​​I trust you are all looking forward to a warm weekend, hopefully filled with some outside time (still maintaining good physical distance) and a big celebration of MOMs out there. Happy Mothers day to all our wonderful Moms for all they are and all they do. We love you!

I wanted to share a quick update on a Friday afternoon and do my best to keep it as brief as possible. We continue to be inundated with information related to the current pandemic and how we are moving forward, especially considering the most recent announcements from our Premier.

I ask all of our community members to see the most recent announcement as good news, and also to go forward with caution and safety. There are likely many questions swirling around regarding the status of schools and education in the coming days and weeks and we need to stay our current course and proceed with clear direction from our Health and Education Ministry Officials and District Leadership Team. We will not be returning to business as usual anytime in the near future. We may start to see a few more students in schools in the coming weeks and I will ask all of you to await further clarification which will come next week, once we have had time to process some of the Province's plans.

There are a couple items I can share with you now and I will do my best to be succinct.

1)     Students requiring extra supports for learning in the new normal. We have had small groups of students coming into the building over the past couple of weeks to connect with teachers and support staff. This includes some students of essential service workers and those students who may not be as successful with learning online at home. We know some families are still reluctant to send their children to school at all right now and we will continue tot do our best to provide good safety protocols for those students who are joining us. I have attached a document sent to parents of students coming into the building. These are essential safety protocols we have in place that everyone will need to understand going forward as we possibly have more students come into the school on a very gradual basis. See attached. 

2)     Resources and supports for home learning. Podcast 7 Parenting Tips for Learning at Home I thought I would share a recent podcast from two of my colleagues. Dave Truss is currently Principal of Inquiry Hub and Coquitlam Open Learning. Dave Sands is Principal of Technology and Learning Innovation. Mr. Truss, Mr. Sands and I go back to when I started teaching and both have been leading our District in online learning and technology to enhance learning for several years now. Give it a listen.

3)     Reporting and Assessment. There will be a Term Three Report sent home. It will look different and will include a focus on Student Perspectives as they have transitioned to online learning for their last few months of school, Social Emotional Learning, Strengths and Stretches, Core Competencies and some Curricular Competencies in the areas of Literacy, Numeracy and Physical Health and Well Being. More information will come to you as we get closer to the end of the year. Students are all moving on to the next grade and it is very important that we continue to support learning activities right through to the end of June. 

4)     Year End Activities. We are very disheartened as are many from the loss of our usual year end activities. Last week all Grade 12 students were informed that they would not be holding graduation ceremonies and dinner dances in person anywhere across the province. This is a big loss and it is a painful reality for many. We too at the middle level will not be going forward with any in person leaving ceremonies for Grade 8 students. Administrators at the middle level are meeting to discuss what options we might have to still celebrate our Grade 8s and we will be coming to you soon with that information. It is important to note that while this is difficult to accept, it is absolutely necessary for our province and country to keep flattening the curve of this pandemic. We will do what we can to celebrate our year and our Grade 8s for their time here at ÉMMSOTA. Thank you all again for your patience as we plan what is possible in this new normal.  

5)     PAC Meeting May 11, 2020, 6:30 on ZOOM. We will be holding our second virtual PAC meeting on Monday May 11 using the “Zoom" platform. Thanks again to our ÉMMSOTA PAC Executive for pulling this all together and maintaining some semblance of normal for our parent community. See attached agenda and details to log into the “Zoom" meeting.

Jennifer Montgomery is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84936810998

Meeting ID: 849 3681 0998
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+16699006833,,84936810998# US (San Jose)
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Meeting ID: 849 3681 0998
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcIpHltiwW

Enjoy your weekends and thank you as always for sharing your children with us…even in our new virtual online world.

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