Director's Message - June 23, 2020

Limestone Learning Foundation
Director's Message - June 23, 2020
Posted on 06/23/2020
Image of Director of Education update graphic

Dear Families,

I am writing to provide you with some important updates as we wrap up the end of the 2019-2020 school year and head into the summer break.

First, I want to thank all students, families and staff for their continued patience and support as we offered emergency remote learning opportunities for students these past months. As a district, we offer our sincere thanks to our staff and families for going above and beyond to support student learning and well-being during very trying times. It has been challenging but by working together, we have done our best to support our students through these uncertain times. We are grateful for everyone’s efforts.

I also want to address the new and important work that lies ahead of us to confront and challenge privilege, and break down barriers that perpetuate racism of Black, Indigenous and Racialized people in all of its forms from across our district. On behalf of the Limestone District School Board, I want to say that we are sorry that racism was a part of anyone’s experience in Limestone. As a school district, we acknowledge the students, families, staff and community members who have signaled a need for change. We have heard you, and we want you to know we are committed to equity, inclusion and ensuring everyone feels a strong sense of belonging. In the fall, we will share a roadmap on how we will do this work, together.

Report cards: All students will receive a report card which will be mailed. Elementary report cards will be mailed the week of June 22 while secondary reports will go out in early July as is usual practice. Please remember Canada Post is experiencing longer than usual delivery times so reports may be delayed.

Personal belongings: By now, all schools will have scheduled times for students and families to retrieve personal belongings from classrooms and lockers. If you have not yet picked up your student’s items, please contact your school directly.

Registration for September 2020: If you have a new student entering Limestone in September, you can register them now to help us plan for the new school year. Our online registration portal remains open and schools will verify documents once school resumes.

Reopening plan survey: As we shared with you last week, the Ministry of Education has released three potential scenarios for the reopening of public schools in the fall. We have created a short anonymous survey to ask families for your perspectives on school re-entry. We ask that you take a few minutes to answer these questions to help us with our planning for September. The survey will be open until Tuesday, June 30, 2020.

LDSB Return to School Survey for Families 

We know that students, families and staff are eager to learn more specific details about what the new school year will look like in Limestone schools. As you can imagine, planning will take some time as there are many complex considerations that must be carefully reviewed to help ensure a safe return for everyone who learns and works in our schools and sites. We will continue to refine and adjust our reopening plans over the summer months.

As a reminder, our plans – whether that be continued remote learning, a return to in-school learning that follows public health directives, or a blended learning model of remote and in-school learning – must be approved by the Ministry and KFL&A Public Health. The Ministry has said it will not make a final decision on these plans until early August. This means we will not be able to share our Limestone-specific plans with you until then. Even then, reopening plans could change depending on the current COVID-19 situation in our district come September.

There are still many unknowns regarding the new school year, but please know that our plans will always have the health, safety and well-being of students, families and staff as our priority. We will communicate any news and updates as required over the summer break through our Communicate broadcast tool. You can also visit our website for updates and follow LDSB on social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram). You will likely also hear from your school(s) earlier and more often than you would normally leading up to the first day of school.

Finally, this is a time of celebration! As our schools embark on the final days of the school year, we are excited to celebrate the achievements of all of our students this past year, particularly our graduates who are moving on to the next phase of their journey – whatever that might be.  As a school district, we wish you all well, and we hope you are all able to take some time to rest and recharge this summer.

Best wishes.

Debra Rantz
Director of Education

June 19 Message to Families

June 19, 2020 Message from the Minister of Education to Ontario Families

June 3, 2020 Message to Families

 
May 19, 2020 Message to Families

May 19, 2020 Message from the Minister of Education to Ontario Families


April 29, 2020 Message to Families

April 28, 2020 Message from the Minister of Education to Ontario Families

April 24, 2020 Message from the Board of Trustees

April 17, 2020 Message to Families

April 9, 2020 Message to Families

April 2, 2020 Message to Families


March 31, 2020 Message to Families

March 31, 2020 Message from the Minister of Education to Ontario Families

March 23, 2020 Message to Families

March 23, 2020 Message from the Chair of the Board


March 13, 2020 Message to Families

Frequently Asked Questions re COVID-19

Talking with children and youth about COVID-19

 


 

The Limestone District School Board is situated on traditional territories of the Anishinaabe & Haudenosaunee.