Our Superintendent of Schools, Jordan Tinney, will be hosting a live virtual event for parents on June 8 at 6 p.m. If you have questions that you would like answered please send them to comm-office@surreyschools.ca
Important information for the families of returning students- Coming up next week: June 1-5
Hello Parents, Students, & Families,
We hope that you and your family are doing well. We would like to extend our appreciation for the support and understanding that members of our school community have shown as we transitioned to remote learning following Spring Break. Your efforts have helped to ensure that student learning has continued over the last two months.
As we prepare for Monday and welcoming back some of our students, we have been guided by our shared commitment to ensuring the safety of all members of our community. We will be reminding our students of the importance of following the guidelines around frequent hand washing, physical distancing and staying home if they are feeling sick.
We write this letter to inform parents and families of the new routines they can expect for school. They include the following:
• Parents and caregivers will have the responsibility to assess their children daily before sending them to school. If your child is experiencing symptoms of common cold, influenza, COVID-19 or other infectious respiratory disease please keep your child home. Your child must stay home until there has been as assessment by a health care provider AND the symptoms have resolved.
• Parents or caregivers must pick up their child, as soon they are notified their child is ill.
• Students will enter the school through their outside classroom doors only and school will start at our usual time 8:35 a.m.(First bell is at 8:30). Please ensure students practice social distancing as they prepare to enter the school. Should you need to pick up your child early, or need to contact the school, please call the office at (604)597-0858.
• Students and staff will be asked to wash their hands upon entering the building. Students will also be asked to wash their hands frequently.
• We have put in place plans to help with physical distancing and minimizing physical contact. Physical distancing can be challenging in a school setting, particularly with younger students. As such, it is reasonable to establish different expectations for varying age levels and activities. For example, younger students should be supported to have minimized physical contact with one another, while older students and adults should seek to maintain a safe physical distance of at least 2 metres from others whenever possible.
• Students will bring the school supplies that they will need to school daily in a backpack (unless you have heard differently from the teacher). They will not be storing items in desks.
• Essential service worker’s children may be dropped off as early as 8:05 a.m at the FRONT DOOR. Staff will greet them there. Care for ESW’s children is also available for 30 minutes after school.
• Parents and caregivers must remain outside the school building for pick-up and drop- off.
• Our crosswalk is not staffed at this time.
• Please ensure that you are practising physical distancing from other families while on- site.
• The outside doors of the school will be locked.
• No lunch drop off will be permitted. Students are expected to arrive with all that they need to start and finish the day. Please also send children with a filled water bottle.
• More time will be spent outdoors. Please dress for the weather each day.
Below is the schedule for the week of June 1:
K-5/6 Classes Group A: Mondays and Thursdays
K-5/6 Classes Group B: Tuesdays and Fridays
Grade 6 Class Group A: Monday
Grade 6 Class Group B: Tuesday
Grade 6/7 and Grade 7 Classes Group A: Thursday
Grade 6/7 and Grade 7 Classes Group B: Friday
On Wednesdays, there will be no direct instruction. Support workers will provide supervision for any Essential Service Worker’s students in the building. This will also be a day for custodial staff to perform a deep clean of the school.
Teachers will have already shared with you which group your child is in (A or B) on Friday (this information is also posted on our website in our newsletters). Unfortunately, due to our need to balance groups and accommodate siblings, we will not be able to accommodate group change requests.
If you have changed your mind about your child(ren) attending face to face instruction, please call the school or email as soon as possible at coyotecreek@surreyschools.ca.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel to reach out to me, either by phone or email at jock_j@surreyschools.ca. We look forward to welcoming some of you back on Monday. Online learning will continue for all students not attending school.
Sincerely, Jennifer Jock
CONSIDER INSERTING HERE:
- SCHOOL SPECIFIC DROP OFF/PICK UP ROUTINES COULD GO HERE
- SCHOOL SCHEDULE / BLOCK ROTATION
- FACILITY UPDATE (GYM, LIBRARY, CAFETERIA…)
- ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS (COUNSELING…)
We are very much looking forward to welcoming students back into the building. We are in this together and appreciate your patience as we all get used to the changes in practice.
Important Survey Regarding Instruction for June 1st- Response Required
Coming up next week: May 25-29
Monday, May 25
Professional Development Day for teachers- no online instruction
Tuesday, May 26
• Online Instruction
• Important survey to parents regarding face-to-face instruction- required response
Wednesday, May 27
Online Instruction
Thursday, May 28
Online learning schedule may not be as normally scheduled.
As our schools work to adjust and prepare for the June 1st start up, we will be doing health and safety orientations today. You can anticipate that teachers’ focus is on preparing for their own health and safety and that of their students so you will not have the same level of contact for virtual learning today. We appreciate your understanding in this as we need time to make our transition in a safe way for all and there are many new routines for staff so that we can by fully ready for June 1st.
Friday, May 29
Online learning schedule may not be as normally scheduled.
As our schools work to adjust and prepare for the June 1st start up, we will be doing health and safety orientations today. You can anticipate that teachers’ focus is on preparing for their own health and safety and that of their students so you will not have the same level of contact for virtual learning today. We appreciate your understanding in this as we need time to make our transition in a safe way for all and there are many new routines for staff so that we can by fully ready for June 1st.
Important message from our Superintendent, Jordan Tinney
May 22, 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
As you know, restrictions have been lifted and we are preparing to move to the next phase of our education plans during the pandemic. Beginning June 1st, you will have the opportunity and choice to send your child to school for face to face instruction to better support the online/remote learning that is currently in place. This message is to provide you with a couple of key details and I will be putting out a video message next week.
First and most importantly, the decision to send your child to school is entirely voluntary. Children who remain on the pure virtual program will not be penalized in any way. This opportunity is the choice of parents and you also do not have to come in week 1 and may decide to come at a later date. We are creating the opportunity to attend and this is your choice.
Next, schools will look and feel different. There will be fewer children, smaller class sizes, and the organizations of classrooms may look slightly different. All of these changes are intended to support increased physical distancing and reducing contact. The BC Centre for Disease Control guidelines for schools state:
Physical distancing (i.e., maintaining a distance of 2 meters between two or more people) is challenging in a K-12 school setting, particularly with younger students. As such, it is reasonable to establish different expectations for varying age levels and activities. For example, younger students should be supported to have minimized physical contact with one another, while older students and adults should seek to maintain a safe physical distance whenever possible.
For instruction, if you have a child in kindergarten through grade 5, you can anticipate your child being in school the equivalent of two days per week. If you have a child in grades 6 or 7 you can anticipate the equivalent of 1 day per week. Our elementary schedules, with small variations between sites, largely will follow a very similar format that is structured the same way every week.
For students in secondary schools, the timetable will again be structured similar to the regular school day, but there will be more flexibility in the times that may be available for attending face to face. There may be staggered schedules, and we are attempting to limit movement and contact. Your child will have the equivalent of one full day of instruction on any given week and you should anticipate that it may not be the traditional block rotations that have been in place in the past.
We are currently in the process of obtaining approval for both our elementary and secondary timetables and structures. Once those plans have been approved by the Ministry, schools will communicate their specific timetables directly to their students and families. We anticipate that those timetables will be communicated out by your school on May 26th. As our schools work to adjust and prepare for the
Surrey Schools – Superintendent’s Department 14033 92nd Avenue, Surrey, B.C. V3V 0B7 Tel: (604) 595-6308 Fax: (604) 595-6309 http://www.surreyschools.ca
June 1st start up, we will be doing health and safety orientations across the district on May 28th and 29th. During these days, you can anticipate that teachers’ focus is on preparing for their own health and safety and that of their students so you will not have the same level of contact for virtual learning on those days. We appreciate your understanding in this as we need the time to make our transition in a safe way for all and there are many new routines for staff so that we can be fully ready.
We also need some information from you to help us in your planning. Please look for a survey from your school to inform us if you do not intend to send your child(ren) to school. We need this information to help us plan for bus routes and for our safe arrival programs where we call home if a child does not attend.
There are also new protocols about bussing and the Ministry is asking parents to consider private transportation as one option because we are now only permitted to have one child per seat on a bus. This reduction in service may also directly impact courtesy riders on buses and so we are trying to plan ahead and to inform parents of this new information. Please watch for a survey from your school and please respond to help us in our preparations.
Finally, to all parents who have been designated Essential Services Workers, and this now includes all teachers, administrators and support staff, your child has the option to attend school for 5 days per week. This is another key change in the guidelines that we wanted to make sure we brought to your attention. Thank you to all Essential Workers for all you have done to keep our province safe and to help battle COVID-19.
In closing, you can expect more information next week on specific schedules and we again ask that you look for the coming survey. This next step of more face to face instruction is a key part of our provincial preparations for September. Hopefully, if we continue to see a reduction in COVID-19, we can soon return to life in a new normal with students in schools full time. We also need to consider that this next step is a way to prepare us for the year ahead where we may continue to see a blend of online and face to face learning for large blocks of time if required by the province and if the pandemic continues.
We have all worked together to deal with the pandemic that has impacted us all. This next phase is important and as we transition, no doubt there will be new challenges for us, but we know we will adjust and move forward. Thank you so much for your patience and support as we move toward June 1st.
Sincerely,
Jordan Tinney
Superintendent of Schools/CEO
Coming up next week: May 18-22
June 1st- School Open for Part Time Instruction
Last week, Premier Hogan announced that on June 1st schools will be open and your children will have the opportunity to receive additional support for their education by once again being at school on a part time basis. It is important to note that it is a parents choice to send their child(ren) to school. If you choose to keep your child(ren) at home, we will continue to support their education remotely using the distance model your children are currently using. There is no penalty and no pressure.
The district is working on plans for re-opening and establishing health and safety protocols for our students and staff and we will share details with you by Friday, May 22 so you have time to consider your decision.
Class Organization 2020-21
This is the time of year teachers and staff start to look at class placements for next year. Parents are often able to provide the school with important information that can assist with the placement of students. Parents can advise the school of personal, educational or social information. However, requests for a specific teacher are not appropriate and will not be considered. If you have important information for us to consider during the class placement process, please send an email to Ms. Jock at jock_j@surreyschools.ca .
Monday, May 18- Victoria Day
A reminder that tomorrow is Victoria Day and therefore there will be no online instruction. Enjoy the rest of the long weekend!
Coming up next week: May 11-15
When will we return to school?
This past week, Premier Hogan announced that schools will soon be opening for some students. We do not yet have all the details as the District is awaiting further direction from the Ministry of Education and Health. We do not have a specific opening date, but will share with you as soon as we have that information. Rest assured that our District is working on plans for opening. No decision has been made as to what the return to school will look like other than that classes will be smaller and it is likely students will be in attendance for fewer days a week. Students whose families choose not to send them to school will have the opportunity to continue their learning online. In the meantime, please continue to encourage your children to maintain their engagement in their online learning.
Crazy Hair Day:
Over this past week, students have come to their class meetings, or shared pictures of their most crazy hair!
Students in this grade 1 class created chef hats this week as part of Healthy Living. Students sent their teacher pictures of themselves wearing their hats while helping to cook or bake.
Fraction work in grade 3.
Coming up this week: May 4-8
Crazy Hair Day
It’s crazy hair day! One day this week (your teacher will tell you when) we invite all our staff and students to participate in crazy hair day at their class meeting! We will share some of the great pics we gather next week with you!
Grade 6 Immunizations
If schools do not re-open this year, final grade 6 immunizations will move to the fall.
Student Supplies
As it now seems unlikely that schools will be fully in session before the fall, we are going to start a process to return student supplies. In order to return items, while still maintaining social distancing, we will be setting up a one hour pickup window for each division in the coming weeks. It is important you send a family representative to pick up during this window of time. We will set up items in our drop off lane by last name in alphabetical order (“A” closest to the playground) and our ask will be that you drive up and send one person out of your vehicle to retrieve goods. We will do our best to identify items belonging to your child although some classes have grouped supplies making it a bit more challenging.
We will also have a bin set up for returning library and textbooks (if not needed for current school work).
Mrs. C., one of our Educational Assistants, working from home with a student.
Erica, Rebecca and Julie along with a fun-loving neighbour thanking all our health care workers.
Coming up next week: April 27-May 1
Kindergarten Registrations
A reminder that if you have a child who will be attending Kindergarten in September, please register now (even if you have a child who already attends Coyote Creek). Please register at https://www.surreyschools.ca/K-12Schools/StudentRegistration/Pages/default.aspx
Friday, May 1st- Pro-D Day
On Friday, May 1st teachers and support staff will be engaged in professional development activities.
Activity Share
Students continue to be actively engaged in their studies at Coyote Creek.
Students in our grade 5/6 class have been working on presentations of how Canadians can reduce their household plastic consumption. You can check out two of their presentations here:
https://sway.office.com/9AnupvhRWo6O98Pp?ref=Link&loc=play
https://sway.office.com/ptuCwADAH6Lx1CTP?ref=Link&loc=play
![Hakam's Earth Day Project[1]](https://coyotecreeklearns.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/hakams-earth-day-project1.jpg?w=481&h=361 "Hakam's Earth Day Project[1]")
![Brendan's Earth Day Project[1]](https://coyotecreeklearns.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/brendans-earth-day-project1.jpg?w=271&h=361 "Brendan's Earth Day Project[1]")
![Eve's Earth Day Project[1]](https://coyotecreeklearns.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/eves-earth-day-project1.jpg?w=400&h=533 "Eve's Earth Day Project[1]")
For earth day, students in grade one were challenged to create something new from an item they could find in their recycling bin. Look at their creative results!
Jaiveer created this incredible work of art this past week. Kindergarten students were asked to create their own art in their backyard inspired by the work of Andrew Goldsworthy. He is a British artist artist that takes natural items and create works of art by using, colour patterns, and shapes found in nature.
Zakaria shared his thoughts on being at home.
A beautiful poster thanking our front line workers by grade 3 student, Madina.
![IMG_0136[1]](https://coyotecreeklearns.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/img_01361.jpg?w=459&h=612 "IMG_0136[1]")
This week Division 1 participated in a Spreading Positivity assignment. They needed to research a creative way they could spread a positive message within their community. What creative ways they came up with to give back to the community!
Some of our grade 2 students researched their favourite animal. They used Epic books and YouTube videos to learn about their animal and then created a poster.
Special message from all the staff at Coyote Creek
Dear families. We miss you all greatly! Our staff wanted to share a special message with all of you. Please enjoy the video!
