Greetings ÉMMSOTA Parents and Guardians

The BC Ministry of Education has now implemented Stage 3 of a five-stage approach for resuming in-class instruction in schools.  Effective June 1st, K-12 students can choose to attend part-time in-class instruction or to continue at home with remote learning.  School District 43 (Coquitlam) prioritizes a safe and organized gradual return to in-class instruction and values careful planning and communication. 

If you are receiving this email you have replied that your child will be attending school beginning June 1, 2020 at their designated time. We have 155 students who will be returning to school in designated cohorts over the 4 days outlined in our schedule you will see again below.

Following are protocols and guidelines necessary to support safe return.  In addition to information specific to École Moody Middle School of the Arts important guidelines for preparation at home are included. Each stage of the BC Ministry of Education's plan is guided by health and safety guidelines, measures, protocols and orders as well as the principles developed for continuity of learning during the pandemic and School District 43 (Coquitlam) has aligned Stage 3 planning accordingly.

These are some very important notes for students attending ÉMMSOTA as part of our Stage 3 return to School Plan.  

Preparation at Home

Following are measures to be undertaken at home:

1. Health & Safety/Screening

• Perform daily morning health checks before your child attends school
  
• Review with your child the importance of compliance with hand washing, avoidance of touching the face, keeping physical distance and avoiding physical contact
• Remind your child to cough or sneeze into their arm
• Have conversations regarding the importance of following rules at school
• Arrange with principal if you require access to the school:  Do not enter the school without prior arrangement.

2. Drop-Off and Pick-Up

• Students and families MUST adhere to their designated start time and plan to drop off and pick up no more than 10 minutes before or after that time. It is very important we continue to practice physical distancing and so we have measures in place to control the flow of traffic in and around our building.  
• Any students who are scheduled in outside of their Pod cohort time or are late for their designated time, will need to follow safe entry at the main entrance to the school. They will be asked to wash their hands and wait until a support staff member can take them up to their core classroom or will work in the Multi-Purpose Room where we are providing student support.
• Do not enter the school with your child and wait at entrances only if necessary. If you need to come into the building please call ahead and schedule an appointment.

3. Absence Reporting/Communication with School

• Report all absences to the school. We need to provide the Ministry with accurate numbers of students on-site daily.
  
• IMPORTANT:  Report to school if your child's absence is due to symptoms of illness.
• Any students arriving late to school from their cohort time will need to enter through the main entrance and someone will meet them there to advise and remind about safety precautions.
• No student should be attending on days other than their designated cohort day unless previously arranged with Mr. Clay.

4. In-Class Instruction and Remote Learning

• Laptops and devices used at home for remote learning need to come to school
  
•  Students will need to bring all their own basic supplies to and from school daily including laptop, pencil case and binder if required. We will be discouraging any sharing or loaning of supplies.  

5. Supplies & Lunches

• Ensure that your child's belongings can be stored in one bag
  
• Students must bring their own water bottles as water fountains will not be available for individual student use.  
• Students will be required to bring their own lunch and asked to bring all wrappers, utensils, or leftover food products home again. We want to practice “zero" waste at the school. Microwaves will not be available for student use at this time.  
• students will have approximately 35 minutes for outside time at lunch with supervision. Teachers will be scheduling breaks and outside time throughout the day as well.  

School Environment

Part of the gradual move to in-class instruction involves school density targets established by the BC Ministry of Education.  These targets have necessitated that schools organize students into scheduled groupings that meet requirements for the numbers of students we can welcome to our school sites.  The following is information pertinent to our school:

1. Health & Safety Measures

• Handwashing will be key to our safety plan and will happen multiple times a day in designated handwashing areas according to homeroom class.  
• Students will be reminded to wash hands regularly, to cough or sneeze into their sleeve or elbow and to maintain physical distancing expectations at all times.
• Washrooms will be controlled to allow for only one student at time.
• Any PE equipment that may be used will be for individual use only and will be wiped down after being used.
• If a student show signs of illness they will be taken to our designated isolation room near the main entrance and parents will be called to pick them up. 
• Upon arrival on their designated day, all students will line up according to Pod / Class outside the West stairwell and wait for their teacher to bring them into the building. There will be lines to mark appropriate physical distancing while students wait to be brought into the school.  
• Teachers will be greeting students outside in the morning and walking them out of the building at the end of the day to support minimizing touch points and maintaining traffic flow.   
• We are asking parents to not come into the building at all without a prearranged appointment.  

2. Schedules and Cohorts/Staggered Starts

Student Return to School Schedule Starting the Week of June 1^st, 2020 

(Entrance and Exit will be at the West side of building stairwell) 

Wind Pod  A – L  Mondays  8:45 AM to 2:45 PM 

Wind Pod  M – Z Thursdays 8:45 AM to 2:45 PM 

Fire Pod  A- L Mondays 9:00 AM to 3:00 Pod 

Fire Pod  M – Z Thursdays 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM 

Earth Pod  A – L Tuesdays  8:45 AM to 2:45 PM 

Earth Pod  M – Z Fridays 8:45 AM to  2:45  PM 

Water Pod  A – L Tuesdays 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM 

Water Pod  M – Z Fridays 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM 

** Please adhere to your designated date and time of arrival. We need to work with EXACT numbers for tracking and in school density purposes**

We wish to welcome you back to partial in-class instruction and to express our thanks for your cooperation and support in providing a safe and organized return for students.

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly for clarification or with questions regarding the above information. I have attached some of our health and safety supporting documents again for your reference.

​We are looking forward to seeing your children back in the building and we will do everything we can to help them feel comfortable and keep them safe.

Cheers for now.

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

​Parent Survey Q and A (updated May 25).pdf

SD43 Guidelines Parent and Child - June 2020 (May 27).pdf