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A Great Big Welcome to Our Newest Red Raiders!
Hello incoming Grade 9 students. Welcome to your new home Essex District High School (EDHS). I know you are all feeling a great amount of anticipation and perhaps a little nervousness as you prepare to enter high school at EDHS. This is an exciting milestone in your lives even if it is happening under unanticipated circumstances.
Please know that preparations are in place to allow you and all our students to safely return to EDHS for the 2020-2021 school year.
Normally at this time of year, we invite our incoming Grade 9 students into the school for an orientation and tour of the building, including an opportunity to visit your classes, meet your teachers and practice opening your lockers. Unfortunately, given our current situation and the preparations going on in the school, we are unable to hold an in-person Grade 9 orientation this year.
You have now made your decision about whether to return to school in-person for the Adapted In-school Model (Cohorts A and B) or the Fully Remote/Online Model (Cohort C). For those of you who are returning in-person, you will be informed of your cohort in the near future. For those of you doing online courses in September, you will be contacted directly with information about your courses.
Recently, based on feedback from students and parents, the GECDSB has made enhancements to the In-school Model of instruction for the board. At the bottom of this letter you will find a link to this updated model of instruction for students returning in-person. Additionally, an updated staggered start schedule for the board has been released. Grade 9's in Cohort A will start school on Thursday September 10 and Grade 9's in Cohort B will start school on Friday September 11. Additional information about the staggered start (including information about start-up for Cohort C students) can be found by following the link below underthe heading Staggered Start Schedule for September 2020.
Further, for those of you who do return for in-person instruction, your daily schedule will look different than what we all are used to. We will be working on a quadmester system where students will only take two of their classess at a time. Students will switch to two new classes at mid-semester (somewhere near the beginning of November). Students will be organized into two cohorts (A and B). These cohorts will attend on alternating days. Classes will have approximately 15 students or fewer in them at a time. There will be no scheduled lunch break, but students will have nutrition breaks during class time. High school students will not be using their lockers and will report directly to class when they arrive at school and leave for the day directly after the end of their scheduled class. Nutrition and washroom breaks will be scheduled into classes.. We are currently finalizing the exact times for our timetable and this information will be shared with families soon.
I have attached a video link at the bottom of this message that outlines some of the procedures and safety measures you can expect when you come to EDHS in September. I have also attached a link to the GECDSB Plan for Reopening and a link to a page which provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about reopening.
Rest assured that even though we cannot have an in-person orientation for our new Grade 9 students, our staff is committed to helping you have a smooth transition into high school. We are currently working on an orientation package for Grade 9 students that will be mailed out to each of you before the start of school on September 8. This package will include important information about school reopening, a map of the school and other important information about EDHS.
Please keep in mind that this is an evolving plan and changes will still be made before school starts. I will continue to post updates about new information.
We are looking so forward to welcoming our newest Red Raiders! Please know that the staff and administration at EDHS will work tirelessly to make this school year a successful, rewarding and memorable one for the Class of 2024!
See you soon.
Mr. Querbach, Principal
GECDSB Plan for Reopening
https://www.publicboard.ca/News/PlanningforReopening/Pages/Plan-For-Reopening.aspx#/=
Enhanced Secondary Model for Adapted In-school Model (Corts A and B)
https://www.publicboard.ca/News/ourstories/UpdateSecondarySchoolSchedule/Pages/default.aspx#/=
Staggered Start Schedule for September 2020
https://www.publicboard.ca/News/ourstories/StaggeredStart/Pages/default.aspx#/=
Reopening Schools Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ekPKiL6CTI&feature=youtu.be
Frequently Asked Questions About Reopening:
https://www.publicboard.ca/News/PlanningforReopening/Pages/default.aspx#/=
Good Students, Parents and Guardians,The Attendance Confirmation Survey will be sent out by the school board on Tuesday August 11. This will be done directly through the parent’s/guardian’s registered email with the school. Parents/guardians/students will be choosing between the adapted in person model or a fully remote/online model of instruction. Additional information will be included in the survey.If you do not currently have a valid email on file with the school, a form on the school board website (http://publicboard.ca/) will be posted for you to update your email. When your updated email is received, the Attendance Confirmation Survey will be sent directly to you by email as soon as possible.The following message regarding the Attendance Confirmation Survey will be sent to all families in the very near future by the school board:"This is an important message from the Greater Essex County District School Board. To assist us in planning and organizing our schools for cohorting of students, transportation and learning needs, we are asking parents and guardians to let us know what their intentions are for the beginning of 2020-2021 school year in September. For the security of private, personal information a link to the Attendance Confirmation survey will be sent to the email you have registered with the school. If you do not receive this email please visit our website to update your email information and the survey will be forwarded to you at that address as soon as possible. Survey submissions will be accepted until the end of Monday, August 17th. For detailed information on the GECDSB Reopening Plan visit our website http://www.publicboard.ca/ and review the document."Cohorting of students is being done centrally with approximately 15 students or less in a classroom at any given time.*Please note that if your child(ren) is in a self-contained special education classroom (STEPS) you will be contacted by school staff about your intentions for in-person attendance. This is a change from my previous messaging.Thank you for your continued patience as we plan for school reopening in September.Mr. Querbach
GECDSB School Reopening Plan
https://www.publicboard.ca/News/PlanningforReopening/Documents/Back%20to%20School%20Board%20Report.pdf
GECDSB School Reopening Information Page:
