Hello A.Y. Jackson students, parents, guardians, and community members,
I hope this email finds you all well and that you have enjoyed the winter break. As you are already aware, secondary schools across Ontario have shifted to remote learning from January 4-22 inclusive. As of today, Secondary Schools in eastern Ontario are still on-schedule to return to in-person classes as of January 25th.
As we move forward with the school year, I would like to reiterate that nothing is more important than the health and wellness of our students. Our Healthy Active Living team has recommended a number of available Apps families can trial and may find useful including: Clue, Exhale, Headspace, FitnessTracker, Calm , and My Possible Self - among others. Other helpful resources include:
The Canadian Mental Health Association resources for youth. https://ontario.cmha.ca/mental-health/child-and-youth-mental-health/
Ontario mental health resources for youth https://www.ontario.ca/page/mental-health-services-children-and-youth
The shift to remote learning will continue to present challenges to students and, in some ways, perhaps present barriers to wellness. Please connect with your son or daughter's teacher or guidance counsellor if you have any questions, require additional support, or just need some help with various issues. Teachers are available for parent-teacher conferences for quadmester 2 during the week of January 7-12. We also have a team of support teachers including our Admin Team, Guidance Team, Resource Team, and our Student Success Teacher who will also be reaching out to students to ensure every student is engaged in learning and has all of the support and tools they need to be successful. You can contact your child's teachers through our staff webpage here: https://ayjacksonss.ocdsb.ca/staff
A reminder for all parents, our School Council will meet this coming Tuesday, January 12 at 7 p.m. All members of the A.Y. community are welcome to join the meeting and parents of new A.Y. students are encouraged to attend. You can join us via Google Meet here: https://meet.google.com/eep-gzju-oiy
If you have a younger son or daughter at one of our feeder schools, please plan on attending our Grade 8 Welcome to AY Night this coming Thursday, February 11 at 7 p.m. Information will be posted on our school website and will also be shared directly by the home school principals at W.O. Mitchell Elementary and Glen Cairn Public School. You can view a preview of the program here: https://youtu.be/t4mEnwW48hI
I will be sending another update before January 25 to share our plans and details for the return to in-person learning. In the meantime, visit our website, call the school at 613-836-2527, or email us at your convenience if we can provide further assistance or support.
Stay well,
Patrick McCarthy
Principal, A.Y. Jackson