Dear families,
I hope that you and
your loved ones are keeping well and healthy. The past few months have been
full of change and uncertainty as we respond to the global pandemic and try to
reduce the spread of COVID-19. As your Trustee, I know that the pandemic and school
closures are challenging for everyone. We are all in this together.
Since the beginning of
this crisis, I have continually advocated for the rapid introduction of
distance education to support student well-being and provide continuation of
learning for more than 127,000 students. A program that would meet each
family's unique needs and maintain a caring, safe and inclusive learning
environment. To date over 20,000 pieces of technology were distributed to
ensure that all of our students could access the learning opportunities
available to them, and I will to continue to advocate that our resources and
plans support all of our learners, including students with special education
needs and English language learners.
More information about
YRDSB's Learning
and Caring Plan as well as
tips, resources and supports for students and families to support well-being
and online learning can be found at www.yrdsb.ca/covid19.
We are all part of a
larger community and I am inspired to see the many different ways schools,
families and students maintained their connections with one another. It was
also moving to see the many inspiring ways our school board, students, staff
and families acknowledged our frontline workers and made contributions to the
fight against COVID-19. As a school board, for example, we donated
over 145,000 pieces of personal protective equipment, including gloves, masks and more.
Each and every one of
us has made a difference - in staying home as much as possible and following public health guidelines. I know that this has meant making sacrifices.
To our graduating
class of 2020, I know this is not the graduating year you had hoped for. I
appreciate that the school closures will not affect your ability to graduate,
however this unique situation and the need to postpone graduations has been
disappointing. I remain tremendously proud of all of our graduates and look
forward to celebrating this important milestone with you as soon as we are able
to reschedule the graduation ceremonies.
In addition, I know
that you have missed out on field trips, awards events, athletic banquets,
spirit days, assemblies, our annual Celebrating
Student Success awards and the many other
ways we extend learning, connect as a community and celebrate the achievements
of our students.
We have also been
unable to gather together as we normally would in our schools and communities
to celebrate or recognize important dates, including Sikh Heritage Month,
Pesach, Good Friday, Easter (Western), Vaisakhi, Holy Friday, Orthodox Easter
(Eastern), Ridvan, Jewish Heritage Month, Asian/South Asian Heritage Month,
Ramadan, Pride, National Indigenous History Month, Italian Heritage Month and
Portuguese Heritage Month. As a Board, these dates of significance are
important for us to acknowledge and we will continue to celebrate and value the
wealth of diversity in our community.
As the school year
comes to a close, I want to wish you and your families a safe, healthy and
happy summer. I look forward to a time when we can welcome your children back
into our schools again. We know that families have questions about what the
return to school will look like. We will continue to share information with you
as it becomes available. In the meantime, we encourage you to continue
following public health guidelines and to stay connected.
A message
from the Chair of the Board of Trustees is also available on
the Board website at www.yrdsb.ca.