Submitted by Brenda Brewer, Principal, and Breanna Heels, Vice-Principal
Well, none of us wanted to be here again, but here we are. Students at both Northern Bruce Peninsula schools, along with schools across the province, are starting 2022 with online learning.
Some people are saying this all feels like Groundhog Day (the movie, not the very important Holiday) but there are some significant differences from previous shutdowns. After all, practice makes perfect, and we’ve had a LOT of practice with remote learning in the last couple of years.
This time around, students are better able to navigate their online learning environment. Many teachers, especially in our secondary classes, have started to post assignments and course materials online even when students are learning in the school building. The first time classes went online, teachers and students alike were scrambling, trying to figure out where everything could be found. This time, everything is familiar.
In Bluewater District School Board, teachers use Office 365 and the Microsoft Suite and/or Brightspace, both providing engaging virtual classrooms. Some teachers may use Microsoft Teams exclusively to both host their class meetings and post assignments, and some teachers may use Teams for their meetings and then post the content in Brightspace. During class meetings in Teams, teachers (and students) can share their screens, use their video and mics to engage with the class, and in many ways, run a class very similarly to in-person learning.
Everyone is getting better at managing on-line classroom time, too. Students understand the importance of turning their microphones off when it’s not their turn to speak, and teachers have figured out the “mute all” button and use it as necessary!
There is no substitute for the energy and mental stimulation of in-person classrooms, and we all look forward to getting back to school, in person, as soon as we safely can. And we know that families in our community are struggling to balance child care and employment and all their other responsibilities. We want this to be over!
But until it is, we’re doing our best, and our best is getting better every day. Thanks so much to all our parents who are helping students to troubleshoot their online learning, and, from the principal’s desk, thanks so much to all the staff who are doing a great job of adapting and making things work.
And, while we’re thanking people – thanks again to everyone who contributed to our annual Festive Feast in December. It looked a little different this year, with students eating in their classrooms instead of gathering together in the cafeteria, but the spirit was still the same. Tim Hayes and the Bottle Fund, Sarah Mansfield Perrault, Hellyer’s Foodland, and all the staff and students who worked so hard to make this happen – thank you!
Hopefully by our next update, we’ll have some exciting in-person learning to report on.
