Front Page News

School start up information Tuesday Sept 8th 2020.

 
Picture of Carol Gribling
School start up information Tuesday Sept 8th 2020.
by Carol Gribling - Tuesday, 8 September 2020, 9:50 AM
 

Hello Parents/Guardians and Students,

I hope that you have been enjoying a lovely long weekend and that you are looking forward to re-engaging with school next week.

Thank you for responding to the survey sent out by the district regarding your plans for re-engaging with school in September (in-class, remote, SIDES, homeschool).  Any families that did not respond to the survey would have received a follow up email and/or phone call.  The vast majority of families indicated a return to Parkland.  We are very much looking forward to seeing students next week.

The purpose of this email (which will also be posted to the website) is to remind you of the most pertinent information required to make the transition back to school as seamless as possible.

Safety

We have been hard at work to prepare the school for the new safety protocols.  Over the summer the air filtration system was upgraded, cohort “zones” within the school have been created, hand sanitizing stations are being set up in each class and teachers have been planning lessons taking into consideration the new physical distancing requirements.  As always safety is our biggest concern and we take the new health and safety requirements very seriously. 

We are fortunate at Parkland to have a relatively small student population and a fairly large school building.  Most of our international student population will not be returning to Parkland this year which means that we have even more room to spread out.  Each grade level will be considered a cohort or “learning group”.

You may wish to check out the Return to School Q and A on the district website for even more information (https://www.sd63.bc.ca/Stage-2-QA).

Daily Health Checks

Please do a daily health check with your child before sending them to school.  We are asking that you do not send your child to school if they are sick.  If their symptoms may be Covid related please call 811 and/or contact your health professional for their guidance.  

Masks

Please send your child to school with a mask.  We will also be issuing each student with a mask during their orientation (this Thursday/Friday).  Masks must be worn on the school bus, in all high traffic areas and when students are not able to physically distance from students/staff in other cohorts.  Masks should be washed frequently to be most effective.

Schedule for Thursday Sept 10th and Friday Sept 11th

Student orientation sessions will occur on the first two days of school according to the following schedule:

Thursday Sept 10th: 10 am--11:30 am GRADE 9s

Thursday Sept 10th: 1:30 pm--3 pm GRADE 10s

Friday Sept 11th: 10 am--11:30 am GRADE 11s (grade 11 IB orientation 11:30-12:30pm)

Friday Sept 11th: 1:30 pm--3 pm GRADE 12s (grade 12 IB orientation 3-4pm)


Please email transportation@saanichschools.ca if your son/daughter requires transportation to school on their orientation day.

  • Students should enter the school through the front door on their orientation day.

Student packages will be distributed during the orientation sessions.  Please sign the enclosed forms and return the packages as soon as possible to the main office.  Photo day is on Wednesday September 15th.

New Bell Schedule and Calendar

The new bell schedule is posted on the front page of the Parkland website.  The updated year at a glance is now available as well click here.

The first quarter/”quadmester” will run from September 14th to November 13th.  Students will have one class in the morning and one class in the afternoon.  Here is the way that the schedule will work:

Block one (am):  Full time attendance for all students until October 9th.  After October 9th the class will be divided in two and students will be assigned to attend on either Day 1 or Day 2.

Block two (pm):  Half time attendance (day on/day off).  Students will be assigned to attend on Day 1 or on Day 2.  After October 9th all students will attend full time.

** There will be some exceptions to this model.  Some smaller classes will run full time all quarter.  Some multi-cohort classes will run day on/day off all quarter. 

** All students will be expected to attend the full day on September 14th (unless they have a spare in block 1 or block 2).  Each student will be given a schedule for their two courses (when they are expected to attend).  Please ask to see these schedules so that you understand what days your child is expected to be at school.

** Buses will run at lunch time to take students home (those that are not expected to be in attendance in the afternoon).  Please ensure that you have signed up for the bus through transportation.

And finally, I understand that all of this information is a lot to take in and fully comprehend.  Change is difficult to manage under the best of circumstances and I do expect there to be some bumps along the way.  Let’s all remember to be kind, calm and patient as we work through emerging issues. Please call the office if you have questions and we will do our best to solve any issues that may arise.

I look forward to welcoming back Parkland students in the week to come!

Sincerely,
Lizanne Chicanot
Principal, Parkland Secondary School
lchicanot@saanichschools.ca