Greetings ÉMMSOTA Families.

I trust you are all staying healthy and finding some new ways to stay busy and positive in this new normal. Please find in this email some very important information pertaining to students returning to schools on June 1^st, 2020 as part of the Province's Stage 3 Return to Work and School Plan. I understand this is not the way we would have liked to finish our school year and we appreciate all the patience and resilience our entire community has shown during these very difficult times. I ask that you please read through all of the information in this email and attachments to help understand the measures we are going through to ensure the health and safety of all of our students, staff and families at home.

Thank you to those families that responded to the survey that I sent home Wednesday and again Friday of last week.  The information is extremely important to help with the planning for the partial return of students to face-to-face instruction beginning next week. If you have not yet completed the survey, we ask that you do so immediately.   This information is important for our planning and meeting the targets set by the Provincial Health Office regarding the K-12 partial return of face-to-face instruction. Return to face-to-face instruction is optional for students.

As this is a partial return to school, it is important that students only attend during their scheduled days and times. We have confirmed with most of our families at this point and will send a reminder out later in the week to those families only who have indicated their children are coming in to the school.

We have determined that student attendance at ​ÉMMSOTA will be based on pod cohorts and alpha according to last name, to minimize numbers in the building and ensure that students are safe and connected with their core teachers for their in-class days in June.  

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

Important notes from the school for students attending ÉMMSOTA on these days:

1. Handwashing will be key to our safety plan and will happen multiple times a day in designated handwashing areas according to homeroom class.
   
2. 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.
3. Students and families MUST adhere to their designated time of arrival and plan to pick up and leave the building promptly after school. 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.
4. Any students who are scheduled 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 for student support. 
5. Students will need to bring all their own supplies to school including laptop, pencil case and binder if required.  We will be discouraging any sharing or loaning of supplies.
6. Students will be required to bring their own lunch and are asked to bring all wrappers 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.
7. Students must bring their own water bottles as water fountains will not be available for individual student use.
8. Students will have approximately 35 minutes for outside time at lunch. Teachers will be scheduling breaks and outside time throughout the day as well.
9. 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. 
10. We are asking parents to not come into the building at all without a prearranged appointment.
    
    

Safety Measures Important for All Families to Consider Daily.

• Parents and caregivers must assess their child daily for symptoms of common cold, influenza, COVID-19, or other infectious respiratory disease before sending them to school.
• Children who show any signs of illness should stay at home and parents must notify the school. All students and staff who have symptoms of COVID-19, OR who have traveled outside Canada in the last 14 days, or were identified as a close contact of a confirmed case or outbreak must stay home and self-isolate.
  
• If you are unsure if your child should self-isolate use the BC COVID-19 Self Assessment Tool, contact 8-1-1, or the local public health unit to seek further advice. Families can also contact a family physician or nurse practitioner to be assessed for COVID-19 and other infectious respiratory diseases.
  
• Children need to attend during their scheduled time ONLY to ensure that we are best able to manage the entry and exit from the school building, and meet prescribed school density targets.
• If you indicated that your child would return to school, but they are ill on their scheduled day, please let the school know about the absence.
  

If you have changed your decision since completing the survey, or are unsure if you submitted a yes or no to your child coming to school, please contact the office directly or email me before the end of Thursday, May 28^th, so we can make the changes to our class lists.

If you have decided to not have your child attend at this time, but during the month of June you change your mind, please contact the school Monday to Friday.  Please allow us 24 hours to prepare the learning environment before your child starts. 

The BC Center for Disease Control, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education provided guidance for these and other measures.   We appreciate your cooperation and understanding, and please reach out to us with your child's attendance status if necessary. 

As always, stay safe, stay healthy and find different ways to show kindness and caring when we need it most.

Please do not hesitate to email or call me directly if you have any questions regarding our plan to date.

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 25) (002).pdf