​Dear Parents, 

We are one week in on Stage Three and things seem to be going well.  Lots of fun and educational work going on in our schools and it has been wonderful to see many of your children again.  A few updates:

• I am pleased to announce buses will be running effective Monday, June 8^th.
• Playgrounds are being inspected by staff and, as they pass inspection, will come back online.  Therefore, the playground at any given elementary school will be open on a different day over the next number of days. 
• For students in grades 9-10, a limited number of seats in July's summer school will be available soon. If your child has struggled in any core courses, you may want to consider enrolling.
• We are also offering Riverside College's Trades Exploration program in early July, where students aged 16 or older can try out a selection of exciting vocations.

A few reminders -- if you are an ESW or your child has a specific designation, you may be entitled to more time in your school. Please contact your Principal if you have questions. Finally, if you have decided to send your child to school, or if you have decided to keep your child at home, you can change your mind – just let the school know what you'd like to do.  

Like all of you, I've been impacted by the multiple stressors that our community and world is experiencing – economic uncertainty, the pandemic, and now racism and protest.  While educators certainly don't have all the answers, many teachers are doing great work with these many issues, from scientific understanding of disease to great literature on social justice. I encourage you to talk with your children about these challenging issues, because if this era is telling us anything, it's that even when we are apart, we are all in this together.  I encourage you to reach out to your school if you need support with any of this as well. I hope we can all continue to practise kindness with our neighbours, colleagues, and friends.