March 27, 2020
Dear Monarch Park CI/SOLE parents/guardians,
Greetings from our admin team during this unprecedented time while our school remains closed after the March Break. We would like to wish all parents/guardians and students of Monarch Park Collegiate/SOLE community good health throughout these challenging times.
During this period of uncertainty, we continue to be concerned for the well-being of all staff, students, and families We would like to reiterate that the Ontario government has imposed that schools WILL NOT reopen on April 6, 2020 and the Ministry of Education will launch a second phase of Learn at Home. We will promptly share these details and timelines when they become available.
To support student learning, the Ministry of Education’s Learning at Home website provides supplementary learning materials in math and literacy for elementary and secondary students. The website will help keep students learning and engaged during the COVID-19 school closure period. The Ministry has indicated that these resources do not replace what students have been learning at school, but are intended to help mitigate the loss of learning during the COVID-19 shutdown period. In addition, the TDSB additional online resources will support the Ministry’s Learn at Home initiative.
Furthermore, many courses at our school have online Google classrooms or other online portals set up to connect and engage students in learning as well as providing them with activities and resources. Please encourage your child to connect with their teachers via the online portals. We are also in the process of planning and organizing supplementary and alternative learning opportunities for students without access to online resources. Please be assured that we are working diligently this week and next to set up our system for student success. We are gathering information, assessing needs, and formulating plans about the continuation of learning and will be communicating with families as soon as these plans are finalized.
Going forward, student well-being and mental health will also be an important focus. Both school-based staff and Professional Support Services share responsibilities for supporting student well-being. There are a variety of Mental Health and Well-Being Resources for students and families available on the TDSB web. Please refer to the Parent letters from the Director of Education on our Board’s website www.tdsb.on.ca. For information pertinent to Monarch Park CI/SOLE please also check postings on our school website www.monarchparkcollegiate.ca (SOLE www.solealternative.ca ). We are also committed to maintaining regular communication with our school community via School Connects.
As always, please feel free to forward questions or concerns directly to my email virginia.pang@tdsb.on.ca prior to April 6. Your email will be acknowledged and responded to in a reasonable timeframe given the circumstances.
Sincerely,
Virginia Pang
Principal