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2020-2021 School Year & COVID-19 Updates6/20/2020 WEHSA is compiling all information regarding the 2020-2021 school year and COVID-19 related updates on this blog post. You can find the Quebec Ministry of Education Back to School Plan by clicking here. The WSB site with latest information can be accessed here. ![]()
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Letter from the WQSB Regarding Bus Transportation for the Return to School (2020-2021), click here. Letter from the WQSB Regarding the Return to School (2020-2021), click here. ![]()
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Elementary Schools to Reopen May 114/28/2020 On April 27, the Government of Quebec announced that elementary schools outside the Greater Montreal area will be reopening on May 11. Student Attendance is optional. Our school will have a PD day on May 11. Classes will start on May 12. If you would like to register your child to return to school you must give the school one week's notice. The deadline for registration is every Monday at 10:00 AM. We want to thank the school and the teachers for all their hard work and effort to make the reopening as positive and safe for our children. We know this is a very stressful time and you have been placed in a difficult position. We offer our support as you take on this challenge. All information pertaining to the opening, including the precautions to be undertaken can be found in the files below. You can also find all the information and learning tools that were issued during the school closure on the same blog by clicking here. Stay well. ![]()
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As you are aware, the school will be closed until further notice. The WQSB will be providing updated information as it becomes available, which will be shared with school families by our school principal, Julie. WEHSA will also keep this site updated with all the information shared which you can find below in the attached documentation/files. You can access the WQSB Backpack: Learing from Home website for a bunch of learning resources and activities for you and your children. The Quebec Ministry of Education's online learning platform, Open School, can be accessed here. Beginning April 6, the Ministry will provide school boards and schools with optional weekly activities targeted to each grade level. Families will receive updates on how to access these optional activities as they are provided to the school. Also, if you haven't already heard or seen the clip, the Daily Howl was on CTV news on March 25! See the clip here, the segment is on at 27:12. Thank you to Dale Kerr and Elizabeth Logue for setting it up. You can search Wakefield Elementary Daily Howl on FB and join the Howl on weekday mornings at 8:05 am. Zoom is being used to connect. You can also check out the clips later in the day! For any concerns regarding your families' health please call 1-877-664-4545 or 811. For additional information, you can also refer to the Public Health Agency of Canada website by clicking here. We encourage everyone to follow the advice to safeguard your and our community's wellbeing Take good care. ![]()
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As many of you are aware, year-end activities are organized as part of the Grade 6 Graduation. In past years, the tradition has generally been for the students to spend a day at the Mont Cascade Water Park followed by a sleepover in the school gym.
Recently, we were officially informed that there will no longer be a year-end sleepover at the school, starting with this year's graduating class. WEHSA and the Grade 6 Grad Committee Chair have had different opportunities to discuss this issue in order to find a resolution, but it has not met with a favorable outcome. WEHSA is disappointed in the decision and does not support it. The above notwithstanding, WEHSA is commited to working with the Grade 6 Grad Committee to make the Grade 6 Grad as positive and memorable as possible. Should you have any questions regarding the decision, please contact Julie at jframgreig@wqsb.qc.ca or your child's Grade 6 teacher. Please note that the next Grade 6 Grad Committee meeting will be taking place this Tuesday, February 4 at 6pm in the Library. We encourage you to attend and to share your ideas on how we move forward.
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On January 28, the WQSB Council of Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the resolution that maintains choice for Wakefield Elementary School students regarding enrolment and transportation to St. Michael's and Philemon Wright/Hadley High Schools. It was a very quick agenda item where the WQSB Director General, Mike Dubeau, thanked all communities for their feedback in the consultation. When it came to voting on the resolution there were no questions, and the Commissioners voted unanimously in support of the motion. As reported in an earlier post, the resolution as recommended by the WQSB Planning and Review Committee, includes the following enrolment criteria for St. Michael’s and Hadley/PWHS:
WEHSA would like to take this opportunity to again thank the WQSB for undertaking consultations on this important issue and for making a decision based on the feedback they received from our communities. ![]()
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At the December 17 Planning and Review Committee Meeting, the Committee decided that it will be recommending to the Council of Commissioners a proposal that would still allow Wakefield Elementary School students to choose between St. Michael's and Hadley/Philemon Wright High Schools. The recommendation comes after weeks of public consultations where affected communities expressed concerns regarding the original proposal that would have taken choice away.
The specific recommendation is listed below. If approved, the new enrolment criteria and transporation boundary would begin to apply next (2020-2021) school year and be ongoing to future years. Please keep in mind these criteria are periodically reviewed and hence could change in the future. The full presentation to be presented to the Council of Commissioners on January 28 can be found on the WQSB website here. We thank the WQSB administration for taking on consultations and for listening to the concerns of our school families. Starting from existing elementary school enrolment criteria and transportation boundaries, the following enrolment criteria for St. Michael’s and Hadley/PWHS is recommended:
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WEHSA convened a meeting with Mike Dubeau, Director General, WQSB, on December 12, for a follow-up discussion on the proposed School Transportation Boundaries for St. Michael's and Philemon Wright/Hadley Schools following the submission of WEHSA's letter to the Board. We thank the parents who participated in the discussion.
Mr. Dubeau shared a new alternative proposal that will be presented next Tuesday, December 17, to the WQSB Planning and Review Committee as part of other potential approaches for addressing the school enrolment and transportation issues. The proposal would redraw the boundaries to make Wakefield (La Pêche) and Poltimore neutral zones thereby giving back families the ability to choose between the two schools and to be provided busing where Wakefield would serve as a transportation hub. See the image below for the new alternative boundaries. Under the proposal the communities of Kazabazua and Chelsea, however, would still lose their ability to choose and would be required to send their children to St. Micheal's and Philemon Wright/Hadley, respectively. However, grandfathering would be respected, where students already attending a school would be able to continue and to get busing. Cross-border applications would also be accepted, where possible. Those families in Kazabazua and Chelsea who may be negatively affected are encouraged to reach out to Mr. Dubeau directly to discuss alternatives. This alternative proposal was described as a good compromise to address the issues that have been raised at the different consultations. It also helps in setting a needed enrolment criteria for St. Michael's High School in order to address its capacity limitations while at the same time gaining transportation efficiencies. It was stressed that St. Michael's enrollment would need to be carefully monitored as part of the proposal. Following the meeting next Tuesday by the WQSB Planning and Review Committee, a decision is expected by the Council of Commissioners in January. Mr. Dubeau committed to following-up with WEHSA following the meeting on Tuesday. WEHSA is encouraged that the Board has listened to the concerns of our school families in coming up with this alternative approach. We also thank Mr. Dubeau for his outreach and for offering to come to meet with our community a second time. While recognizing and appreciating the WQSB's effort to consult, participants at the discussion stressed the importance of holding consultations earlier in the process when the issue of enrolment and school boundaries is revisited in the future.
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WEHSA teams up with St. Mike's Home & School on letter on School Transportation Boundaries12/8/2019 WEHSA reached out to the St. Michael's High School Home and School Association to send a letter to the WQSB to express concerns regarding the proposed School Transportation Boundaries for the next school year. The proposed boundaries splits our community, and has limited choice for our school families given the late consultations and decision on the matter. The letter was forwarded by email to the WQSB Secretary General, Director General, WQSB Commissioners, our MP, MNA, and local mayors. Read the letter below .... Following receipt of the letter, Director General, Mike Dubeau from the WQSB, reached out to meet with WEHSA. WEHSA will be meeting with Mr. Dubeau to discuss the issue on Thursday, December 12 at 8pm in the school Library. Anyone who would like to join the discussion is welcome to come. December 6, 2019
Dear WQSB Commissioners and Representatives, The Wakefield Elementary Home and School Association (WEHSA) and the St. Michael's High School Home and School are writing this letter to express our grave concern regarding the proposed school transportation boundary for St. Michael’s and Hadley/Philemon Wright High Schools. The Home and Schools represent a group of parent volunteers who come together to organize school fundraisers and events at their respective schools. They also represent member school families and provide a forum where they can raise issues related to our schools. We are proud to represent over 85 families this school year. WEHSA and St. Michael's High School Home and School have been following the discussions of the WQSB proposal with great interest. As parents, we have also been participating actively. We join the many parents and individuals who have expressed their concerns and signed the petition calling for the WQSB not to impose the proposed school transportation boundaries. Based on the WQSB presentations to date, we fail to see the urgency for a decision for the next school year. While we agree with the WQSB that the lack of a school transportation boundary for the St. Michael’s and Hadley/Philemon Wright High Schools presents a challenge, we do not agree with the proposed solution nor its timing. Our concerns over the proposed school transportation boundaries reflect those that have been articulated in the discussions to date, including: • Divides the Wakefield community, its families and its students; creating a very negative and anxious environment. • Removes choice between two very different schools that meet different student needs which is critical particularly for students with special needs, as well as for students looking for enhanced programs such as French Immersion and/or Sport Etudes. • Effectively removes alternative school choices for affected families given the lateness in the discussions as registration deadlines to other schools/programs are now passed. • Jeopardizes the viability and sustainability of St. Michael’s High School by limiting student enrollment from its two main feeder schools in Wakefield and Chelsea which account for the main growth of the school and saved the school from being closed. • Disporportionately disadvantages families who are not able to transport their children across school boundaries. • Rising level of anxiety among our Grade 6 students and families who are now faced with having a school choice imposed on them and who have had very little warning or time to prepare. • Does not adequately consider the complexity of the issue and its impact on affected students, families and communities. While the proposed change to the school transportation boundary issue is said to be done in the spirit of creating equity, we would argue that the proposal put forward is creating important inequities by taking away choice and leaving families with little to no opportunity to look for alternative schooling for their children. While we are pleased that discussions are taking place; regrettably, they have come very late, leaving families next to no time to prepare for alternative school choices than the one in the WQSB proposal. From this standpoint alone, we would strongly recommend that a decision be postponed. We are also very concerned about the impact of the proposed school transportation boundary to the sustainability and viability of St. Michael’s High School. Wakefield and Chelsea elementary schools are its primary feeder schools which has led to its growth and survival as a school. The WQSB proposal would significantly limit student enrollment from these schools. We fail to see the logic of how the Board expects St. Michael’s to maintain its student numbers and to continue to grow as a school if it can no longer rely on its main feeder schools. The timing of such a decision is also difficult to understand as it so closely follows a major capital investment with the building of the new gym. We would argue that it would be a poor decision with respect to the use of public funds. At this important juncture of the school's history, the WQSB should be capitalizing on St. Michael's recent success, and look for opportunities and creative solutions to enhance its capacity as well as its programming in critical areas such as French immersion. The presentations to date have been silent in this regard, limiting the issue to one of transportation. The discussions to date have raised some of these broader issues, as well as provided constructive feedback and other potential solutions for the school transportation boundary issue in question, including creating transportation hubs in Wakefield and Chelsea, as well as examining alternative bus routes and partnerships with the French school board and affected municipalities. Consideration could also be given to a more targeted approach to address the capacity issue at St. Michael's rather than stripping choice from students. Goodwill has also been demonstrated by parents who are ready to work together with the WQSB and other partners to develop solutions that would be mutually agreeable and beneficial. Given the lateness in the discussions, it is our view that there is too little time to give due consideration and analysis of the issues raised at the public discussions as well as potential solutions to address the school transportation issue prior to the meeting of the Council of Commissioners in January 2020, where a decision would need to be taken in time for next year’s school registrations. In light of the complexity of the issue and its very broad impact, a decision in January would be premature and very divisive. While we understand that the WQSB would honor ‘grandfathering’ of students who presently attend a school, this does not take into account all those students who do not benefit from having a sibling in their preferred school. Moreover, given the limited capacity of St. Michael’s High School, cross-boundary applications would also appear to be restricted, thereby raising the potential of splitting families between two schools. Moreover, while we also understand that transportation boundaries are periodically reviewed and can be changed at any time, we would strongly caution against the Council of Commissioners from taking a decision in January to move forward with the proposed school transportation boundary on the assumption that another solution could be worked on for the 2021-2022 school year. This would place our current grade 6 students at a great disadvantage as well as create unnecessary anxiety and other potential mental health issues. Furthermore, it would greatly jeopardize the goodwill that has been fostered in the discussions to date and willingness to work together with the WQSB on a more equitable solution for all parties involved. Given the goodwill to work in partnership as well as the valid arguments to date against the proposed school transportation boundary, we are hopeful that the WQSB and the Council of Commissioners will decide to postpone its decision in favor of working together with parents and other partners to find a more equitable and mutually beneficial solution. Sincerely, Lana Noel, WEHSA President Maggie Holmes, St. Michael's High School Home and School President
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Congrats to our Membership Drive Winner10/24/2019 Congrats to Jacquie Vandenberg who won a $10 gift certificate to Cafe Molo's, a $25 gift card to Giant Tiger, and a $45 gift certificate which was generously donated by Esthètique Kluane.
Learn more about WEHSA and about joining our Team! |