Dear Parents,
I hope you are having an enjoyable long weekend. We are now in the final stretch of the school year. I want to thank the wonderful staff at OLA for their continued commitment to provide academic opportunities for students through Virtual Learning Environments. We truly believe in our students, and we hope that the knowledge of our belief in them will stay with them, inspiring them for years to come. I would like to thank parents and guardians for their continued support in helping students complete activities, assignments and coursework. And I would like to thank our All-Star students for staying focused, determined and committed to completing assigned coursework. All students are expected to access their Virtual Learning Environment through Google Classroom every day. Teachers continue to provide Formative Assessments and Descriptive Feedback for improvement. Parents, we are calling on you to ensure that your child(ren) complete the daily assigned work. A little nudge is extended to some of our Intermediate students to stay the course. Meeting the expectations will better prepare students for the coming school year.
Our OLA Yearbook committee made up of parent volunteers is pleased to announce that the 2019-2020 Yearbook is being assembled. This has certainly been a historic year so they will do their very best to capture all of the events that occured prior to March Break and they will document Distance Learning in a special way. Students in Grades 4-8 are invited to participate in our yearbook cover contest. Please share this information with your child(ren).
GUIDELINES:
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May use markers, and coloured pencils.
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Use 8.5” x 11” paper vertically.
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Include the name of the school and the year in your design.
You can forward a scan or picture to linda.d’andrea@ycdsb.ca and I will forward it to the yearbook committee. Entries are due by May 29. IMPORTANT: Please save the file name using the student’s name, which will help us keep track of all submissions. Information regarding orders will be shared in the coming weeks.
I continue to remain focused on supporting staff and students during Distance Learning, while planning and organizing for the 2020-2021 school year. The process for the formation of class lists for September will begin shortly. The first step in this process is to determine class organization, kindergarten through grade eight, meeting the criteria of Ministry, Board and contract guidelines. Each student will be individually discussed and placed, taking into consideration individual needs.
Our goal is to establish balanced classes to provide effective working groups which will benefit all children in each class. Teachers will carefully consider the following criteria: learning styles, academic abilities, social grouping, special education needs, English as a Second Language, behavioural needs, balance of male/female, and previous placement in combined classes. Creating the best and most functional class groupings possible is a task which requires much thought and careful planning.
Parental requests for specific teachers will not be accepted because they would not be in the best interest of all children in the school, as it could restrict school staff in forming what we consider the most ideal classroom groupings. The teachers who have been working with the students all year know them well and will make determination of placement in their best interest. However, if you feel there are extenuating circumstances not listed above, or that additional clarification is needed, please submit your request in writing, including rationale to me by May 29th, for consideration.
Plans are underway to honour our Grade 8 graduates in a special way before the end of June. Details will become available once they are finalized.
As we continue to navigate these challenging times, I hope we can hold onto the “silver linings” of our response to this crisis. Silver linings of flexibility, creativity, patience, and partnership. Silver linings of care, compassion, grit and gratitude.
I am grateful to be part of a community that will continue to value joy, purpose and innovative solutions to complex problems.
Thank you all for your ongoing support.
Stay well.
Mrs. D’Andrea