School Reopening

We have received notice from the Ontario Ministry of Education that schools in York Region District School Board will reopen to students for in-person learning on February 16. 

Elementary Schools

Elementary school students attending in-person should plan to attend school on February 16. Please check in with your before and after care program provider to confirm their reopening plans. 

Elementary Model Change Survey and Timelines

For elementary students who are in the process of requesting a model change, they are to continue in their current model. Timelines for the model change will be shared in the coming week.

Virtual School 

There is no change in the schedule for virtual school students. 

Student Transportation

Transportation schedules for students will be the same as the schedules followed September to December (before the school closures). Students who were attending school and transported during the closure period will revert to their schedule prior to school closure. For more information about your route, please visit: schoolbuscity.com. 

 Health and Safety Measures

As we have previously communicated, there are some new health and safety measures in place, including:

·   Masks are now required for students in Grades 1-3, as well as those in Grades 4-12. Students in kindergarten are strongly encouraged to wear masks. 

·   Masks are now required outdoors, during recess as well as common areas, in addition to in-class.

·   Students are discouraged from congregating before and after school.

·   Please ensure that you send your child with three-layer masks  on February 16th.

·   In addition, new screening measures are required for all elementary and secondary staff, secondary school students and visitors. Details of the screening measures will be communicated as soon as they are finalized by public health. 

 Technology 

If you have borrowed a chrome book from Parkview during the lockdown, please ensure that it is returned to school once face to face learning resumes on February 16th. This will ensure that our students have access to technology in class when required. 

Celebrating Black Excellence

In honour of Black History Month, York Region District School Board will be celebrating Black excellence throughout the month of February and beyond by sharing stories of our students, alumni, staff, community members, community partners and our region as a whole.

Stories may be shared by YRDSB in the following ways:

· Written feature stories/profiles

· Social media profiles

· Videos

If you would like to see samples of how stories will be shared, please visit the Celebrating Black Excellence page on the Board website, the Board Youtube channel and on Instagram and Twitter.

Do you have a story of Black Excellence about yourself or someone you know? If so, please consider nominating a student, alumni, staff member, community member or York Region resident through our Celebrating Black Excellence form. Nominations will be accepted from February 1, 2021 – February 15, 2021.

Mental Health and Wellness

Mental health is important to all of us, and fundamental to student mental health and well-being. Schools are ideal settings for mental health promotion, addiction awareness education, resiliency development, and connecting those in need to care pathways. 

We are proud to partner with community agencies that provide mental health services. These agencies add to  the services delivered by school-based social work and psychology staff. Our community partners help us to meet the diverse needs of our students. This includes offering services in multiple languages. 

York Hills is one of those partners.  Check out their website and blog on supporting your child through Covid-19 and lockdowns. 

If you are concerned about your child’s emotional well-being, you can find tips on how to speak to your child about COVID-19 on our website as well as mental health supports.  

Thank you for your ongoing support and patience. We will continue to share updates and information with you as it becomes available.  You can also follow the Board’s Twitter feed: @YRDSB, or for information about YRDSB’s reopening plan, visit: www.yrdsb.ca/school-reopening.  

Building Social Skills Guide

Social skills like taking turns, decision making, greeting, self-regulation and more, can help prepare students for success in many areas of their lives. There are many ways children can learn these skills, and many ways adults can help to develop and nurture them. 

York Region District School Board has developed a user-friendly guide full of tips, resources and ideas to help caregivers and other adults:

• Determine what social skills to teach
• How to teach them
• How to support any child who many benefit from direct instruction and practice in learning social skills. 

Play. Talk. Think. Feel: A User-Friendly Guide for Building Social Skills in Children covers a wide variety of skills and includes a number of activities, games, resources and more that can be used by family members, caregivers, educators and others to support social skill development. 

211 Ontario

 Do you need help finding food, housing, financial assistance, mental health support, employment support, support for seniors, winter clothing and/or shelter? For information and referral to government, health, community and social services, call 2-1-1, search 211Central.ca, text 21166, live-chat at 211Ontario.ca/chat or email gethelp@211Ontario.ca. 211 is free, confidential and available 24/7 in 150+ languages to connect you to local community supports.

STEM

Join the YRDSB Pathways team as well as Skills Ontario to discuss careers that involve science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  As noted you can register with your child’s Gapps account here. 

Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is a cultural and religious celebration for many Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese communities.

Many rituals are associated with this festive occasion. They include cleaning houses, paying off debts, settling old arguments, and other means of making a “fresh start.” To celebrate, people may light firecrackers, hang poetry, enjoy a family feast (oranges and apples are considered lucky fruits), exchange gifts (adults may give children lai see, red envelopes filled with money), and buy new clothes or new shoes.

Schools will acknowledge this occasion through various activities that promote sharing and understanding.

We wish all staff, students and community celebrating Lunar New Year a happy and joyful celebration in the company of family and friends.

For further information, please email Inclusive School and Community Services (ISCS): iscs@yrdsb.ca

Upcoming Faith Days

For faith observances in February, please see the YRDSB Multifaith Calendar .