Director’s Update – Graduations, Vaccinations and Strategic Planning
June 11, 2021,
Dear Parents/Guardians,
As we head into the weekend and the homestretch of this school year, we wanted to provide some important updates and reminders.
Graduations and Student Belonging Pick-up
The Ministry of Education has announced that it would allow school boards to invite graduating students to return to school in June for a short, outdoor celebration, where physical distancing is possible.
In consideration of ongoing health measures, and after discussion with our local public health units, we will be proceeding with plans to celebrate graduations virtually and will not be holding in-person graduation ceremonies at our schools.
Our elementary and secondary schools are putting the final touches on thoughtful and meaningful virtual celebrations for Grade 8 and Grade 12 grads. School staff will be in touch with Grade 8 and 12 students to outline a schedule for graduates to individually attend school in person to receive diplomas and to be acknowledged by staff.
Schools will be arranging opportunities in late June for students to pick up belongings from the school and to drop off electronic devices and materials. Schools will communicate further details with families directly.
Youth Vaccinations
Our local health units are currently hosting vaccination clinics for youth ages 12 to 17, which will include a first vaccination this month and a second vaccination in August. We are strongly encouraging families with children in this age group to take advantage of this opportunity.
Peterborough Public Health and Kawartha Haliburton Pine Ridge District Health Unit are booking through the provincial tool at: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine/
Durham Health Department has its own booking tool at: www.durhamvaccinebooking.ca
Vaccines will help students and families to safely resume normal activities as soon as possible and will help us resume normal school activities in the 2021-2022 school year including extracurriculars, sports and clubs.
Multi-Year Strategic Plan Parent/Guardian Feedback
Throughout the spring we have been engaging the Board’s many diverse stakeholders and gathering valuable feedback as we renew the Board’s Multi-Year Strategic Plan and set the Board’s roadmap for the next four years and beyond.
To gather your feedback, we have been using a tool called ThoughtExchange. We have provided a summary below from our Parent/Guardian ThoughtExchange. Please take some time to review the major themes that have come to our attention as we now begin the process of drafting and finalizing the Board’s Multi-Year Strategic Plan, which will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval at the September Board Meeting. Thank you once again for all who participated. Your Voice Matters!
Sincerely,
Joan Carragher
Director of Education