Secondary Schools: Semester 2 Information

January 21, 2022 – Semester 2 for UGDSB secondary students begins in February. Upper Grand District School Board secondary schools (both in-person and the Secondary Remote Program) will return to a regular timetable for Semester 2, where students take four courses per day. 

Recently, the Ministry of Education confirmed that school boards are permitted to transition to a regular secondary school timetable, with the support of their local public health unit. The UGDSB has received Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health’s support in returning to a regular timetable for Semester 2. 

Recognizing that Grade 9 and 10 students may have only attended school in a quadmester model, secondary school staff are prepared to support students in the transition to a semester model.

Semester 2 begins on February 2 and runs until June 29, 2022. The full Semester 2 Calendar is posted on the board website at: https://www.ugdsb.ca/community/coronavirus/2021-22-school-operations/secondary-schools-semester-2-calendar-2021-22/ 

Centennial CVI  Sem II – PERIOD SCHEDULE
Homeform Period 1	9:10 –   9:20 9:20 – 10:35
Period 2	10:40 – 11:55
LUNCH	11:55 – 12:55
Period 3	12:55 – 2:10
Period 4	2:15 – 3:30

Employment Readiness Program for Students with ASD and other Disabilities

Update: EQAO Grade 9 Math Assessment 

January 20, 2022 – Students enrolled in the destreamed Grade 9 Math course for Quadmester 2 were scheduled to participate in the EQAO Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics in late January. However, in recognition of the level of ongoing uncertainty due to COVID-19, the decision has been made by the Upper Grand District School Board to defer the administration of this assessment. Unlike the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test in Grade 10, the Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics is not a graduation requirement for students.

This decision has been made with input gathered from various stakeholders, including UGDSB students, and acknowledges the incredible stresses and challenges that students and teachers have been experiencing. This decision allows for additional instructional time to support student learning.

Secondary schools informed their impacted grade 9 students and families this week. If students and families have questions, they are asked to please contact their teacher or school principal. 

We thank everyone for their understanding.

Monitoring School Absence Rates in the UGDSB

January 18, 2022 – Prior to the winter break, schools regularly provided notification to the school community when they received notification from Public Health that an individual at the school tested positive for COVID-19. The province recently announced that Public Health Units will no longer be reporting positive cases or conducting contact tracing for positive cases related to a staff or student in schools. As a result, schools will no longer be providing notification when there is a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19. 

Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has said that COVID-19 is to be considered widely present in our communities at this time and therefore it is reasonable to suspect that someone in our school may have COVID-19. We don’t have confirmation of positive COVID-19 cases in our schools, as only Public Health can confirm positive cases. However, it is reasonable to suspect that at this time, COVID-19 may be in our schools.  

As an additional measure and layer of communication to keep our communities informed, the UGDSB has launched a pilot initiative to track school absence rates on a daily basis. This process is a pilot program and may evolve as required. Once in-person learning resumes, the board will post data daily from Monday to Friday on the UGDSB public website.

VISIT THE TRACKING DASHBOARD: Daily Absence Tracking Pilot

The webpage shows the percentage point increase or decrease of all UGDSB school absence rates compared to the baseline, the percentage point change from the previous day, as well as graphs showing trends in absence rates. The chart will also indicate when a school is 30% above the average absenteeism by highlighting the cell where the school name is located. 

The UGDSB’s pilot program is meant to give a sense of the impact of COVID-19 on schools, as positive cases will no longer be reported.

Additionally, following the direction of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the board will also notify Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health when absenteeism in a school is 30% above the average absenteeism.

For additional layers of protective measures the UGDSB has in place at schools, we invite you to review the information on the board website, including: 

• Protective measures in UGDSB schools
• Reminders of daily screening and what to do if you think you’ve been exposed to COVID-19
• Revised criteria for UGDSB student mask exemptions
• Guide for Families: Proper Use and Care of Cloth Masks
• Ventilation and air quality enhancements, including HEPA filtration units in 100% of UGDSB classrooms 
• Temporary Remote Learning Option for elementary students

Other helpful resources:

• Ontario’s School Screening Tool
• COVID-19 Symptoms and Isolation Guidelines

We recognize that these have been challenging times for many families and appreciate the continued support and collaboration that has allowed us to provide optimal learning environments. Thank you for your continued efforts to ensure our schools remain safe and engaging places for our students to learn.

Planning for potential staff shortages at schools

January 14, 2022 – Due to the widespread presence of COVID-19 in our communities, the Upper Grand District School Board recognizes that staff shortages may be prevalent next week as students and staff return to school.

The UGDSB will employ numerous strategies to ensure that student safety and supervision is maintained. However, we recognize that in some extreme cases classes and/or schools may have to transition to remote learning temporarily. 

Parents/caregivers are asked to please watch carefully for messaging next week from your school that may signal the need to move to remote learning. We anticipate that this would only happen in rare circumstances but want to alert families to this possibility. Whenever possible, we would aim to make any of these decisions as early as possible to allow families opportunities to make necessary arrangements. 

Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding.

Gr. 8 Information

There is no live virtual session – please review the information below.

Introduction:  https://youtu.be/Lt9hidR27Is

Elective Course Videos:

Arts (Drama, Dance, Music, Visual Arts):  https://youtu.be/aUp0fXKHb3A

Business: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imVXtTGhih0

Exploring Technologies: TECH TIJ1O – YouTube

Phys. Ed: https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=RtO565sZxeY

Family Studies: https://youtu.be/kqFptC6hmbk

Gr. 9 Course Selection Due: January 31, 2022 

For UGDSB students, course selection is done in myBlueprint with the assistance of gr. 8 school staff.  Course selection will be open on January 14th and will close on January 31st. 

Questions:  https://forms.gle/BuHiFGaUFvB87Ndm7

CCVI Tour: https://ths.li/wbjZEO

Course Calendar:  https://www.ugdsb.ca/ccvi/wp-content/uploads/sites/63/2022/01/CCVI-Course-Calendar-2022-23.pdf

Pathways Info:

https://www.ugdsb.ca/programs/career-pathways/

https://sites.google.com/ugcloud.ca/ugdsb-pathways/home

Advanced Placement at CCVI: https://www.ugdsb.ca/ccvi/guidance/advanced-placement-at-ccvi/

Resources:

·         Student Registration Form  (*For Non-UGDSB School Students Only)

 Please email completed Registration Forms:

For student’s surnames A-L to [email protected] 

For student’s surnames M-Z to [email protected] 

·         School Year Calendars 

·         School Directory

·         School Locator

·         Transportation Eligibility 

·         Application for Direction of School Support

Reminder to screen daily for symptoms before leaving for school

 January 13, 2022 –  With the recent surge of Omicron and other COVID-19 variants, it’s up to all of us to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Daily Screening

Daily screening and knowledge of what to do after you or your child/ren have been exposed to COVID-19 is incredibly important in helping to keep schools and communities safe. Daily screening is one of the many protective layers UGDSB has in place in our schools and working environments. 

Ontario’s daily screening tool for students and children in school and child care settings has recently been updated. It is a tool one can use to be proactive and look out for the symptoms of COVID-19 before sending students off to school. You can access the screening tool here. Families should complete the screening every day before students leave for school. 

When screening your child you are looking for any mild to severe flu-like symptoms like fever or cough. The most common COVID-19 symptoms are shortness of breath or decrease or loss of taste or smell. 

COVID-19 Exposures

If you or your child/ren have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 these should be your next steps: 

First, determine if you need to isolate. If you have COVID-19, isolating will help stop the spread of the virus. This is particularly important to prevent the transmission of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

You must isolate yourself if you:

• have symptoms of COVID-19
• have tested positive for COVID-19
• You may need to isolate if you were exposed to someone who has COVID-19 or symptoms of COVID-19

For further steps, please review the instructions at www.ontario.ca/exposed. 

For additional information about Ontario’s COVID-19 screening tool and what to do if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19, you can follow these resources:

• https://www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-stop-spread#section-1
• https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/ 
• https://wdgpublichealth.ca/your-health/covid-19-information-schools-parents-and-teachers/covid-19-guidance-and-resources-our

Wear and care of cloth masks for students

January 13, 2022  – Public Health officials have stressed that wearing a well-constructed, well-fitted and properly worn mask or face covering is one the key protective measures we can take to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.  Masking requirements and protocols are some of the many layers of protection in place at Upper Grand District School Board schools and sites, in addition to hand hygiene, distancing, ventilation, and daily screening.   The recommendation from public health officials is that cloth masks be 3-layers. To help support this and add to families current mask supply, the UGDSB will distribute additional 3-layer reusable cloth masks to students. The use of these masks is encouraged, however students may continue to wear the masks they currently have.

Please see the information below from Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health and Health Canada on the proper use and care of face coverings.  (more…)

Protective health & safety measures during in-person learning

January 12, 2022 – The provincial government has announced that Ontario schools will reopen to in-person learning starting on Monday January 17, 2022. 

The Upper Grand District School Board has many protective health and safety measures in place at our schools. Please read below for reminders and updates regarding these protective measures.  (more…)

Revised criteria for UGDSB student mask exemptions

January 7, 2022 – As a result of the continued spread of COVID-19 and the increased transmissibility with the most recent variant, the Upper Grand District School Board has revised the criteria for granting student mask exemption requests.  Moving forward, a Mask Exemption Certificate that is signed and stamped by a certified physician (of medicine) or nurse practitioner will be required in order to approve such requests. Any previous approval of an exemption will no longer be valid when students return to in-person learning.

This week, school principals will contact the parents/caregivers of any students with a previously-approved mask exemption to review the new required process and next steps.  The health and safety of all our students and staff is our first priority. We thank everyone for their continued support and cooperation.

UGDSB received funding from the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream (CVRIS)

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