Good afternoon Parkland community
I hope you are all continuing to fare well enough as we finish off week four of remote learning. I am hearing of some very creative and effective strategies that teachers are using to engage students. Many students are doing a good job of connecting with their teachers and continuing on with their studies. I've also heard that many students are struggling with motivation while others find the online learning modality less than optimal for their style of learning. I've asked our teachers to be patient and understanding. In talking with your sons/daughters I would suggest you encourage them simply to do the best that they can. In many cases their learning may be less about the content of their course work and more about figuring out the technology, organizing their time and maintaining motivation in circumstances that they did not chose. All this is important learning and something that perhaps you can help your sons and daughters with.
It is necessary (barring extenuating circumstances) that students do engage with their on line learning. They are expected to do about 3 hours of school work per course per week which should be, in most cases, manageable. Students will be given grades at the end of June that take into consideration the work that they did prior to spring break and the work that they have done with their online learning. Please do email me directly if you are experiencing some extenuating circumstances that I should know about. We have a mechanism at Parkland for keeping track of students that are not engaging--if this happens to be the case for your son or daughter you will likely receive a phone call from a Parkland staff member asking you to prompt your teen.
Please continue to check the Parkland website for important resources and information. There are a number of billboards up that may be able to answer some of your questions. I will be sending out correspondence to grade 12 families early next week with information (as much as we have) that pertains to graduation.
Monday is a non-instructional day and most teachers will be availing themselves of all the online tutorials that will help them continue to grow their skills in this new environment that we find ourselves in.
Many of you will be wondering when we can "get back to normal" and I'm afraid that I don't have very much news at all for you there. You may have heard rumours that we might be back at school sometime later in May but these are just rumours. We have heard nothing to date from the Ministry however that could come at any time. If there is a return to school before the end of June it will likely not be the "normal" we are used to..... but I don't want to get ahead of myself--it is best to wait until we have something concrete and factual to report to you. Please stay tuned.
As always you are welcome to email me (lchicanot@saanichschools.ca) or call me (250-415-2418) if there is something that I can assist you with.
Take care.
Lizanne Chicanot
Principal
Parkland Secondary School