Dear ESDH Families,

We sincerely hope that you are all keeping safe! Thank you for supporting our entire school community with your commitment to practicing the various health protocols, getting tested and vaccinated (when it is your turn). It certainly holds true that it will take the entire village to come together to overcome this and to do our best to keep everyone safe!

Tomorrow, Thursday, April 29, virtual ESDH will be open to online learning. Students are to follow their class schedules and teachers will be communicating synchronous and asynchronous time schedules to their students. Attendance will be taken each day and students need to stay connected during this circuit breaker period and continue with their learning as it counts towards their grades. Your support in keeping your student connected is greatly appreciated. Should you need assistance, please reach out to your child’s teacher/s, our guidance counsellor, and/or administration.

Below is some information that you may find helpful as we move forward with online learning. Please feel welcome to reach out should you need any assistance.
Thank you for supporting our Schoons and our entire school community as we all navigate these stormy Covid seas and stay committed to actions that will bring calming waters soon!

Take care and stay safe,
Jen Murray
Principal, ESDH

Online Learning - Expectations
Students are expected to respect privacy and confidentiality of their fellow students and staff. The Provincial School Network Access and Use Policy, the HRCE Digital Citizenship Policy and the Provincial School Code of Conduct Policy are to be followed at all times including during online learning. Please report any concerns to your teachers and/or administration.

Online Learning and Attendance
Students will have a combination of Synchronous Learning (real-time connection/communication with teachers as a whole class, small group and/or individual student) as well as Asynchronous Learning (Connection/communication that does not occur in real time ie- emails, discussion forums, videos, task/assignments/projects).

Active learning is expected of students and grading will continue during this online learning. Teachers will be using conversations, observations and product submissions to assess student learning.

Attendance is important. If an extenuating absence is necessary, as usual, parents/guardians can contact the school attendance line at 902-889-4025 ext 1 or send an email to Ms. Hernon at khernon@hrce.ca . Attendance will be added to PowerSchool by teachers and Ms. Hernon will continue to update AWN (Absence With Notification) codes.

211 Nova Scotia
If you are in need of food, please call 211 Monday to Friday between 8am-8pm to speak with one of the navigators to do an intake file for the Food Box program by Feed Nova Scotia.

Guidance
Students who would like to receive career or personal counselling support from home should email Ms. Greenough (jgreenough@hrce.ca) for a phone or zoom appointment. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have a question about scholarships, post-secondary planning, or if you require emotional support.

Student Access Accounts

Google Classroom, Student emails (GNSPES) & PowerSchool All students have a GNSPES account for email and to link to Google Classrooms for each of their teachers. If your child has any difficulty accessing, please contact their teacher directly (here is a link to the Staff Directory on our school website: https://esd.hrce.ca/staff-directory ) as they can reset access. If you are having difficulty with PowerSchool, please contact the main office at khernon@hrce.ca or 902-889-4025 ext 0.

Student Services (Resource Caseloads)
The Student support team will be following their daily schedule and providing direct support for students within the scheduled classes for each day. Synchronous (live and in person) support will take place during student class time and will be a combination of the teacher lesson and hosting an open google meet with the Resource and Learning Center teachers.

The support team will also be available throughout the school day to answer e-mails and connect with students.

Parents and students are welcome to reach out through e-mail with any questions they may have.

Corinna Murrant - Resource Teacher - cmurrant@hrce.ca

Darah Rivalin - Learning Center Teacher/Resource support - drivalin@hrce.ca

Krystal McKenzie -Learning Center Teacher - krystal.mckenzie@hrce.ca

Grade 12 Community Scholarships
Wondering how you can fund your post-secondary studies next year? Have a look at the Community Scholarships listings on the guidance website. They are now open for application! Deadlines are early this year with some as early as May 17th. Please see Ms. Greenough, jgreenough@hrce.ca,if you have any questions.

Attention GRADE 12s - Valedictorian Information
Attention grade 12 graduating class! While this academic year has provided many hurdles and required much adjustment, ESDH is none-the-less moving forward with the class of 2021 Valedictorian selection process! This is a great honour to commemorate the journey you and your classmates took to reach graduation and to address our entire school community! It is something that is sure to make your family proud for years to come.

If you are interested in giving an interesting, clever, funny, and moving speech to your graduating class, families, and school staff, please write a 5-10 minute speech. Due to the current health protocols, we are asking that you present your speech to the best of your abilities on video. Feel free to use a phone. Please contact Mr. Stoffman for tips, guidance, and the scoring rubric as early as possible. Link online. Please share your best version with hstoffman@gnspes.ca by Monday May 10th. If you have any questions or need help, please do not hesitate to ask!

Daily Announcements
Families and students can continue to see daily announcements in their PowerSchool account when they click Daily Bulletin.