Thrive
June 1, 2020
ON SITE RESTART

Today is the day we begin to reach the finish line. On-site learning has returned to RCS and, at the Elementary Campus, students are returning for full days (8:20am-2:45pm) on Mondays and Wednesdays for the next three weeks. 

Our on-site staff met for the first time on Friday May 29th to go over the new procedures and protocols. We began our staff meeting with Psalm 34: A good reminder as we face difficulties, fear and the unknown that God is with us and is the one to ultimately rescue us from sin, Satan and death:

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers them.

God is with us! At RCS, we want to seek God in all we do whether offsite or onsite, whether COVID-19 numbers surge or a vaccine is created. It is our mission statement that directs us to “joyfully serve God in all aspects of life.” 

In preparation for today, our staff have united to create a positive, safe environment for all staff and students. The lessons we as staff learn in these six days of June will be very helpful as we prepare for a variety of possibilities in the COVID-19 educational era. Please be assured that as we transition to onsite days, our off-site learning program will continue to include quality educational experiences, Zoom connection points and support for students.

Health – both physical and mental – and safety are our first priorities in the onsite environment. Our first line of defense for physical health will be hand washing. Did you know that, based on our schedule, all students will be handwashing a minimum of eight times per day? Every time students go outside, eat, have a classroom station transition or return to class, they must wash their hands. 

In addition, we have new bathroom protocols for students as they wait to use the washroom and we will have no more than 4 students in a washroom at a time. Below are some of the new signs that students will see around the washroom area. One of them will teach students to S.P.A.R.K.L.E. (the name of our beloved stuffy mascot) while they wait. 

I am confident and excited to have students return to the Elementary Campus as we learn, grow, laugh and connect with one another in a safe manner. 

WHILE WE WERE AWAY…

As students come back to the Elementary Campus, they will notice a few changes that happened while we were away. We took advantage of the time to renovate and accommodate the 4 th Kindergarten classroom that we will be adding in September, 2020.

The old Computer Lab will now become the Music Room. The old Music Room will be Ms. Hesmert’s class starting in September and the new Kindergarten Room will be where 2H is currently. This shuffle will allow for all Kindergarten classrooms to have a sink, easy bathroom access and to be in close proximity to one another. In the fall, the Computer Lab will be replaced with iPads and keyboards for students. In addition, the desktop computers taken out of the lab will be available for Grade 4 and 5 classrooms based on teacher requests. 

These renovations will not affect our on-site education. We will not be having switches with Music and iPads with keyboards will be available for student use. Cleaning protocols are in place every time a student uses and stores an iPad.

Look below to see some of the changes to these rooms, the workspace being used for renovations and all of the extra furniture taken out of every classroom.
June Report Cards

Thank you for continuing to partner with us as we navigate this unusual season of off-site learning. Many things have changed, including how we will be reporting to you on your child's progress. We would like to take a moment to explain what you can expect to see on the June report card.

During off-site learning, teachers have designed learning around particular learning targets. A learning target is a statement of the intended knowledge, skills and/or understandings that we want students to acquire. Teachers have collected student assignments and then provided feedback in relation to the learning target(s).

We have focused on providing descriptive feedback because of our desire to draw student attention to what they can do and how they can move to the next steps in their learning. In the off-site learning environment, we recognize that students have had varying abilities to engage in learning related to factors such as parental involvement, access to technology and their emotional and mental health. As a result, we feel it would not be equitable to give evidence from off-site learning the same weight on our report cards as the evidence we collected in Terms 1 and 2. 

In your child's June report card, you will see that they have been given a Final Measure of Proficiency (Kindergarten – Grade 3) or Final Grade (Grades 4 – 5) for each subject area. This final mark is a summation of the learning in Terms 1 and 2. The learning in Term 3 is summarized by way of anecdotal comments that will give you an indication of their areas of strengths as well as their next steps in learning. 

Please see these sample Elementary Campus report cards to get an idea of what this will look like: