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BRADFORD D.H.S. NEWS

Principal’s message

Bradford District High School70 Professor Day DriveBradford, ON L3Z3B9

(905)775-2262

Upcoming Dates

Thursday, December 14:Secondary Mid-Quadmester

Friday, December 18:Mid-Term Quadmester Reports go home

Friday, December 18:Last day of school for holiday break

Monday, January 4:First day of school after holiday break

Monday, January 4:Secondary Full Disclosure Day—Quadmester 2

Monday, January 4:Secondary Mid-Quadmester

*NOTE: Grad photos postponed until further notice

Principal: Peter Stone

Vice-Principals:Karen Quesnel & Graham Rayner

I think everyone agrees that we are living in strange times. Staying safe during the pandemic has created a number of challenges for students, parents, teachers and school leaders. Despite those challenges, I am impressed with the resourcefulness and resilience exhibited by so many. When walking the halls and looking in on classes, it is rewarding to see so many engaged in their learning. Students learning from home have had other challenges, but have risen to the occasion.At BDHS, we continue to focus on hand hygiene, mask use and social distancing as means to reduce the spread of Covid-19. Students have been very good at adopting these measures inside the building. Despite these efforts, we have now had 9 positive Covid-19 cases at the school since September. The majority of these (but not all) cases are believed to have been contracted outside of the school. Concerns about lunchtime and after school social distancing and mask use are real, and we recommend that parents review with their family the importance of these as both wise and responsible things to maintain.We had an inclement weather bus cancellation day on December 1st. When buses are cancelled, the school will typically stay open for student learning. However, classes will likely be smaller. On bus cancellation days, teachers will still be providing work for students. If your child’s teacher is able to get to school, the class instruction will continue and the teacher will connect with students at home via the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) already established for every class. It the teacher is unable to get to work, students can still access the classroom, but the teacher will only be able to connect with the class on the VLE.School staff are now preparing for semester two. Learning will be different as we adopt the Hybrid Learning Model. Students and parents will have the option of learning at school or from home. Of course in-school instruction will be live. Students learning from home will receive a combination of synchronous (live) interaction and asynchronous interaction with the teacher and class. Hands-on courses such as Health/Physical Education and Technology courses will have some particular challenges, so we will need to be creative and flexible. We have some new audio/video technology arriving soon, and we will be working hard to integrate it with the D2L Brightspace VLE for semester two. Mental health during the pandemic is very important. Please know that we have a variety of resources available at school and in the community to support students. If there is a concern please reach out to our guidance or main office and we will provide help.On behalf of the entire staff, I wish you and your family continued health and success.

Peter Stone

December 2020

“One kind word can warm three winter months.” Japanese proverb

INFORMATION ITEMS

High school information nights coming to a school near you!

Is your child starting Grade 9 next year? High school information events will happen virtually this winter. Student leaders and staff at the school will give an overview of what’s new and what to expect. Different pathways and courses offered will be explained. Visit your school's website for more information.

Days of Awareness and Recognition taking place in December

Throughout the year, there are many awareness days that focus on different causes and recognition. The Simcoe County District School Board has developed a list of these days as a guide for schools. Schools may participate in recognizing some or all of these days in various ways. This list is not exhaustive. What follows are the days of awareness and recognition that the SCDSB will recognize during the month of December:

Dec. 6 National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

Inclement weather and bus cancellation information reminder

All information regarding cancelled buses in Simcoe County is posted on the Simcoe County Student Transportation Consortium (SCSTC)’s bus information website at www.simcoecountyschoolbus.ca. Our school is in the South zone.

When buses are cancelled, schools remain open for student learning, as in previous years. It is always a family decision whether or not it is safe for your child(ren) to leave for school under severe weather conditions.

This year, please note that students who are unable to attend school due to bus cancellations will be able to access learning materials on the digital learning platform assigned by their teacher, either Desire2Learn (D2L) or Google Classroom.

Students in the Learn@Home program will continue with regular programming as scheduled.

The SCSTC and bus operators try to make the decision to cancel school buses before 6 a.m. and make every effort to post announcements before 7 a.m. Inclement weather cancellations are effective for the whole day and buses cancelled in the morning will not run at the end of the day. You can follow the Consortium on Twitter @SCSTC_SchoolBus for bus cancellations and other information. You can also subscribe to receive bus delay notifications here: https://scstc.ca/Subscriptions/Login.aspx

COVID-19 holiday travel

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit recommends that you only travel outside of your home for essential reasons such as work, school and purchasing necessities. Avoid travelling outside of your community as much as possible, including to attend family gatherings, religious services or events at municipal venues, in order to reduce transmission between geographic areas.

Recommendations for travel may change. Check for updates regularly at https://travel.gc.ca/covid-19-travel.

For more tips to keep you and your family healthy this holiday season, contact Health Connection at 1-877-721-7520 or visit the health unit’s website at www.simcoemuskokahealth.org/Topics/COVID-19.

Information provided by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit

New Path is offering child and youth mental health walk-in clinics

In response to the increasing wait times for child and youth mental health services, and the increased need for such services, New Path has undertaken a service redesign that will provide more timely and responsive services to children, youth and families in Simcoe County. New Path now offers Child and Youth Mental Health Walk-In Clinics in five office locations throughout Simcoe County: Bradford, Alliston, Barrie, Collingwood and Orillia.

Children, youth and families requesting service from New Path no longer need to call and complete an intake; they can simply attend one of the local Walk-In Clinics and will receive a single session intervention that day. Should children or youth require further service, New Path will continue to offer a wide variety of community and school-based services as well as residential service and women’s service. For further information, including the clinic locations, days and hours, visit www.newpath.ca or contact New Path’s central intake department at 705-725-7656.

Mondays 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.Last appointment time is 5:30 p.m.Location: 118 Barrie St., Bradford

COMMUNITY SUPPORTS

Register now for Night School (Semester Two) to complete high school, prepare for post-secondary education

Night school at the Barrie Learning Centre offers secondary school credits in a variety of subjects for students completing their Ontario Secondary School Diploma and for students who are preparing for post-secondary education. Subjects include math, English, chemistry, biology, physics, social science and history.

All night school courses this year are offered virtually using Brightspace/D2L with opportunities for synchronous classes, small groups and one-on-one sessions each evening with the teacher in addition to asynchronous coursework. Classes are held two nights per week from 6 to 9 p.m. and run given sufficient enrolment. Learn more at www.thelearningcentres.com.

Stop the Spread – Teens and COVID-19 (for secondary)

Locally we have seen cases of COVID-19 rise to levels not seen since the spring. Among teens, we have seen transmission occurring outside of school in social settings. Physical distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19 can be especially hard for teens, who may feel cut off from their friends. Here is how you can encourage your teen to keep up important behaviours:

• Share information about what is happening in a calm and factual way to help ease their concerns about the virus. Discuss facts about COVID-19 and correct misinformation when you hear it. Avoid speculation and look up reliable sources for updates like the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.

• Encourage limiting close contacts to those inside your household. Being in the same class or riding the bus together is not the same as being in a ‘social bubble’. At school, many protective measures are in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. If spending time with friends outside of school (on breaks, after school or on weekends) encourage your teen to follow public health recommendations to help reduce the spread of illness.

• Reinforce the basics, like the importance of frequent hand washing, physical distancing and wearing a mask when maintaining a distance of two metres is not possible, indoors or out.

If you would like to learn more about ways to talk openly with your teenager about COVID-19, call Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520, or visit www.simcoemuskokahealth.org/Topics/COVID-19/Stop-the-spread

“Ambition is enthusiasm with a purpose”-Frank Tyger

Coping with anxiety

Feelings of anxiety can be common among teens, especially right now. Sometimes normally happy teens will become anxious or fearful about something for a day or two but will return to normal without any need for help from their parents. However, some teens experience more intense and frequent feelings of anxiety that prevent them from participating in normal everyday life.

Creating a positive family environment, encouraging regular school attendance and helping your teen understand and discover ways to cope with their anxiety can help. Encourage your teen to explore available online and local services.

Big White Wall: 24/7 online mental health support network for individuals 16 years and older.

Kids Help Phone: Children and youth 18 and under who need to talk to someone about their mental health can call Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868, for 24/7 virtual, or text 686868.

COVID-19 Youth Mental Health Resource Hub

If you would like to learn more about monitoring and understanding your teenager’s emotions and behaviours, ways to talk openly with your teenager and encouraging your teenager to practice their coping skills, call Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520.

Information provided by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit

SUPPORT & COMMUNICATION

Keep connected with the BDHS:Website: http://bdh.scdsb.on.ca/ Twitter: @BUCSpirit Facebook: facebook.com/bucspirit

Keep connected with the SCDSB: Website : www.scdsb.on.ca Twitter: @SCDSB_Schools Facebook: facebook.com/SCDSBSharing Simcoe blog: http://sharingsimcoe.com/ Transportation: http://main.simcoecountyschoolbus.ca/