On March 31st, the Ontario government announced that due to the continued spread of COVID-19, all publicly funded schools in Ontario, including those at the TDSB, will remain closed to students until Monday, May 4, 2020. As this date approaches, the decision will be revaluated and that the closure may be extended based on public health advice. Please note that childcare centres, Extended Day Programs and EarlyON programs located in our schools will also remain closed until April 13, according to the province’s Declaration of Emergency, which only allows closures to be extended for one 14-day period at a time.

TDSB educators and support staff have been working tirelessly to formulate a plan and implement a remote learning arrangement for all TDSB students to ensure their academic needs and learning goals are being met. Remote teacher-lead learning will commence on Monday April 6th. Remote learning will be no different as every educator approaches their classroom in a way that is thoughtful and unique to their own students’ learning needs, abilities and experiences. Learning will take on a variety of forms and may include online learning, phone connections, assignments submitted by email, online classrooms, off-line tasks and more

For elementary students, teachers will use approaches to gather evidence of student learning and will provide meaningful feedback to students on their progress. Evidence of significant improvement in learning, during the closure period, may be taken into consideration by the teacher when assigning a final grade in a subject area. Otherwise, students, in Grades 1 to 8, will be assigned the grades earned based on their learning of the expectations in the curriculum up until schools closed on March 13, 2020. All students, Kindergarten to Grade 8, will receive a June report card. Mid-term marks will be entered only for Grade 12 students by April 23, 2020, to meet the deadline to report grades to the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) and the Ontario College Application Service (OCAS). Marks will reflect work done up until March 13, 2020. However, formative assessments done post April 6 can be used to improve a student’s mark should students demonstrate further achievement of expectations

For students in secondary school, teachers will assign learning tasks, projects and culminating activities. Teachers will communicate results and feedback to students about these marked assignments and results will inform students’ final course marks. Only demonstrated improvements in learning will be taken into consideration when assigning a final mark. Final marks will be entered in June, and will be based on work done until March 13, 2020, as well as after April 6, 2020. Summative and culminating tasks can be used for these final marks. All subjects a student is taking will be reported on in a June report card

Further information will be provided when made available. Continue to check the TDSB website for further updates: https://www.tdsb.on.ca

Your continued patience and understanding is appreciated during this time.  

Learning Resources:
The Learn at Home resource is provided by the Ministry of Education which contains supplementary resources for elementary and secondary students to practice math and literacy skills. While these materials do not replace what students have been learning at school, during this unusual time, these at-home activities offer quick and easy access to some of Ontario’s best online kindergarten to grade 12 learning resources. The Student Learning Resources is a compilation of learning resources prepared by TDSB staff to assist in continuous learning for children while they are at home.

Maintaining a Positive Attitude:
Amidst a time of uncertainty and anxiety for many, maintaining a positive mindset and remaining hopeful can pose as a challenge. Friendly reminder that although we are expected to be physical distant and suspend all social gatherings, in the current technological age, this does not mean we need to remain socially distant.  Video chatting with classmates or colleagues and phoning vulnerable family members are some great ways to stay connected and minimize social isolation. Below is a list of resources that can assist students, parents and guardians in maintaining good mental health.

• Children's Mental Health Ontario (CMHO) - Talking to your kids about Covid-19. CMHO is hosting a live Twitter Chat on Tues March 24th at 8pm. https://twitter.com/kidsmentalhlth 
• Kids Help Phone - is open 24/7 to support youth needs online or by phone - https://kidshelpphone.ca/  or 1-800-668-6868
• School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO-SMSO) - How to support student mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
• CAMH - Resources to support mental health and wellness during Covid-19 outbreak.
• Ontario 211 - 211 connects people to the right information and services, strengthen Canada’s health and human services, and helps Canadians become more engaged with their communities https://211ontario.ca/

Public Health Information:
For further information on COVID-19 and its impact in Toronto, please visit the City of Toronto’s COVID-19 information page, which provides information on economic support and recovery, travel advice and social support. 

https://www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/

The Ministry of Health publishes the most up-to-date information on the status of cases in Ontario, every day, seven days a week, at 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/2019-novel-coronavirus