École Moody Middle School of the Arts Return to School Phase 2 Plan, Health and Safety Information and very Important Survey

130 Buller Street, Port Moody, BC, V3H 2C6| Phone: 604-461-7384| Contact Us

École Moody Middle School of the Arts

School District No. 43 (Coquitlam)

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École Moody Middle School of the Arts Return to School Phase 2 Plan, Health and Safety Information and very Important Survey

August 31, 2020

Emailed Friday 2020-08-28

Greetings ÉMMSOTA Parents and Guardians.

Our school is getting ready to welcome students back to school in a safe and controlled manner. The Ministry of Education has announced that BC schools will open in Stage 2 and students are encouraged to attend daily as schools will not be able to provide the remote learning options that we did in June. The first day of school for students is Thursday, September 10^th. You can read more here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/administration/kindergarten-to-grade-12/safe-caring-orderly/k-12-education-restart-plan.pdf.

On Tuesday, September 8^th and Wednesday, September 9^th staff will be reviewing and implementing safety procedures within the school. We have worked under the guidance of public health authorities and the Ministry of Education to develop a plan so that students and staff can learn and work together safely. We are ready to welcome your child back to school. We will strive to keep learning as the focus, but school will look different as health and safety are critical factors in our planning. Some of the many actions taken to safely restart school this September include:

Health and Safety

Daily health screening check for students (by parents) and staff before arriving at school.
Students who are ill (cold, flu or showing Covid-19 symptoms) must stay home. If a child becomes ill during the school day, they will be isolated from their Learning Group/class and the parents contacted to come and pick up as soon as possible.
Families arriving from outside of Canada must self-isolate for 14 days before entering school.
There will be enhanced cleaning protocols especially focused on high touch points (doorknobs, faucets, etc.)
Teachers will be encouraged to take their class outside more frequently.
A staggered schedule approach may need to be adopted to promote physical distancing at drop off/pick-up and recess and lunch times.
There will be no large gatherings (assemblies, special events, open house) at this time.
Masks are expected in hallways and common areas at the middle level. The only exception is for staff and students with a medical condition that precludes them from wearing a mask.
No sharing of food or drink.
Parents and visitors must make an appointment to meet with staff. There will be limited access to the building by parents and visitors. All visitors must sign in for the purpose of contact tracing. Virtual meetings will be an option for staff and parents.
We ask parents to practice physical distancing (staying apart 2m) when on school grounds. This is for your safety, the safety of staff and students and is good modeling for our students.

Learning Groups

A Learning Group is defined as a group of students and staff who remain together for an extended period of time and who interact primarily with each other.

In the Coquitlam School District, the Learning Group will include your child's classmates and any staff assigned to work with the students on a regular basis, like your child's teacher.
Within the learning group, while there will be less opportunities to physically distance, physical contact will be discouraged.
The learning group will stay together. Students will learn, eat and play together.
Class size limits have not changed therefore grade 6-8 classes will have no more than 30 students in the group.
The Ministry of Education has stated that Learning Groups cannot exceed 60 people at elementary and middle school. Therefore, Learning Group sizes will be under the provincial limits outlined in Stage 2.

Morning, recess, lunch and afterschool schedules and routines will be adjusted to keep Learning Groups apart as much as possible.
If children interact with students or staff from other learning groups, they will be expected to practice physical distancing. In some cases, specialist teachers who work with children from different learning groups (i.e. Learning assistance or English as a Second Language) will wear a mask if they cannot maintain physical distancing.
Parents and students will learn who their child's teacher and Learning Group/ Class is before school begins on Monday, September 14^th. We expect Learning Groups to be finalized and students attending full days beginning Monday, September 14^th.

Educational Programming

Our school will be focused on in-class instruction during Stage 2.
Students will spend most of their educational time in their classroom, as there will be reduced movement of students between learning spaces.
Student well-being will be guiding educators in planning and supporting the successful return of students to school.
Explorations teachers will continue to offer programming, but this will look significantly different.
Students with disabilities/diverse abilities will continue to be supported by the goals outlined in their IEP
Regular health and safety practices (frequent hand washing) will be part of the educational program.
Students will continue to receive report cards.
Parents of children who are medically diagnosed as immunocompromised by a physician should contact me by Tuesday, September 1^st. The following links are provided for your reference:

http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Info-Site/Documents/COVID-19-IS-Children-FAQ-BCCH.pdf

http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Professionals-Site/Documents/COVID19-easing-social-distrancing-IS-children.pdf

École Moody Middle School of the Arts (specifics)

** Please see attached our two different day schedules according to our Pod Learning groups. We have staggered our start and end times, breaks and lunch to accommodate distancing and space around the school.

** We are asking students to maintain physical distancing at all times as there will be different locations around the school for entering and exiting the building according to their Pod and learning group. Some students will be asked to meet their learning group around the back of the school in our amphitheater, our sports court and our rooftop entrance. Detailed maps will be sent home next week outlining some of our entrances and exits that the students will be using on a daily basis.

** Supplies will not be required until the week of September 14^th. At this time, lockers will not be assigned, and we will be asking students to manage their belongings in a backpack in the classroom. This includes lunch and snack. Microwaves will not be available. Further details on what supplies need to come to school will be provided once all students are attached to their learning group. For those families still needing supplies can look on our website for EMMSOTA SUPPLY LISTS

** Parents / Guardians are asked to call ahead if they need to come into the school. Masks are a requirement and health and safety checks will be done upon entering the school.

** Our Office hours next week are 8:30 to 3:30 PM. Please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Clay or Ms. Jung directly if you have any further questions. 604-461-7384

Mr. Clay Mclay@sd43.bc.ca Ms. Jung kjung@sd43.bc.ca

We look forward to welcoming students back to school on Thursday, September 10^th. Following is the district plan for students on Thursday, September 10^th and Friday, September 11^th:

Thursday, September 10^th: Students attend school for a welcome and enrolment count. Duration: 10-15 minutes. At École Moody Middle School of the Arts we will bring students in according to Program, Grade and Alpha at the following times.
*Specific Alpha groups will be sent out next week with meeting locations*

French Immersion Students All Grades from 9 – 9:15 AM

English Grade 6 Students from 10 – 10:30 AM (a little more time for our younger students)

English Grade 7 Students from 11 – 11:15 AM

English Grade 8 Students from 12 – 12:15 PM

Friday, September 11^th: Students will attend safety orientation sessions for approximately 60 minutes. Schedule to follow, loosely based on the groupings from the day before depending on our attendance.

French Immersion Students All Grades from 8:30 -9:30 AM

English Grade 6 Students from 10 – 11:00 AM

English Grade 7 Students from 11:30 – 12:30 AM

English Grade 8 Students from 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Students will be provided with a mask and will be asked to wear it when in common areas. If a student already has a mask, we ask that they wear it to the safety orientation.

I will be sending out further information regarding the times that students will attend on Thursday, September 10^th and Friday, September 11^th.

We need to know how many students are returning to school or what your plans are if you are choosing an alternative educational plan. There is important information in this survey.
It is critical that you complete the survey to provide us this information.
If you are choosing an alternate educational program, such as distributed learning or homeschooling, we cannot guarantee that your child can return to our school if you re-evaluate your plans later in the year. Please contact me if you are undecided. If you know someone who has school-aged children and has moved in to our neighbourhood, please encourage them to contact (call or email) the school as soon as possible to arrange registration.

I have included the link for the survey: Stage 2 Return to School Survey

Please note that the Provincial Health Officer and the Ministry of Education may decide to move to different stages in response to Covid-19 situation in British Columbia and we will inform you should this occur, advising next steps.

Please find attached a document for your review titled 'Stage 2 Health and Safety Protocols: K-12 – For Parents and Families. This has been translated into multiple languages.

I will be following up with more information early next week. Please email me with any questions that you have. I look forward to working with all of you this year and as always thank you for bringing your children to school and sharing them with us. We are all very excited to get this year started.

Kindest Regards

Mark Clay
Principal

Health Safety Protocols Parents Final.pdf