Greetings ÉMMSOTA Community.

I am hoping to make my updates brief (I will try my best…) and as frequent as is required, knowing you may be getting a flurry of communication from classroom teachers at this point as they establish their virtual classrooms.

First, I want to send positive thoughts out to everyone as we continue to navigate our way through these uncertain times, hopefully with the support of family and friends. We miss your children in our regular routines and It has been good to hear from teachers that their connections on line and by telephone last week, have been meaningful and worthwhile.

There continue to be many questions coming to teachers and to us here in the office and we will respond as best we can with the ever changing landscape. I thought I would just update you on a few points of Q & A that have been coming up regularly over the past few days.

1. Accessing essential supplies at the school. Earlier today I sent an email to all those families who had some essential supplies, ie computer, instrument, medication, etc. at the school that required pick up sooner than later. We have established a schedule with those students according to their Pod and Alpha last name. If you did not receive an email from me today and you feel there is something of absolute importance at the school that your child needs for their learning, please contact me directly mclay@sd43.bc.ca and we will figure something out. We will update everyone later in April if we are planning full locker clean-out. Right now we are only focusing on essential and immediate needs for pick up.

2. Reports coming home. We are getting a few final details on how best to distribute our Term 2 Reports home. We have them all in now and will most likely email them home to you in the next week or two. It will be important to verify with your child's classroom teacher that they are using the correct email address, for obvious privacy reasons.

3. Assessment for Learning. Students will continue to receive feedback on their learning. As we develop our new routines on-line, it will be important to support your child in all learning activities and ensure they are doing what they can to exercise both their body, their brain and their spirit.  All students will be moving on at the end of this year into the next grade. Conversations with your child's teacher about their progress will be ongoing and different across each classroom. Do not hesitate to contact Mr. Clay or Ms. Jung if you have any questions in this area.

4. On-line learning expectations for all students. We are working out some clear on-line learning expectations for our school context and they will be shared with students through their classroom teachers. It will be important for parents to be in on this conversation about appropriate use of on-line learning tools, digital responsibility when communicating with classmates and teachers online and establishing good learning routines including getting up, washed, dressed and ready to learn, every single day. Every day will not necessarily have an on-line conversation or learning lesson first thing in the morning. Teachers are establishing morning check ins and it is important students take these seriously as if it were a regular school day. There will be some do's and don'ts that we ask you support in the spirit of establishing the best possible learning environment at home.  We understand this will look differently in each home.

5. Accessing support when needed. Classroom teachers are the first line in delivering the online educational activities and tools to carry on your child's learning. We have many other teachers and support staff that are here to help in any way we can. Those teachers and support staff members will be reaching out to many of you this week to provide extra support where needed. If at any time you or your son or daughter are feeling overwhelmed with the pace of on-line information, or could benefit from a conversation with our youth worker, counsellor, learning support teachers, administration, please do not hesitate to call or drop us a line. If you are not sure who to call, please email or call me directly. My cell number is available at the bottom of every email I send. We are here for you!

6. ÉMMSOTA PAC Virtual PAC Meeting. In recent conversations with our ÉMMSOTA PAC Executive it was determined we would try for an online PAC meeting next week, Tuesday April 14^th, at 6 or 6:30 PM. Stay tuned for more information on how to join us online for that meeting.

The week ahead will be all about establishing our new routines and seeing where we will go from there. We have an amazing staff and all of us have been communicating regularly, collaborating on resources and planning together to ensure the continuity of learning will be a rich and rewarding experience for your children. Communication through this new normal will be the key and again I cannot emphasize enough; reach out to us if you have questions or concerns.

We will keep regular communication through email from the É​MMSOTA Office and on our school website. Stay safe and stay healthy. Please say hello to your children from Mr. Clay and Ms. Jung.

Cheers

​Mark Clay
Principal
École Moody Middle School of the Arts
604 461 7384
604 999 5405