As many of you have likely heard, the Government of Ontario announced today that all schools in the province, including those at the TDSB, will be moving to remote learning following the April break. This decision is in response to the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, the increasing risks posed to the public by COVID-19 variants, and the spike in hospital admissions.

Beginning on Monday, April 19, SOLE will be virtual only. The government has not yet provided a date for a return to in-person learning. As part of today’s announcement, the government indicated that data will be assessed on an ongoing basis and health officials will be consulted to determine when it will be safe to resume in-person learning.

We hope you have a safe and relaxing April Break, and we will see you online on the 19th.

Toronto Public Health (TPH), has just announced that all schools in Toronto, including those at the TDSB, will be closed to in-person learning as of Wednesday, April 7, 2021 and remain closed up to and including Sunday, April 18, 2021. This TPH order is being made under Section 22 of Ontario’s Health Protection and Promotion Act in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. 

SOLE will be sticking with the same schedule as in-person learning for now. Please use Google Meet to attend class as with your cohort on your usual day, and use the Asynchronous Attendance Form for the day that you wouldn’t normally be in class. (E.g., if you normally have in-person class Wednesday from 9-12:45, you will attend a virtual class that morning and your usual virtual class in the afternoon.)

We’ll see you online this week, and we look forward to seeing you in person when school buildings are safe again.

By now, you (and your parents/guardians if you are under 18) should have received an email with your current mark.

April 6th is the last day to drop a course without it showing up on your transcript. Please see Berardo in Guidance if you need to drop a course.

On April 1st, afternoon synchronous classes will be cancelled for a staff meeting.

The April Break is scheduled for April 12-16.

The last day of Quad 3 is April 20th. Quad 4 begins Friday, April 23rd. Since it’s a Friday, it will be virtual—go to meet.google.com and look for the meeting nicknamed solefriday. This is an attendance-taking day, so you need to attend!

This year, the theme for International Women’s Day (8 March), “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world,” celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights the gaps that remain.

Women’s full and effective participation and leadership in of all areas of life drives progress for everyone. Yet, women are still underrepresented in public life and decision-making, as revealed in the UN Secretary-General’s recent report. Women are Heads of State or Government in 22 countries, and only 24.9 per cent of national parliamentarians are women. At the current rate of progress, gender equality among Heads of Government will take another 130 years.

Women are also at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19, as front-line and health sector workers, as scientists, doctors and caregivers, yet they get paid 11 per cent less globally than their male counterparts. An analysis of COVID-19 task teams from 87 countries found only 3.5 per cent of them had gender parity.

When women lead, we see positive results. Some of the most efficient and exemplary responses to the COVID-19 pandemic were led by women. And women, especially young women, are at the forefront of diverse and inclusive movements online and on the streets for social justice, climate change and equality in all parts of the world. Yet, women under 30 are less than 1 per cent of parliamentarians worldwide. 

This is why, this year’s International Women’s Day is a rallying cry for Generation Equality, to act for an equal future for all. The Generation Equality Forum, the most important convening for gender equality investment and actions, kicks off in Mexico City from 29 – 31 March, and culminates in Paris in June 2021. It will draw leaders, visionaries, and activists from around the world, safely on a virtual platform, to push for transformative and lasting change for generations to come.

Since 1988 Arts Etobicoke has offered high-school aged youth the opportunity to showcase their artwork alongside their peers in a professional exhibition setting. Each year, the show features artwork from hundreds of students and dozens of schools across Toronto—including, of course SOLE Alternative. This year, it’s online: You can check out the virtual gallery here. Click on each piece to find out more about the art and artist!

All Quad 3 classes start online on Monday, February 8th! Please see below for the schedule we will be following. Both cohorts will attend all classes.

Starting on Tuesday, Feb. 16th, we will be moving to in-person learning. The schedule we’ll be following is this:

You should have received an invite to your Quad 3 Google Classroom, so please check your TDSB email to know which classes you’re taking!

See you Monday!

The Toronto District School Board is the largest, and one of the most diverse school boards in Canada. Nearly one-quarter of our students were born outside of Canada and collectively, we speak more than 120 languages. It is an occasion to recognize and celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Peoples of African Descent to Canada and the world.

Looking to explore more? Check out some of these films and documentaries.

Hot Docs: Docs for Schools Today

NFB: Black Communities in Canada

Dear SOLE Students and Parents and Guardians,

As we get closer to the end of Quad 2 we would like to encourage you to regularly check in with your teachers regarding your progress in your courses. By now, your teachers will have discussed with students their individual course schedules next week, but we would like to draw your attention to some important upcoming dates.

On Monday and Tuesday, February 1st and 2nd, some instructors have opted to replace synchronous class time to instead meet with students either individually or in small groups to focus on credit rescue activities. Please note that these days are required attendance days and your instructors will be recording student attendance.

As in Quad 1, there will be no scheduled exams for courses. Instead, Wednesday and Thursday, February 3rd and 4th have been designated as Credit Rescue days. During these days students will be able to check in with their instructors to receive individual support on any remaining course work.

Friday, February 5th is a board-wide PA day and will be used by your instructors to prepare for the start of Quad 3. Student attendance will not be taken.

Monday, Feb. 8th marks the start of Quad 3. Students will receive their Quad 3 timetables via email in the following days.

Students will receive their formal report cards electronically from TDSB during the week of February 15th.

Return to in-person school – All TDSB schools have been instructed to “remain closed to students and staff until Wednesday, February 10.” As we receive more information in the coming days, we will communicate details with staff and students.

We wish you all a successful end to Quad 2.

Join us on Thursday, Jan. 28th from 6-6:30 or 6:30 to 7 on Zoom to see if SOLE is right for you!.

Ready to register now? Quad 3 Applications are open!

As you may have heard on the news, Ontario schools will be moving to a virtual schedule until January 25th. School resumes on January 4th, and for the next few weeks, we’ll be following this schedule:

Virtual classes will be through Google Meet, as usual. Please talk to your teacher if you have any questions.

Have a safe and happy rest of your holidays, and see you January 4th!