A variety of meaningful learning opportunities for every child is what School District 83 hopes to provide in the weeks ahead.
“The reality is that learning will look different for every child and every family and that is OK. The goal is not to replicate regular classroom experiences in your home. We do not want to add any further stress or anxiety to an already stressful situation,” states a March 30 letter to parents and caregivers from Carl Cooper, assistant superintendent of instruction, and Jen Findlay, district principal with the district learning team.
The letter outlines the district’s primary goal, which is to work with parents to support their child’s health, well-being and growth. It states that many resources will be shared but families will have the ability to choose the types of learning opportunities that will work best for their family.
The Learning from Home plan includes three phases.
Phase 1, reconnection, goes until April 3, with teachers contacting all parents and students during this week.
Phase 2, first steps, from April 6 to 10, is the period when teachers will start sharing home learning opportunities with parents and will start checking in with students regularly.
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For grades K to 8, the main focus will be on three key areas – health and well-being, literacy and numeracy. For grades 9 to 12, the focus will begin with a review of previous concepts learned in each course.
In Phase 3, “teachers will begin to share more in-depth Home Learning Opportunities and check in regularly with students each week moving forward,” the letter states.
It also offers options if more information is needed.
For those with general questions about the Learning from Home plan, contact Jennifer Findlay at jfindlay@sd83.bc.ca. If you have specific questions about your child’s plan, connect with their teacher when the teacher does a regular check in. Also check the school district’s website at: www.sd83.bc.ca.
Provincially, the Ministry of Education has a Keep Learning website for parents and educators. The ministry also provides a frequently asked questions section.
“These are challenging and unprecedented times and the introduction of this new format of learning is definitely a marathon, not a sprint. We need to take things slowly as we are creating a new and unique learning journey for educators, students, and parents. Each parent/caregiver will need to decide how much time and focus will be spent on learning opportunities,” states the letter.
“Please be patient and kind with one another and reach out for support wherever it is needed. We are a strong, caring, and supportive learning community and we will get through this together.”
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