St. Oscar Romero High School

Spring 2020 Newsletter

“We plant the seeds that one day will grow!”

ADMINISTRATION MESSAGE

Greetings Saint Oscar Romero Community!

We hope this letter finds you well. We are all experiencing challenges as we face these unprecedented times. Therefore, we wish to begin by thanking you for your ongoing patience and understanding. Now that spring break is over, you are undoubtedly wondering what our ‘new normal’ will be in terms of teaching and learning. Commencing this week, our learning model will be completely different from what our students are used to within a classroom and school-based setting. We are shifting to a remote learning model and our teachers have been working hard to plan for this new reality.

We ask that you encourage and support your child’s learning by reinforcing the importance of being diligent with their studies. This adjustment is going to take some time and we cannot expect the same level of learning at home as the students would receive at school. We need to adjust our expectations and work together to make the best of the situation providing as much continuity of learning as possible. We continue to pray for all those impacted by Covid-19 and that all of our students, families, and staff will remain healthy and safe. Please know that we miss our students dearly and are committed to providing the best Catholic Education possible in the weeks ahead.

A review of things before school and life was interrupted:

• We remain in recruitment and have completed our very successful Open House. Presently, we are accepting registrations at Saint Oscar Romero from our resident feeder school students and applications for non-resident students. Please contact the school with your registration inquiries.

• Huge shout out to the cast and crew of The Lion King Jr.!!! What a fantastic display of talent!

• On the athletics front, basketball and cheer were a wrap and we want to thank all of our athletes for all their efforts!

• A huge thank-you to our Parent School Council for their fantastic support of our school community!

Please note that an administrative change will occur for the 2020-2021 school year. Our community will be wishing Ms. Teveniuk well as she continues her leadership journey at Louis St. Laurent Junior/Senior High School for 2020-2021. She would like to express her gratitude to the Saint Oscar Romero community. “It has been a great 2 years. I will truly miss the staff, students and parents of Romero. I wish you all the best and I’m saddened that it was such a short time together. Good luck and God bless! With that, I would like to formally welcome Mr. Leon Vandendooren to the Romero community.

Mr. Vandendooren has been assigned Assistant Principal for the 2020-2021 school year and comes to us from Louis St. Laurent Junior/ Senior High School where he served as Assistant Principal. Prior to that assignment Mr. Vandendooren served as an Inclusive Consultant for 2 years, an ASIST Consultant for 4 years, and is a Math teacher! Mr. Vandendooren is excited to join our Romero family. The community of Oscar Romero wishes you both the best in your new assignments.

Easter is approaching and soon we will be celebrating Jesus’ power over sin and death, the reason for our faith and hope. As Jesus promises us, we, too, will rise, body and spirit from our own earthly death to share in His glory in heaven. Please take some precious moments to witness the signs of new life during spring and to celebrate our own new beginnings throughout the Easter season.

Sincerely,

Joe Gulli, Principal

LUMEN CHRISTI Catholic Education Centre 9807-106 Street Edmonton AB T5K 1C2 T: 780 441-6000 F: 780 425-8759

www.ecsd.net

April 2020

“The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 These are unprecedented times in myriad ways for our world. Never before have we encountered a situation when classes have been cancelled completely and indefinitely in the province of Alberta. Never before have we encountered a time when even our celebration of the Eucharist has been cancelled. The Lent and Easter season are going to be very different for us this year. Let us make an extra effort to be an encounter with Christ for others in the absence of opportunity to gather at His Table. Let us focus on reaching out to each other in kindness and compassion in these times of uncertainty and anxiety. It is early days of the mandated class cancellation, and our staff is now collaborating to come up with innovative ways to ensure continuity of education for our students as much as possible. Student learning remains at the forefront of our work. We already have significant capacity to deliver aspects of the teaching and learning process virtually and will be looking at how we can maximize that capability. Our students are well versed in virtual classrooms, online assessments and collaborative working documents. It will take some time for us to carry out the shift, but we are confident that we will be able to develop interim programming in anticipation of schools being opened again at some time in the future. You can expect plans to be in place after Spring Break. While you are waiting for formal plans to unfold, there are many opportunities that exist for students to engage in general subject matter. Many of our virtual classrooms provide home access to

math and reading programs for students to practice and develop their skills in these areas. With your public library card, you have access to an incredible array of digital books and literature. Many of the world’s museums offer virtual tours and explanations about their displays. These are just a few examples of resources at your fingertips. The situation of education in Alberta is going to change daily. Information will be shared as it unfolds. Please continue to check your school’s website and www.ecsd.net for updates. If you have not already signed up for our automatic notification system, SWIFT K-12, please contact your school to do so. This will allow you to receive school specific information as it becomes available. The safety and welfare of the students and staff of Edmonton Catholic Schools is always our first priority. Responding in times of crisis requires that organizations remain calm and thorough in their response for the duration of the event. You have our commitment that we will continue to collaborate with AHS and Alberta Education in order to create the best possible scenario for your children and their continuity of learning. Our Holy Father offers us some wisdom in these turbulent times: “Let us allow ourselves to be loved by God, so that we can give love in return. Let us allow ourselves to stand up and walk towards Easter.” (03/17/20) Have a blessed Easter! Sincerely, Robert Martin Joe Naccarato Acting Superintendent Acting Superintendent

ONLINE LEARNING

Dear St. Oscar Romero Students and Parents, As we start our new educational journey, we want to share with our families how we will be moving forward with supporting students in the following months. Our goal is to support a positive, faith based community while students continue to engage in their courses. Students should be engaging in all courses they are currently registered in. Online learning has now begun. Please have your children reach out to their teachers. We will be having Teacher Advisors communicate with your children this Thursday, April 2nd regarding their online learning journey. Please ensure they answer their phones even if they do not recognize the number of the caller, as some teachers will be using personal devices to communicate. We have now created an online learning timetable, please see below. Please ensure your child follows the times each block has been allocated. Please ensure they access their school email for information and check Google Classrooms to communicate with their teachers. Our school website will also have more details to follow as we continue with this learning format.

AM

(9:00 to 10:30)

PM (12:00 to 1:30)

Monday Block 1 Block 6 Tuesday Block 3 Block 8

Wednesday Block 5 Block 2

Thursday

9:00 to 12:00

Teacher Advisor Student follow-up

Friday Block 7 Block 4

Reminder, registration is open for all students in Grade 10 and 11. Have your child follow the step by step instructions on the school website. They will need to log in to their student Powerschool account and choose courses based on current grades. We are following the regular registration procedures and will make course changes as necessary. Please know that we will also be communicating with your children in the coming weeks regarding registration. Finally, we will be sharing further information shortly regarding access to the building if your child still has belongings in the school. Thank you for your patience.

* If your child needs to reset their ECSD Password, please follow the link below.

Students need to know their old password and then visit https://passwordreset.ecsd.net/PMUser/.

*“Internet for Good” is a wifi plan which families can access if they qualify at this time. Please see link for details. https://www.telus.com/en/about/company-overview/community-investment/how-we-give/cause-campaigns/internet-for-good

LEARNING FROM HOME

Setting up a learning space in your home is an important thing. Try to find a space where you can be separate from distractions. Try to work in the traditional way, paper and pencil, for your subjects. Try to stay comfortable in your learning. Keep your notes in the same fashion. Keep up to date. Your learning is extremely important for the next level of the subject, including post-secondary. Stay focused and on task. Enjoy learning with your classmates.

FINAL GRADES

Alberta Education has directed all high schools to ensure that all students are provided with a final grade for each course in which they are currently enrolled. It is imperative that students take responsibility for course completion. Your teachers will guide you through your courses and provide pacing for you to remain on track. Your assessments may look different than what you are typically used to seeing. This will be an ongoing process that your teachers will support you through. What is most important is that you are working to maintain an understanding of the course content and staying up to date on due dates for assessments and assignments. Your grades will be reflected, as always, in powerschool. We encourage you to work with each other during assignments, but for your teachers to provide you with authentic and valuable feedback, you must complete assessments on your own.

CELEBRATION OF GRAD

Celebration of graduation is an important milestone to us all. We will move forward following AHS guidelines ensuring the safety of our students and families. We will also keep in mind financial implications to our families with respect to cancellation dates, so we do not incur any costs associated with cancellations as we approach our graduation date.

ROMERO WEBSITE

The school website is a wealth of information for students and parents. The main page is updated regularly to reflect current events in the Romero school community. Parents will find links to Power School, teacher emails, Edmonton Catholic School District, Alberta Education, Metro Athletic, and other important sites from the Parent links from the main page. Students will find important links to subject specific study resources and general references under student links. Student Services has extensive links/information about scholarships, careers, and post secondary from their page. Grade 12 students and their parents will want to check out the grad page for updates as grad approaches. Prospective students will enjoy the school profile, registration booklet, and promotional videos. Bookmark www.stoscarromero.ecsd.net and check back often.

THANK YOU

Mr. Paschal Hamel, our CTS Department Head would like to send a big thank you to Mr. Tedd Gunn, CLAC, Miller and Praxair for their generous donations of welding equipment. Their donations were detrimental in getting our shop operational and getting our students back in the shop as quickly as possible.