First Days of School
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PLEASE READ THIS INFORMATION CAREFULLY
Hello, Prince of Peace families.
Thank you for your patience as you've waited to hear about the first days of school. I am sure you can understand that planning for the start of a new school year has been extremely challenging. There are many more variables than usual and sorting through them takes time and care.
Here are some of the important things you'll need to know for next week. More details will be shared with you on Monday, August 31.
First Day of School
STUDENTS LEARNING IN SCHOOL
The first day of school for your child will be different than usual. Not all students will come on the same day. All RVS schools are staggering the entry of students over three days. This is a safety measure.
Students will attend school for the full day according to the schedule below. (*Kindergarten until 11:45)
Schedule for Staggered Entry
Grades 4, 5, 6 Wednesday, September 2
Kindergarten*, Grades 1, 2, 3 Thursday, September 3
Grades 7, 8, 9 Friday, September 4
ALL STUDENTS Tuesday, September 8
STUDENTS LEARNING ONLINE
The first day of school for online students is Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Parents and students will be contacted by their online teacher on Friday, September 4 with important information including how to access their online homeroom.
BELL TIMES
The full bell schedule is online on our website.
Entry Bell - 8:15
Staggered entry* All students must be at their designated door by 8:15 and line up, single file, as a homeroom class. Homeroom classes will be told by a supervisor to enter the building one at a time. Other classes will follow when directed according to the schedule.
Students will be supervised to ensure physical distancing is maintained.
Link to the Entry/Exit Doors Map here for the location of your child's designated door.
Classes Begin - 8:27
Dismissal Bell - 3:02 (Mon-Thurs), 1:42 (Fri)
Staggered exit* Homeroom classes will begin exiting the school via their designated door starting at 3:02. Homerooms will stagger their exit to ensure physical distancing. Groups will be supervised as they exit.
*Staggered Entry and Exit - We will use 7 exterior doors. Class groups have been assigned a door based on the proximity to their homeroom classroom. A limited number of class groups will be at each door and will enter/exit at separate times. By doing it this way, no class groups will pass others in the halls as they enter. Dismissal will be done in the same way - exit at staggered times and according to the exterior door assigned to each class group.
Please refer to the map link above for Entry and Exit locations. When you receive notification of your child's homeroom, take note of their designated entry and exit door.
SCHOOL DAILY PRACTICE GUIDE
Open the link below to see our School Daily Practice Guide. It is an at-a-glance tool that explains the safety and hygiene practices and procedures we will use every day to ensure we minimize the risk of spreading germs. IT IS IMPERATIVE that we ALL take an active role in keeping our community safe and our school building clean.
School Daily Practice Guide
DAILY HEALTH CHECKLIST
(Available in 11 languages including Punjabi, Hindi, Arabic, Spanish, Urdu, Tagalog, Vietnamese)
Before the first day of school, practice using the Daily Health Checklist with your child.
Parent/Guardians/Students MUST use the Daily Health Screening Checklist to determine if a child should attend school that day. THIS IS A MUST-DO for every child every day. Click here for a link to download the Daily Health Checklist from the Rocky View Schools' website.
HOMEROOM CLASSES
Who's my child's teacher?
Parents will be contacted by their child's teacher on Monday, August 31.
What class is my child in?
The number and configuration of homeroom classes have changed. Some classes will have combined grades. Here's why.
There were a large number of Prince of Peace students that chose to do learning online. Just over 25% of our student population will be doing learning at home online (106 students in total from every grade). In order to support those students, four of our teachers will be moving to online teaching. That has had a huge impact on class configurations and student lists.
As a result, we have had to create new homeroom classes. Please know that we are working as fast and as hard as we can to get class lists finalized for Monday.
HOMEROOMS:
Kindergarten 1/2 2 3 4 4/5 5 6 6/7 7 8 9
Again, parents will be contacted by their child's homeroom teacher on Monday, August 31.
JUST IN CASE...
Scenario 2 - Blended Learning Cohort
If it is necessary and when directed by Alberta Education and the Provincial Medical Officer of Health, Rocky View Schools will move to Scenario 2. Students will be placed into two cohorts (groups) with one cohort attending Mondays, Wednesdays, and alternating Fridays, while the other attends Tuesdays, Thursdays, and alternating Fridays. To the best of our ability, we will attempt to have siblings attend on the same days.
Being ready in case this action is needed will help with a smoother transition. Since we are still in the process of finalizing our class lists, information about Scenario 2 Blended Learning Cohorts will be shared next week.
We are excited to greet you and begin our year together, whether in-school or online.
Shawna Neis
Principal - Prince of Peace Lutheran School
