BSEC
Boyle Street Education Centre
Class Cancellation Update 7
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
by Scott
in Daily Announcements
Our school will be available on Facebook Live every school day at 11:30 while in-person classes are cancelled.
Staff members are reaching out to students to find out the best way to support learning during the cancellation. If you have not been contacted and would like to connect, please each out in one of these three ways:
- by calling 780-428-1420 ext. 211,
- by text at 780-224-9382,
- by emailing at email hidden; JavaScript is required.
Also, please take a moment and complete our student technology survey. We will be able to work with you from wherever you are to get you the access to learning you need to succeed!
Facebook Live – Daily Touchbase This Week
Monday, March 30, 2020
by Scott
in Daily Announcements
We will host a Facebook live event every day this week at 11:30! (We will get a bit better at doing this each time!)
Also, please take the time to respond to this quick survey! It will help us get you connected quicker!
Student Technology Access Survey
Monday, March 30, 2020
by Scott
in Daily Announcements
Students – Please click on this link to fill out this short survey about your access to internet-capable technology. This will help us determine the safest and fastest way to share your course work with you.
Class Cancellation Update 6
Sunday, March 29, 2020
by Scott
in Daily Announcements
While in-person classes remain cancelled during the public health crisis, school staff members are preparing to support our students to complete this school year.
- Tomorrow morning at 11:30 am, we will host a Virtual Assembly on Facebook Live. The purpose of that meeting is to hear about where you are, what you are going through and to answer questions and concerns about the weeks to come (to the degree we are able).
- Throughout the week, our dedicated staff members will reach out to individual students and their families. The goal of that contact will be to give you progress updates on course work. They will work with you to earn any outstanding credit you need to complete high school. The primary focus will be on completing core subjects like English, Math, Social Studies and Science, but other material may also be made available. We will offer each individual student access to at least 3 hours worth of course work material per week as needed for course completion.
- Finally, our student services staff members will be connecting with students also to identify needs and to think with you about how tong students in challenging circumstances.
Our committment, as always, is to:
- Keep you and our staff members safe,
- Communicate about how you can continue to access the school,
- Listen to your concerns and do our best to support you to do what you need to do from wherever you are.
After March Break
Thursday, March 26, 2020
by Scott
in Daily Announcements
We know this has been a March Break different than most (in a year that has been different from most!). Here is our plan to support students to stay connected to our school while remaining at a distance from the building during this public health crisis (starting Monday, March 30th):
- Monday morning, we will host a Virtual Assembly where we will check in with students and their families to see how everyone is and to listen to your questions and concerns about the weeks to come.
- Our teachers will be reaching out to individual students to let them know where they are at in their course work. They will also be sharing their plans to support each of you to earn any outstanding you need to complete high school (in line with the minister’s letter from last week).
- Our student services staff members will be connecting with students also to identify needs and potential strategies for supporting students in challenging circumstances.
Our commitment to our school community during this time is to:
- Ensure your safety and the safety of the staff of the school.
- Communicate with you and your family about your learning and ways you can continue to progress toward high school completion,
- Listen to you about what you need and to offer support where we are able.
Letter from Minister LaGrange
Friday, March 20, 2020
by Scott
in Daily Announcements
To ensure students, parents, school staff members and wider school community members have the most up to date information, we are sharing this letter from education minister Adriana LaGrange. The second link is a detailed list of Frequently Asked Questions related to class cancellation. Please click on the links to read them and contact email hidden; JavaScript is required if you have any questions.
Class Cancellation Update 5: Continuing Student Learning
Friday, March 20, 2020
by Scott
in Daily Announcements
Dear students, parents, guardians, staff members and volunteers:
The government of Alberta has worked with superintendents across the province to offer direction on how students will learn while in-school classes are cancelled due to the provincial health emergency.
These four principles will guide our approach in the remaining weeks of this school year:
- The safety of students and staff comes first.
- Student learning will continue.
- Provincial funding is still flowing to schools.
- Our school has the flexibility to do what is best for our community.
Learning Solutions, Grades and Diplomas
With those in mind, here are the student learning details you need to know:
- Education content will focus first on courses required for high school graduation requirements, including language arts/English, social studies, mathematics, and science.
- Content from other courses will be delivered where possible, and accommodations for students unable to complete courses are in place.
- Teachers will work with their students and their parents/guardians to access materials safely and in ways that support their success in learning.
- Every student will receive final grades and will receive a report card, appropriate to their grade level.
- Students on track to receive 100 or more credits will still be eligible to graduate and receive a high school diploma. Principals can award up to 15 credits to students in Grade 12 whose program has been negatively impacted by class cancellations. For any courses that are started, schools will complete them with the student to the best of their ability, provide a final mark and award credits.
- Grade 12 Diploma exams are cancelled (but some students may request to write one under special circumstances – contact the principal about this).
Resources for Parents
We know that some people in our school community are also responsible for younger children who cannot attend school either. If you are a parent (or know a parent) who is struggling to find resources to supplement learning, these two provincial resources are available to parents:
LearnAlberta.ca – more than 4,000 digital resources aligned with Alberta’s K-12 curriculum.
My Child’s Learning: A Parent Resource – provides parents with information specific to each grade level.
For those who may wish to access counselling supports while they are away from school, our school counsellors are available via telephone. You can contact the school directly to set up appointments.
We do not know when in-school classes will resume. You should know, however, that we are working hard to ensure that absence from the school building does not take away your opportunities to learn what you need in order to graduate high school. If this year has shown us anything, it is that our school is bigger than a building or any one person – it is a community and we can get through anything together.
Enjoy some rest with some loved ones during spring break. Stay well and watch this space for updates about how to access learning supports beginning March 30th, 2020.
Class Cancellation Update 4
Thursday, March 19, 2020
by Scott
in Daily Announcements
Good morning everyone!
Thank you to everyone who has made and kept appointments to visit the school so far! We have really enjoyed knowing that those connected to our school are doing what they can to be well.
Students can still book appointments ahead of spring break today and tomorrow. Visits to the school must be by appointment. You can make appointments in one of three ways:
- by calling 780-428-1420 ext. 211,
- by text at 780-224-9382,
- by emailing at email hidden; JavaScript is required.
Here are the reasons students may need to visit today or tomorrow:
- Students who have to pick up Work Experience.
- The Doctor will be here to serve students on Friday, March 20. If you would like to see the Doctor, please contact us to schedule an appointment.
- If you have personal items here that you want to pick up.
Course Work Progress
Progress Reports: Our staff members are working on assessing all course work completed to this point and will have report cards ready as scheduled for April 9th. We will determine the safest way to distribute report cards based on the information we have closer to that date, so stay tuned!
Course work: Course work solutions for students are coming after spring break. Since students are currently not able to attend in-person classes, we are considering all options to make necessary course work available for students so that it can be completed and assessed safely. When a strategy is in place after spring break, we will communicate it in all of our social media with instructions of how to participate.
Stuck At Home and Need a Stretch?
One of the biggest challenges we face right now is how to stay well when routines are disrupted. Luckily, great people in our community are cleverly using spaces online to provide ideas, tips, tricks and exercises that you can use to maintain some routines or to create new ones.
One of those people is our friend Jennifer Neilsen of Iron Hide Woodworks. Jennifer comes to our school weekly to share her professional and very grounded yoga experience with our students. Since many of you may be at home with limited space to exercise, we agreed that this short video may be a welcome prompt to many in our circle to inject a little soothing movement into their days away from school.
For those who want a little more in this vein, Jennifer has also kindly shared some links to some of the great studios who are making classes available to people stuck at home.
Accessing Health Care – New App
Babylon by TELUS Health is a service already available in British Columbia via a free downloadable app. The app can serve as a new tool for Albertans to access health-care information and support in response to COVID-19 – from anywhere in the province. Albertans can use the service to check symptoms, book appointments, see a doctor, and get prescriptions and referrals for diagnostic imaging and specialists – all covered by Alberta Health Care. Check it out!
Class Cancellation Update 3
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
by Scott
in Daily Announcements
Good morning everyone!
We hope everyone reading this is well and safe. We have had some brief “hellos” from students visiting for appointments to pick things up. We also have been watching the news about the supports being put together for our communities even as we must continue to distance ourselves for the time being.
With that in mind, we want to remain present for our students and for the greater community. It is our intention to use this space and our other social media to offer useful strategies for being well while at a distance from our usual supports.
Please note: We will be in touch with students by the end of spring break about how to progress in their courses. Our website content is not meant to be course work. It will be general material to help you and your loved ones stay connected and healthy during this difficult time.
We start today with something we saw that might speak to anyone with kids at home right now. Those of us who do not have experience with teaching little ones at home may be struggling to find ways to cope with the change. We will offer some other free learning resources here as we find them (there are plenty of cool free things being made available), but this thought is pretty important – Enjoy this unexpected time together :).
Visits to the school must be by appointment. Appointments will be firm and you must attend within 10 minutes of your appointed time. You can make appointments in one of three ways:
- by calling 780-428-1420 ext. 211,
- by text at 780-224-9382,
- by emailing at email hidden; JavaScript is required.
Do not come to the school if you do not receive confirmation from the staff member you are trying to reach. If a staff member has not confirmed the time you request, you do not have an appointment. Although the school staff members are working, this measure is necessary to social distance.
Here are the reasons students may need to visit the school this week:
- Students who have to pick up Work Experience (starting on Wednesday, March 18th).
- The Doctor will be here to serve students on Friday, March 20. If you would like to see the Doctor, please contact us to schedule an appointment.
- If you have personal items here that you want to pick up.
Class Cancellation Update 2
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
by Scott
in Daily Announcements
Dear students, parents, guardians, staff members and volunteers:
Our staff members met today to discuss strategies for reaching out to our students to offer support while students are away from schools. While school leaders across the province are collaborating to find ways to help progress student learning, we want to identify what we are doing right now and for the rest of the week to continue to be available for our young people.
Visits to the school must be by appointment until further notice. Appointments will be firm and you must attend within 10 minutes of your appointed time. You can make appointments in one of three ways:
- by calling 780-428-1420 ext. 211,
- by text at 780-224-9382,
- by emailing at email hidden; JavaScript is required.
Do not come to the school if you do not receive confirmation from the staff member you are trying to reach. If a staff member has not confirmed the time you request, you do not have an appointment. Although the school staff members are working, this measure is necessary to social distance.
Here are the reasons students may need to visit the school this week:
- Students who have to pick up Work Experience (starting on Wednesday, March 18th).
- The Doctor will be here to serve students on Friday, March 20. If you would like to see the Doctor, please contact us to schedule an appointment.
- If you have personal items here that you want to pick up.
We will not be serving coffee or food at this time and students will not be able to remain in the building after having collected their items. Thank you for your attention to these measures at this time.
