Welcome to Oakridge Secondary School and the 2020-2021 academic year.

This year promises to be an exceptional learning experience for all students, staff and community members as we build upon our past successes to provide an inclusive, safe school. Our students have access to challenging academic programs offering extensive pathways for each student. 

This webpage contains important read to learn information for families. We apologize for its length. Please take the time to read it thoroughly and discuss its contents with your student(s).

ADAPTED LEARNING MODEL

Adapted Learning Schedule

TVDSB was directed by the Ministry of Education to open all secondary schools with an adapted model that combines in-person and remote learning. Students will be placed in cohorts of approximately 15 students, attending on alternate schedules. Secondary students enrolled in TVDSB Special Education Developmental Education classes will have the option to attend school in-person every day. We ask that you do not make special requests for students to be in a specific cohort since all requests cannot be met.

Quadmesters

Secondary school courses will be timetabled using a “quadmestered” approach. In a quadmester, students take two courses at a time for approximately 10-weeks. Students will then take their next two courses for the subsequent 10 weeks to complete a full semester. Where the secondary school year was previously two (2) semesters, this year the two (2) semesters are each divided in half, which establishes the quadmester (4) breakdown of the school year. Students will focus on their period one course during week one and their period two course during week two. They will then alternate weeks until they finish both courses at the end of the 10-week period.

School Year Calendar

TVDSB PUBLISHED CALENDARS

Cohorts of Students

Students are assigned into groups as either Cohort A or Cohort B and each cohort will have approximately 15 students in each class. Students will belong to 2 cohorts, one in each of the 2 courses they attend in each quadmester (i.e., a student assigned to Cohort A will attend one course with one cohort of classmates and the second course with a different group of classmates in the second cohort); this scheduling is supported by local public health units.

• Schools will be only be open to students in the cohort scheduled to attend that day. Start and end times for the instructional day remain the same; however, periods are extended to 120 minutes from 75 minutes.

• Each cohort will be scheduled for both face-to-face and at-home learning.

 Instructional Expectations

• Each day includes 240 minutes of face-to-face instructional time between teachers and students.

• Teachers will determine breaks within each period.

• Longer course periods will support science labs, tech classes, practical courses, etc.

• Half courses (such as Careers/Civics) will run for 5 weeks within each quadmester.

• Study Hall (60 minutes per day) will provide an opportunity for the classroom teacher to connect remotely with students during their at-home learning time.

Student Workload (In-person and Online)

Students should be expecting to engage fully in-person and online. Students will be responsible for engaging in both types of learning each weekday with homework, assignments and due dates. During their online learning days, students are expected to engage in activities that might include synchronous and asynchronous work. There are high expectations set for all students to engage fully in their courses.

Focus on the Essential/Overall Expectations of the Ontario Curriculum

As always, teachers are currently planning learning activities that are adaptive and focused on meeting the needs of each student. As teachers plan to engage students with in-person and online learning activities, they are reviewing curriculum by focusing on the essential learning goals and overall expectations. By focusing on, and planning for, these essential learning activities, teachers support students to engage in meaningful learning experiences both in-person and online.  

Digital Learning Platforms

All students in the Adapted Learning model will be connected to a Digital Learning Platform (Brightspace or Google Classroom chosen by the teacher). Students will be provided with support, if required, to use these platforms. To support parents and guardians with understanding how to use these platforms, resources have been created, which include videos, user guides and FAQs. These resources can be found on the TVDSB website under Supports for Parents and Guardians and are available in multiple languages.

https://www.tvdsb.ca/en/parents/supports-for-parents-and-guardians.aspx

Supporting Students with Special Needs

Supporting our students with special education needs will continue to be a priority. All staff in the TVDSB Special Education Department will actively support students in all learning models. School-based staff (e.g., Learning Support Teachers and Educational Assistants) will work as a multidisciplinary team to collaborate with the classroom teachers, students, and their families to ensure our students with special education needs receive the support they need to be successful in any learning model.

Plans have been developed at each school to ensure that students with special needs are supported as they transition back to learn. Professional Services Staff will also work with individual school teams to develop and implement programs and services designed to meet the needs of students with special education as they transition back to school.

The IPRC process will be followed as per the TVDSB’s Special Education Plan 2020-2021. The completion of all deferred Annual IPRC Reviews and new IPRCs requiring re-scheduling from Spring 2019-2020 will proceed either in-person or in a virtual format (as per parent(s)/guardian(s) preference).

• In an adapted model, all students with a placement in one of Thames Valley’s Special Education - Developmental Education Classes will have the option of attending school on a full-time, five days per week basis.

• The needs of other students, formally identified through the IPRC process, will be reviewed to determine if they need to attend school, in-person and on a daily basis, as they are unable to have meaningful access to education through distance learning.

Students will have access to their Special Education Assistive (SEA) Technology. This includes computing devices (iPads, Chromebooks, and laptops) as well as mobility devices, sensory equipment, etc.

Re-timetabling Implications

Due to the requirement to restructure the school year into a quadmester schedule and to staff the remote learning program with TVDSB teachers, a full re-timetabling and re-staffing of each secondary school was required. With this re-timetabling, most courses were unaffected. However, when timetables are shared with families, you may notice that some of your students’ course selections have been filled with alternate courses. If students/families have questions or concerns, they are encouraged to connect with their student’s Counsellor. More information is shared below on requesting a course change. *For this school year, unfortunately, our ½ credit, out-of-the-day choir/band (“repertoire”) has been canceled. Please know that we value this program and look forward to supporting repertoire in future years.

HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION

By layering health and safety protocols, it is our aim to provide a learning and working environment that mitigates risks; providing a safer place to learn and teach for students and staff members.

Supporting Student Health and Well-Being

We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on our students, their families and our staff. We are prioritizing the building of school community and connection using this lens. It is important for the conditions of psychological safety, belonging, inclusivity, and connection to be established as our students return to learn in all learning models. We will support our staff to focus on a trauma-sensitive approach in all aspects of student interaction.

In all learning models, our TVDSB Professional Staff will continue to support and provide service to students. This may be through in-person, phone or virtual means. Professional Services staff will provide in-person consultation and support for teachers on social-emotional and mental health and well-being strategies in the classroom. TVDSB will also support school staff with additional information that will be provided in the School Mental Health Ontario learning framework and toolkit.

Physical Distancing

It will be important to support our students to understand the added element of physical distancing that will now be part of their experience at school. Our staff is committed to assist students with this practice. Signage and floor markings throughout classrooms and school hallways are also in place to remind students to maintain physical distance from one another. In addition, where possible, other physical distancing measures will be used. These can include:

• Removing non-essential items from hallways, classrooms and high traffic areas.

• Incorporating more individual activities.

• Avoiding activities involving shared objects that cannot be easily cleaned.

• Maximizing physical distance between chairs and tables/desks, where possible.

• Creating designated routes for students/staff to get to and from classrooms. *Please note, staff and students will need to be aware of stairwells and the science hallway that are now devoted to one-way traffic. If an emergency evacuation were to occur, all stairwells and hallways would be two-ways.

• Moving activities outside to allow for more space.

• Staggering student breaks to allow movement around school and discourage student congregating in hallways, where possible.

• Having pre-set ‘staging’ locations for student drop-off/pick-up routines.

Proper Hand Hygiene

Schools will ensure that hand hygiene (cleaning) products are available in all rooms and at school entrances (e.g., hand wash sink with soap dispenser or hand sanitizer). All staff, students and essential visitors will be expected to practice proper hand hygiene, washing hands with soap and water or using hand sanitizer, at the following times:

• Upon entering the school

• At regular time intervals throughout day

• Before/after eating food

• After using the washroom

• Before/after lunch time

• After sneezing or coughing

• Before putting on and after removing PPE and/or non-medical masks/face coverings

Personal Protective Equipment

TVDSB has prepared staff members with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) which includes mandatory medical-grade disposable masks, and optional face shields, gowns and gloves. Parents and guardians can support our students by helping them to understand that staff will always be wearing PPE as part of the re-opening of schools.

Student Masking Expectations

The Ministry of Education, in consultation with provincial health officials, has prescribed the use of non-medical or cloth masks for all secondary students when indoors, including hallways, during class and on school transportation. Students are encouraged to bring these masks from home each day. However, we will have extra masks at each school if a student requires a replacement mask.

Student Health Agreement and Daily Health Screening

Students must not come to school if they have COVID-19 symptoms/feel sick, or if they have come in close contact with someone with a suspected or positive case of COVID-19 in the past 14 days, including individuals within their household. Parents/guardians and students have been provided with a checklist to perform daily screenings of their child(ren) before arriving at school. More information has been directly shared with each family about the Student Health Agreement. All families must sign this agreement prior to students attending school. Please contact the school’s administration if you have questions or concerns with the Student Health Agreement.

Signs will be posted at entrances to schools to remind students, staff, parents/guardians, and essential visitors of health and safety guidelines. Teachers and other staff members will be provided with information on the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 in children so that appropriate action can be taken if a student develops symptoms during the day.

Isolation Room Area

As part of our process to mitigate risk and increase the chances of everyone being healthy and safe, it will be important to monitor signs and symptoms of students and staff during the school day. As such, if a student exhibits a new or worsening COVID-19 symptom while at school, they will be relocated to a supervised designated location in the school. Staff will immediately contact the parent or guardian. We request that parents and guardians establish a process for the immediate retrieval of their child if they are notified during the school day. Students will not be able to take school transportation if they have been isolated with symptoms.

Staff Screening

All staff members are also conducting daily COVID-19 self assessments prior to attending work.

Enhanced Cleaning

As a commitment to ensure the health and safety of students and staff, we have hired an additional temporary custodian to solely support the disinfection of high traffic areas in schools and touch points that are regularly used by students and staff. In addition, we are supplying all classrooms with disinfection products to allow for staff to use as needed. In the evening, extensive cleaning will be completed to disinfect high touch points within school buildings.

As preventative measures to reduce the amount of contact to surfaces, teachers will leave classroom doors open as much as possible so that doorknobs are not repeatedly touched. Also, light switches will remain on in classrooms and common areas.

Shared Devices

School shared devices may include desktop computers, laptops, netbooks, Chromebooks, iPads, and tablets. As these devices may be used by multiple staff and/or students throughout the school day, a process is in place to use these devices using clean hands and a clean surface.

Locker Access

There will be no locker access to start the school year. This will be reviewed as we progress through Autumn.

Classroom Setups and Sharing Items

Staff will limit the sharing of supplies, equipment, and textbooks that cannot be easily cleaned. Adequate supplies for instruction will be provided to each student, and where it is not practical to give each student their own resources, then the shared equipment will be cleaned or disinfected between use. Parents and guardians can support students by reminding them that sharing of personal belongings and school supplies is not suggested. We recognize that the start of the school year often prompts some families to purchase individual student learning materials in preparation for school. This is not required, and schools will be equipped to provide necessary materials to students. However, if parents, guardians or students are interested in purchasing school learning items, these items are supported at school as “individual items” for use by the purchasing family’s student and should not be shared.

In addition to these learning items, technology will continue to be used. Students who participate in the In-person Learning Model are encouraged to bring a mobile computing device to school for their own personal use. This should be labelled and will be the responsibility of the student.

Field Trips

In the initial stages of re-opening, field trips will not be permitted unless it is a community-based walk.

Clubs and Sport Teams

All in-person clubs and sport teams are currently postponed until a time when the TVDSB, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, and regional health units approve such activities. Virtual clubs are supported.

Washrooms

Signage will be placed outside washrooms to remind students of room capacity, physical distancing and proper hand cleaning practices. All school washrooms will be cleaned and disinfected throughout the school day and again every evening.

Outdoor Spaces

Staff will be encouraged to maximize outdoor space for learning opportunities for students. Physical distancing practices will be in place during such activities. TVDSB has engaged in planning for the effective delivery of curricular activities that could be supported in outdoor environments and using our outdoor spaces.

Accident Insurance Information

There will not be paper copies of the student accident insurance brochures. Please visit this website if you are interested in purchasing student accident insurance https://insuremykids.com/

SCHOOL ROUTINES

Lunch Time

No Cafeteria Service will be provided. Students should bring their own food and not share food items. Students should also bring their own labeled water bottle. Water stations are available to refill water bottles however foundations will be turned off. Students are encouraged to stay at school for lunch. If they stay at school, they will eat their lunch at desks or in designated areas (classrooms) maintaining their cohort contacts and physical distance. Alternatively, if students choose to leave school during the lunch period, they will not be able to return until 11:15 AM when the exterior doors will be reopened. Students will not have access to the hallways during lunch to “walk the halls”.

Access to the School

At the start of the day, student will have access to the school starting at 8:05 AM. Students are expected to enter the school and travel directly to their assigned classroom. For safety, students cannot congregate in hallways. Doors will remain unlocked until 8:30 AM when they will be locked. If a student arrives to school late, the student or parent must arrive to the front of the school, call the main office (519-452-2750) and complete the necessary steps for late entry.

If students choose to leave the school during the 55-minute lunch period, they are welcome to re-enter the school at 11:15 AM. Once again, if they arrive late, they will be met with locked exterior doors and they must follow the late re-entry process outlined above.   

During Study Hall, most teachers will be connecting with their students in their on-line cohorts. If students choose to leave their classroom at the beginning of Study Hall (1:30 PM), they must leave the school immediately. Since there is no locker access and all pieces of furniture in the hallways and atrium have been removed, students must exit the school right away. Families should coordinate pick-ups for the appropriate times. If students choose to stay for Study Hall, they must immediately leave their classrooms and the school at 2:30 PM.   

Our Health & Safety practices, in addition to the Ministry of Education’s recommendations, limit parents/guardians and visitors within the school. Parents and guardians who require essential access can arrange it through the school main office. Signage has been developed to limit entry to the school and provide information on how to contact the main office to arrange for approved essential access. Unscheduled visitors and family members will not be able to enter the location until they call the main office. Any approved visitors to schools will be required to self-screen, sign in at the office and to wear a mask while on the school premises.

Drop Off and Pick Up Locations and Times

Please understand how busy the front of school can be between 8 AM to 8:15 AM and 2:20 PM to 2:45 PM. Please consider a plan to drop your student(s) off 5 minutes away from the school so they can walk to school to alleviate traffic flow. Please DO NOT drop off or pick up your student(s) on Luxton Dr. or Quinton Rd. Please be respectful to our amazing neighbours and families that live on these streets. Please understand that the school doors will only open at 8:05 AM. Do not drop-off your student(s) at school early since the doors will be locked. Also, please pick-up your student(s) promptly at 2:30 PM since students are expected to leave the interior of the school immediately.

Student Timetable Requesting a Course Change

Families will be prompted by School Messenger (email) when student timetables are available in the Student and Parent Portal. Unfortunately, due to the many factors that impact the number of students in each cohort group, please understand that cohort requests cannot be accommodated. If your student(s) require(s) a course change for legitimate reasons (e.g. completed credit in summer school), please complete the Course Change Request Form found on Oakridge’s website (as of the morning of Friday, September 11^th). Have your student(s) submit this completed form to their Student Services Counsellor via email.

                                                Mr. Kunder (Last Names A – D) j.kunder@tvdsb.ca

                                                Mr. Michailidis (H – P) a.michailidis@tvdsb.ca

                                                Mrs. Favento (E – G and Q – Z) v.favento@tvdsb.ca

                                                Mrs. Hubert (Students with IEPs) j.hubert@tvdsb.ca

                                                Mrs. Basso (Student identified Gifted with IEP) e.basso@tvdsb.ca

Priority will be given to students with requests that affect their quadmester one timetable. Please understand that it will be very difficult for Counselors to make changes to student timetables. If a Counselor can make a timetable change, the change will show updated in the Student Portal. In the meantime, students MUST continue to follow their existing timetable and attend their current class.

TIMETABLE CHANGE REQUEST FORM (WORD DOCUMENT)

TIMETABLE CHANGE REQUEST FORM (PDF)

Our Focus

Please understand, as we begin this school year, we are looking for community support from our students, parents, guardians and families. We are exploring new ways of learning and teaching and are focused on the following priorities:

1^st The safety of our students and staff (Keep them safe).

2^nd Lowering levels of concern, stress and/or anxiety (Get them smiling).

3^rd Creating a place where everyone feels included (Show care and compassion).

4^th Providing exceptional learning experiences (Teach them).

We remain committed to our Thames Valley community and will provide regular updates on our Return to Learn plans over the coming weeks and months. The health and safety of our students, their families and our staff are our priority. As we work together to plan for our return to learn and work, we value the collaboration of our stakeholders and partners. Our Thames Valley priorities of relationships, equity and diversity, student achievement and well-being and these will continue to drive our work together as we plan for the safe Return to Learn at Thames Valley.

Other information can always be found at TVDSB’s website –

https://www.tvdsb.ca/en/our-board/return-to-learn.aspx

With your student(s), please consider watching this video that also explains secondary school expectations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErFv7Z1whHc

Thank you very much for your ongoing support of Oakridge’s return to school plan. Let’s make this a fantastic year at Oakridge.  

Sincerely,

Oakridge Administration 

Mr. Mike Phillips                                                Mrs. Maggie Hanan

Principal                                                              Vice Principal