Reminders to Families

As we had a very good start in the school year, I would like to remind all families to self-monitor and complete the covid self-screening daily.  There is a new on-line screening at https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/ . This screening tool will help direct you on whether your child can or cannot attend school and what your next steps are. 

If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Durham Region Health Department at 1-800-841-2729.

Social Distancing and Masks

As part of the directive from Public Health Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Education, students must wear masks inside the school, including classrooms and hallways.  In addition, if students are unable to maintain social distancing outside (2 metres), they must continue to wear their masks outside. 

In addition, students must wear their masks while travelling to and from school on a school vehicle (bus/taxi). 

Please review the mask protocol with your child(ren).  It is important, for everyone’s wellbeing, we work together to educate our students on our new protocols.

Let us work together to keep our community safe and healthy.

Thank you for your assistance.

Ms. Grdovic, Principal

Please see attached for information about Progress Reports

2019 – 2020 Clarke Graduates / Parents/Guardians

As communicated to all of you in my letter dated in early July, we were hoping to organize a formal commencement ceremony in the Fall.

Unfortunately, due to the ongoing government restrictions for public gatherings including events such as graduations, we are unable to hold a large in-person event such as this.

The staff are currently working on an alternative plan to celebrate our 2020 graduates which will include a graduation video and packages for student pick-up.

Individual graduate packages are being prepared for each graduate. The student package will include:

• Diploma
• Grad Composite
• Gown and cap (if previously ordered and paid by the June deadline)
• Individual award(s) for award winners
• Yearbook (if previously ordered and paid for by the June deadline)
• Graduation programme

Students/parents will be offered a pick-up time and date for the grad packages. These times will be posted soon..

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school at 905-987-4771.

Ms. Grdovic

Principal

Parents wishing to transfer their student to the Kawartha Pine Ridge Virtual High School (KPRVHS) must contact their home school guidance department.  Parents should also contact guidance to request a transfer from KPRVHS to their homeschool. 

Parents requesting a transfer to KPRVHS should be aware that;

• Students will no longer have a timetable at their home school and course availability may change if the student chooses to return later in the school year.   The student will be registered with the VHS and no longer registered at their home school.
• KPRVHS does not offer all the courses that a regular high school offers so it may not be possible to match courses.
• KPRVHS is not able to offer specialized programs such International Baccalaureate (IB), Skilled Trades related courses
• Students are required to participate in a minimum of 225 minutes of daily scheduled synchronous learning between the hours of 8:30 am and 2:30 pm.

Requests to transfer will be considered up to October 30^th so that appropriate staffing can be put in place to support the changes in enrolment.  Quadmester two starts on November 23^rd. 

To the 2019-2020 Graduates/Parents/Guardians:

To follow up from the letter, dated September 30, we are communicating further information to our graduating students.

As you are aware, due to government restrictions, we are unable to have a formal graduation ceremony/grad reception as in the past.  To facilitate the distribution of the grad packages including diplomas and awards, students will be able to sign up for a specific time on Thursday, November 5 OR Friday, November 6 by responding to the following google link:

https://forms.gle/RYjdpogQuBL9w9Hj7

Please complete the above google form by Friday, October 23^rd.  If you are unable to attend any of the times made available, your grad package will then be mailed to your home address.

Diplomas will be presented to graduates outside the front doors of the school.  Students who have purchased a gown will have the opportunity to wear their gown/cap at the time of the presentation.   The school has hired a professional photographer for those who would like to have a photo taken after receiving their grad package.  Each graduate will receive a complimentary digital download directly from Edge Imaging.

There will be staff assisting with the traffic flow, the presentations and photo opportunity so that the process is completed as efficiently and safely as possible.  Graduates will be asked to remain in their cars until a staff member can assist to announce your arrival.  Please arrive at the school exactly at your appointment time.

Local newspapers will also be invited to take pictures.

Although the graduates will be given their grad packages outdoors, we ask that masks be worn, and physical distancing is maintained.  We are required to follow health and safety protocols.  If you choose to take a photo, masks may be removed only during the time for the photo.

In addition to the above, the staff planning committee is preparing a pre-recorded graduation video.  The video will recognize the graduates while also acknowledging the award winners.  The video will also include pre-recorded greetings from dignitaries, principal and the valedictorian, Luke Cheshire.  This video will be included with the grad package.

Congratulations, once again, in being a 2019-2020 Clarke graduate.  We look forward to seeing you on November 5^th or 6^th.

All the best from the Administration and Staff of Clarke High School.

Important information regarding Community Involvement Hours, for this school year, is posted below. Please read carefully! You will notice that you may need to get principal approval for some activities. As always, if you are in doubt, please check before volunteering. Some virtual volunteer opportunities are in an earlier post.

Community Involvement Graduation Requirement
For the 2020-21 school year, the ministry is revising the 40-hour community involvement graduation requirement so that students will not be adversely impacted by the ongoing challenges related to COVID-19.

For students graduating in the 2020-21 school year, the community involvement graduation requirement will be reduced to a minimum of 20 hours of community involvement activities. This recognizes that graduating students have had barriers to earning their community involvement hours last school year and there may be continued barriers this school year.

Students may wish to consider virtual volunteering, such as connecting with seniors, organizing virtual fundraising events and facilitating discussions with newcomer youth. Outdoor volunteer opportunities could include, for example, picking up litter.

Volunteer opportunities, such as connecting young people to technology, being mentors to seniors, can be found through agencies such as Spark Ontario.

In addition, the ministry is providing increased flexibility in how all secondary students can earn hours in 2020-21, as follows:

1.  At the principal’s discretion, restrictions may be waived that do not allow students to earn hours during the time allotted for the instructional program on a school day, or duties normally performed in the home (e.g., walking a younger child to and from school, helping younger siblings with school work).
2. Students aged 14 years and older can count up to a maximum of 10 hours from paid employment towards their earned hours at the discretion of the principal. Students counting paid employment towards their graduation requirement will be required to complete a reflection exercise indicating how their work contributed to the service for others.

Credit Completion Day

KPRDSB has designated Friday, November 20, 2020 as a Credit Completion Day for secondary school students. Secondary students will not attend school in person on this day and may connect with their teachers online . This day will be used by teachers to provide feedback to students on their culminating tasks, support students at risk of not attaining a credit and prepare for a safe start to the next quadmester beginning on Nov. 23. Elementary students will attend school as usual.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o-mepszIhB57_ifGStnLf_dyEj_uHYSp/view?usp=sharing

To Parents/Guardians/Students

As we have completed our first two weeks of Quad 2, parents/guardians and students will be able to access student progress on December 7.

Student progress will be shared by each teacher through Edsby.  Please see the attachement for further instructions.

Please see attached Holiday Reminders from Durham Region Health Dept

Attention all grade 8 students and their parents / guardians.  You are invited to join us virtually on Thursday, January 7, 2021 from 6:00 to 7:00 pm.  

This is an oppportunity to connect with Clarke High School's administration, guidance and student success staff.  

There will be a presentation / information session, including a review of compulsory and optional courses, the new grade 9 math course for September 2021, and then time to have questions answered.

The link for the Webex meeting will be posted electronically in the "Sept 2021 Grade 9 Students" folder in Edsby, which is available to all grade 8 students of The Pines, who are attending school either in person or virtually.

Course selection materials have been delivered to The Pines and are posted in Edsby, in the folder mentioned above.

We look forward to connecting with you on January 7, 2021!

Remote Learning Just a reminder to all students/parents:

Virtual classes have begun this week and will continue until Friday, January 22.

Attendance is taken each day, twice a day. Please check your classroom page (Google Classroom or Edsby) for information from your teacher(s). It is important to be online with your teacher(s) every day from 8:30 to 2:30 (with breaks) to listen to lessons and to complete assignments, tasks, etc. and to meet all deadlines.

Do not forget:

January 4 – 8 is Week 1

January 11- 15 is Week 2

January 18 - 22 is Week 1

We look forward to seeing everyone back at the school on Monday, January 25.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o-mepszIhB57_ifGStnLf_dyEj_uHYSp/view?usp=sharing

Important Learn@Home Information

For Parent/Student Technology Support, families can call or email (email preferred) the following:

Student/Parent Helpline - Elementary

1-877-741-4577 Ext 3002

Elementary_Helpline@kprdsb.ca

Student/Parent Helpline – Secondary

1-877-741-4577 Ext 3001

Secondary_Helpline@kprdsb.ca

We are HIGHLY recommending that students access their applications (EDSBY, D2L, Google Classroom, etc) via students.kprdsb.ca (our Student Portal).  Accessing applications via the Student portal will alleviate many of the issues students experience when accessing from home.  We have also created a Parent portal – parents.kprdsb.ca where we are keeping a lot of our critical Learn@Home information as well as useful links.

Starting Monday, January 25, 2021, STSCO will be opening their online Out of Boundary requests in the Parent Login on the www.stsco.ca website for the 2021-2022 School Year. 

Parents/Guardians will need the student's OEN and birthdate combination to log into the parent portal to submit their request.  Requests should be submitted by May 30^th to be considered for the first day of school in September.

February 2, 2021 Students/Parents/Guardians:

Congratulations to our students who have now completed Quad 2.

Final reports for Quad 2 will be available Wednesday, February 3, 2021 electronically.  A signed paper copy will be placed in your child’s OSR. Reports will include a grade, learning skills, and a comment according to normal practice at the school.

To access the report card in Edsby:

 Login to Edsby (https://kpr.edsby.com/) from a web browser (this option is not available from your mobile phone)

 Locate Classes section

 Click View Report Cards option from the left side of the screen

A paper copy of the final report card for Quad 2 will be provided, upon parent request only. If you have specific questions related to your child’s grade, please contact your child’s teacher(s) directly via telephone, email or through Edsby.

Thank you and best wishes as we begin Quad 3.

Friday, February 5, 2021

Hello Clarke families!

We know that we will all be returning to school with varying degrees of excitement and trepidation.  We also know that what kept us safer during the fall, was working together towards supporting healthy practices.  As you are getting ready for Monday, we wanted to share a bit of information with you.

1. Daily Self-Assessment

Staff and students are reminded to complete the daily self-assessment from the Ontario Covid-19 website. Students who arrive at school exhibiting symptoms that are not explained by known medical reasons (allergies, migraines, etc.) will be sent home as per our protocol.

2. Mask Protocol & Physical Distancing

Upon return to classes, we will continue to follow KPR mask protocol. Additionally, we are asking that students wear their mask inside and outside while on school property (this includes all school transportation). Students may remove their mask for intentional intake, i.e. eating or drinking (while seated at their desk).  

Students are reminded to always maintain physical distancing. 

When arriving to school each morning, students are to report directly to their classrooms and not linger in the hallways. 

Remember:

• Wear your mask
• Wash your hands
• Use hand sanitizer

3. Technology Returns

If students borrowed equipment from the school board (Chromebooks, SEA equipment), we are requesting that it all comes back on Monday, February 8th. Please ensure the charger comes back with the Chromebooks. Technology should be returned to the Main Office and we will begin the collection, inventory and sanitizing from that point.

4. Busing

Bus transportation will resume for students who are returning to in-person learning. Routes and stops will remain the same as they were in December, before the shutdown of schools. Please visit stsco.ca for further information.

5. Inclement Weather - School Closures on Snow Days

We remind families that KPR schools will be closed on inclement weather days to protect student health.

• If ALL buses are cancelled across the entire board, ALL schools will be closed for the day.
• If ALL buses are cancelled within a specific region, schools in that region only will be closed for the day
• If ALL buses are cancelled for a specific school or group of schools, only that school or group of schools will be closed for the day.
• If only some buses are cancelled or delayed, schools will remain open.

We would like to thank our student and parent community for persevering through online learning these past 5 weeks. Please enjoy your weekend - we can’t wait to see the students back on Monday!

To Parents/Guardians/Students

As we have completed our first two weeks of Quad 3, parents/guardians and students will be able to access student progress as of February 12.

See attached for more information

KPRDSB has designated Friday, April 9, 2021 as a Credit Completion Day for secondary school students. Secondary students will not attend school in person on this day and may connect with their teachers online. This day will be used by teachers to provide feedback to students on their culminating tasks, support students at risk of not attaining a credit and prepare for a safe start to the next quadmester beginning on April 19, 2021. Elementary students will attend school as usual.

Notice for Quad 4:  the final round of transfer requests to and from the Virtual High School will be from March 15^th – 25^th (closing at 2:00 pm).  Contact guidance for assistance.