your email, and/or student FreshGrade accounts, school blog, and our school/district webpages.  These will be our platforms of communication to you.  If your contact information has changed (phone number, email, etc.) please make sure you contact the school on Monday (through email or phone call) to inform us of the changes.

As the health of our students, families, and staff are our primary concern, there will be no student access to the building at this time.  We are doing all we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to keep everyone safe.

I understand many of you have questions – please be patient and wait for additional information that will come from the school, and/or your child’s teacher later next week.  Many of your questions will be answered in that communication.  If you have questions or concerns after the information is relayed late next week, please forward your questions to us and/or your child’s classroom teacher, and we will do all we can to answer them.

We ask for you patience as we navigate this unchartered territory  with new obstacles and challenges.  We are adapting to the reality that neither staff nor students will be working together from school. Through it all, please know that we are committed to providing the best educational experience.  We will get through this together – one day at a time, working as a team.

Sincerely,

Ms. Chohan

 

 

March 13, 2020

Jordan Tinney
Superintendent of Schools/CEO