Sunday, March 29, 2020
To our École Ballenas Families,
First and foremost, we hope that you and your families are doing well during these challenging times. We are certainly missing all of you, and wish that tomorrow could be filled with the excited sounds and buzz of our school community coming back together. However, we will have to wait for that, and we know that things will need to be done differently for a while. While “in-class” learning has been suspended for now, it is our intention to continue to be a supportive and active part of your family’s life.
If you haven’t done so already, please read the communications that have come from the Ministry of Education and from our Superintendent, Dr. Keven Elder. They can be found on the School District Website, or on the Ballenas Website.
Over the break, we have been working with our district leadership team, and will be working with our Ballenas staff next week to address the following Ministry of Education priorities:
1. Maintain a healthy and safe environment for all students, families, and employees
2. Provide the services needed to support children of our essential service workers in the community
3. Support vulnerable students who may need special assistance
4. Provide continuity of educational opportunities for all students
While we know things are in flux and are constantly evolving around us, here are our initial steps and thinking for next week and beyond related to these priorities:
Next Week (March 30 - April 3rd):
*Teachers will be making email contact with the students/families in their CLC/Homeroom classes. Our goal is to establish an initial connection and check in with our families as we move forward with our planning around the continuity of educational opportunities and learning for all.
*We will establish a procedure for students/parents to retrieve any essential items from the school. This will likely occur after April 6th. Until this is determined, we ask that students/parents do not attempt to access the building or come to the campus.
*Counseling staff will be available via email and can connect over the phone to support our families - please also check out their counseling website for additional resources and tools to support mental health and well-being:
Grade 8/9: Norberta Heinrichs (nheinrichs@sd69.bc.ca)
Grade 10 and 11 (A-K): Shannon Confortin (sconfortin@sd69.bc.ca)
Grade 11 (L-Z) and Grade 12: Greg Meredith (gmeredith@sd69.bc.ca)
The intention for this week is focused on supporting families and determining needs. We will also be providing updates on the COVID-19 situation and how it is affecting education
April 6th - and beyond (stay tuned for updates):
*Teachers will work towards connecting with students in their respective classes and providing suggestions and support for continuity of learning. Ideas and suggested learning may involve subject area explorations and inquiry, but this learning will not be a continuation of class-specific curriculum or assessment - please remember that no student will lose out on graduation, promotion, or transition as a result of this pandemic
*Counselors will remain available to support families; please contact them via email to arrange a time and way to connect
Information from the District:
Information is being updated regularly - the best source of information remains on our School District Website or our Ballenas Website. You can also email us if you have any questions or concerns (please see contact information below). Ballenas is active on social media via Twitter and Facebook and we will do our best to keep these sites updated with the latest information
We know that this time is filled with much uncertainty and many unknowns, but the one thing we do know is that even when we are apart, the Ballenas learning community is strong, and we will all need to draw on that strength during the coming weeks. Our plan is to take things slowly, one day at a time, and to communicate with as much clarity as we can. We thank you for your patience during this time and please reach out to us when needed.
Rudy Terpstra, Principal: rterpstr@sd69.bc.ca
Heather Deering, Vice-Principal (Grades 8-9): hdeering@sd69.bc.ca
Trish Cathrine, Vice-Principal (Grades 10-12): tcathrine@sd69.bc.ca
Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones; we will navigate these times together.
Rudy Terpstra, Principal École Ballenas Secondary Secondary
