Connecting with the Community
April 3, 2020
Community is one of our District’s core values. That means staying connected, building relationships, caring about one another, and working together. And in these difficult times, these values are what the District has been working hard to maintain.
This week, students have been receiving phone calls from teachers and staff, connecting with them to find out how they are doing, and what they need. The District’s first goal is to meet the basic needs of students and families because, if these basic needs are not met, learning cannot take place.
Photo from Alice Brown twitter
Over the course of this week, educators have been reaching out in any way they can, because, as Alice Brown Principal Michael Carlyle said, “nobody goes into education to become a teacher, to teach behind a computer screen, or to send things home.”
Throughout the week, educators and staff have come up with out-of-the-box ideas to help keep their school community feeling a sense of belonging. An example of this is the Community Car Rally at Alice Brown Elementary which took place on Wednesday, April 1.
“During this time, where we want to reconnect with our community,” says Carlyle, “getting an opportunity for us to get out, drive around, see our students, see our families, reconnect, and let them know that we care about them and that we’re thinking about them all the time.”
More Community Car Rallies or similar physical distancing friendly activities are on their way as well! Below is a list of planned neighbourhood visits from various schools:
- Petersen Road: April 2, 10am
- Alex Hope: April 2, 1pm
- James Hill: April 3, 2:30pm
- Belmont: April 3, 3:30pm
- Lynn Fripps – April 7, 10am
- Wix-Brown, April 7, 1pm
- West Langley – April 8, 1pm
- Blacklock Fine Arts – April 8, 11am
Next week, the connecting will continue. Some students and parents may have opportunities to schedule times to retrieve belongings from their schools. Teachers will be continuing to build connections and may distribute resources that may be used in the coming months.
Following that, at-home learning will begin.
Regardless of what that may look like, the District’s top priority is student’s health and safety. Educators will continue to do the best they can to raise everyone’s spirits! Being a part of this community and feeling like we all belong together is a big part of student wellness.
Check out our gallery from the last week:
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- Alice Brown – Teacher parade passing students.
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- Alice Brown – Preparing for the teacher parade
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- Alice Brown – Students celebrate their teachers during the teacher parade.
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- Alice Brown – Teacher parade. Photo taken by parent
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- James Hill – Messages in hearts left for staff.
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- Lynn Fripps – Chalk messages.
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- Lynn Fripps – Chalk messages.
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- Lynn Fripps – Chalk messages.
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- Lynn Fripps – Flowers for the office staff.
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- Lynn Fripps – Rocks with kind messages.
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- Lynn Fripps – Student visit, through a window.
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- Nicomekl – Principals share a message.
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- Parkside – Chalk Messages.
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- Parkside – Chalk Messages.
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- Parkside – Chalk messages.
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- Parkside – Chalk messages.
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- RC Garnett – Kindness rocks.
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- Alice Brown – Teacher parade.
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- Topham – Principal McCracken shares a message.
