COVID-19 Info

Following the advice from Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, and the experts at the COVID-19 Command Table, the Minister of Education has issued a ministerial order to close all schools in Ontario for two weeks following March break in response to the emergence in Ontario of COVID-19

Toronto Public Health Notices:

Crestwood Preparatory College COVID-19 Case Oct 7th

Crestwood Preparatory College TPH No Exposure Notice Nov 18th

Crestwood Preparatory College COVID-19 Case Nov 20th

Message to the Lower School Parents:

From March 17, 2020 Newsletter:

Dear Parents,

I came across the following and thought it important to share with you. Please take the time to read it through to the end.

You might be inclined to create a minute by minute schedule for your kids. You might have high hopes of hours of learning including online activities, science experiments and book reports. You’ll limit technology time until everything is done! But, here’s the thing…..

Our kids are just as scared as we are right now. Our kids can not only hear everything that is going on around them, but they feel our constant tension and anxiety. They have never experienced anything like this before. Although the idea of being off school sounds awesome, they are probably picturing a fun time like summer break, not the reality of being trapped at home and not seeing their friends.

Over the coming weeks, you will see an increase in behaviour issues with your kids. Whether it’s anxiety or anger or protests that they can’t do things normally…..it will happen. You’ll see more meltdowns, tantrums and oppositional behaviour. This is normal and expected under these circumstances.

What kids need right now is to feel comforted and loved…..to feel like it’s all going to be OK. That might mean that you tear up your perfect schedule and love your kids even more. Play outside and go for walks. Bake cookies and paint pictures. Play board games and watch movies. Do a science experiment together or find virtual field trips of the zoo. Start a book and read together. Snuggle under a blanket and do nothing.

At the end of all this, your child’s mental health will be more important than their academic skills. How they felt during this time will stay with them long after the memory of the math problems they solved or the essay they had to write.

Stay safe!

Dalia Eisen

Related Newsletters:  March 13, 2020; March 12, 2020

Message to Upper School Parents

From March 18, 2020 Newsletter:

With the school closed from March 23rd to April 5th, Crestwood Preparatory College wants to ensure that all of our students are continuing to learn during this difficult time. While we know that online learning can never replace the interaction that takes place in the classroom, along with the support and help that students receive from their teachers we hope that this process will be beneficial to our students. The work your children will be assigned is important. There may be a tendency to see these efforts as make-work projects. However, they represent bona fide term work that will need to be completed and understood. There is speculation that this closure could extend beyond the original parameters. The longer the closure, the more important the work becomes.

Our online learning will continue through Edsby, our Learning Management System. Teachers will be posting on the days that students were supposed to have that class starting on March 23rd which is a Day 3. Teachers will each have their own way of relaying lessons. Some will be posting completed notes along with readings and homework for the students to do, others may be posting video lessons and some may have online interactive learning. There will be some homework for students to complete and some assignments for them to submit. Teachers also understand that many of the students may have left their books in their lockers at school and will be including photos, links, images, etc of the textbook in their postings in order to assist in this area. To assist in the learning, teachers will be in contact with the students during the “school day” and will try to answer questions in Edsby or by email in a timely fashion but it may not be instantaneous.

If you are unable to access Edsby please send an email to your teachers directly to let them know so that they can email you the materials directly.

We understand that there will be some challenges that we will all encounter during this process as this is a unique situation. Over this time adjustments and changes to the process may take place in order to better support the learning process. We ask for your patience and support in our attempt to keep our students learning.

What will my child need to do the online learning?

Students will need a computer or tablet with access to the internet so they can access Edsby and their school email account.

When does my child need to be working on this material and for how long? 

We will not be running set hours for classes and all items that teachers will be posting are currently going to be designed to allow students to do them on their own schedule and at their own pace.

We will not be taking daily or class attendance but teachers will be interacting and asking students to post some of their work for the teacher to be able to provide feedback on a regular basis and to make sure the students are progressing in their learning.

With this process being very independent in nature students will need some guidance from you on how to stay on top of things. In order to provide some structure for your son or daughter we would recommend establishing a schedule with some breaks in it each day. Perhaps something like two 45 minute sessions in the morning with a break between and two or three 45 minute sessions in the afternoon with breaks between them. Keep in mind that how much time your son or daughter spends on each subject will vary from student to student and from day to day. If you find that they are spending too much time on something or are becoming overwhelmed with this process please send a message to their teachers so that they may be able to make suggestions or adjustments.

Additional Items of Concern

OSSLT – With all Ontario schools being closed on the scheduled date of the OSSLT on March 31, 2020 the test will not take place and has been cancelled. We do not know any further details in terms of its impact on those who were scheduled to write it. Once we have more information we will forward it to you.

Grade 12 – We understand that the concern with University applications and Graduation are part of the issues you are dealing with. Please understand that we will not allow the temporary closure to affect your Graduation from high school or your University Application process. The school will continue to send data to OUAC as well as the other individual schools that require your information. Please follow information posted in the 2020 Grads Group in Edsby or contact Ms. DeCata or Mr. Mitz for specific questions.

Access to the School – At this point there will be no access to the school for any students or parents and there will be very limited access for teachers. This is all part of the ongoing efforts to social distance and for individuals to remain at home as much as possible.

Related Newsletters: March 17, 2020; March Break Travel Form; March 13, 2020; March 12, 2020.