hippo
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Post by hippo on Aug 12, 2020 19:07:42 GMT -6
And although it *is possible* to work from home so I can help DS with schooling, I can’t do it. I won’t survive.
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Tlex
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Post by Tlex on Aug 12, 2020 19:32:34 GMT -6
Ontarian here! I did not know that about class sizes Tlex! I was just saying to a neighbor yesterday that we will probably be fine sending our kids because of how many people will likely hold their kids out. Guess I’ll have to correct that. I will have a grade 1 and JKer and I will probably send them with masks but with low expectations. Are there any studies that say that minimal use (2 of 5 hours) versus no use, is better or worse for risk of virus exposure? Like, if my kid wears it for 2 hours, is he giving himself some protection? Or is all the touching and on/off more of a risk? Hey hangry! Nice to meet you, I have a grade 1 and a JK too. No idea on the masks. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Post by Pumpkinwest on Aug 12, 2020 21:32:09 GMT -6
DS is going into SK and will be going back to in class (Ontario here).
I’m currently working from home but could be called back to the office at any time with very little notice. I’m already doing at least 1 day a week there now. H is in sales and has been back to work for a couple months.
Unfortunately we don’t have a choice but to send him and I’m trying really hard not to spiral about it ... definitely not succeeding in that though. Le sigh.
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Post by August Blooms on Aug 13, 2020 14:08:28 GMT -6
We both work outside of the house and have had minimal time off. They’ve been back in daycare since July. I’m really banking on a lot of people not sending their JK’s and the fact that a lot of parents in our area are working from home and will continue to keep their kids home. We have no choice so I’m hoping those that do will keep their kids home.
Anyone else watch the Lecce Announcement? Why is he always so late? More money is good but why are they waiting until the last minute?
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Post by August Blooms on Aug 13, 2020 14:26:08 GMT -6
Oh not new money, boards can access their reserves. And magically find enough HVAC people to do upgrades.
This will be fine.
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Post by blabbermouth on Aug 13, 2020 15:23:43 GMT -6
We were offered a spot for my 18month old at a daycare that is only running it’s toddler program right now. 2 groups of 10 kids:3 educators, each on separate floors of the building, with their own entrances and yards. This is a way better set up than the center we were first offered a spot with, and the first center is not impressing me in other ways already (I have to chase them for info and he’s supposed to start in ~2 weeks? No contract sent to me yet? No proactive communication from them at all). The 2nd center was offering up all the ways they’re keeping staff, kids, and parents safe without me even bringing it up. Much better vibe. It’s a farther walk for us but it’s on the same street my dad lives on, and since he’s also a workaholic-WFH I think he would appreciate helping with pick ups some days as a way to force himself to turn off the computer. I’m just typing this all out because I’m so nervous about sending him at all. It’s a pretty strange time to introduce a kid to daycare for the first time. This is how my 2.5 year old's daycare works here right now (in BC). 2 groups of 10, 3 teachers each. She's been back since July and I feel comfortable with it. No parents inside, they take temperature on arrival and then take the kids in to wash hands immediately. Wash toys daily (smaller rotation of toys) and spend 90% of the day outside. But we're in a really low case area which of course underlies all of my thoughts on the topic!
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valiente
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Post by valiente on Aug 13, 2020 18:41:59 GMT -6
I just read an email from a neighbouring school board that is looking into implementing smaller class sizes in elementary schools. Who knows what will come of this, but I like that it’s being discussed and shared with parents.
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Tlex
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Post by Tlex on Aug 13, 2020 20:28:11 GMT -6
Is anyone closely following the WE charity stuff with Trudeau? I feel like I’m too tired for more fuckery but I should probably read about it beyond headlines.
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Tlex
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Post by Tlex on Aug 13, 2020 20:30:38 GMT -6
I just read an email from a neighbouring school board that is looking into implementing smaller class sizes in elementary schools. Who knows what will come of this, but I like that it’s being discussed and shared with parents. That’s hopeful! Our board had its budget meeting tonight, waiting to hear what comes from that. Is it too much to hope boards with reserve funds help those with none? I read about 50% of boards don’t have one so Lecce saying they could use that money was 🙄
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danib
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Post by danib on Aug 14, 2020 6:50:47 GMT -6
Is anyone closely following the WE charity stuff with Trudeau? I feel like I’m too tired for more fuckery but I should probably read about it beyond headlines. Honestly I haven't been. I've tried reading up on it a few times but I'm just "meh" and close it out. Pandemic fatigue maybe.
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Post by Notarobot on Aug 14, 2020 7:36:32 GMT -6
Is anyone closely following the WE charity stuff with Trudeau? I feel like I’m too tired for more fuckery but I should probably read about it beyond headlines. I have started digging into it since I work in the NGO world I feel like I should be more engaged. I listened to the Canadaland podcast about what happened to them when they first started reporting on this and how someone (seems likely to be from WE) implemented all these black ops internet techniques to associate Canadaland with fake news and bury the story. Stuff that generally you see with politics in the states. It was a really interesting listen but I'm only halfway through.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2020 8:44:13 GMT -6
I'll be following along (from Ontario), although I don't really have much to contribute right now. I'm aware of the WE stuff, but I also haven't dug that deep yet. I have a Facebook friend that used to work for the brothers back in the Free the Children days. He had lots of opinions on how they run their organisations, but not much insight on political corruption.
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Tlex
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Post by Tlex on Aug 14, 2020 10:30:20 GMT -6
The daycare I liked called me (!! sad that this feels notable) to officially offer us a space and send us a registration package. Coincidentally the other center emailed MH asking him to fill out a form expressing our interest in the space they have available - we’ve already submitted the form twice and I even called once to confirm it was received. 😒
One of the program teachers will be calling me later today to do an intake interview and chat about what they are doing re: Covid and how the program will be different from normal times. We’ll also discuss how to manage a gradual entry so that MH can stick with his return to work date of Sept 1st. The admin asked me how I was feeling about sending him and was very understanding that it’s a really mixed emotion decision, and shared that she’s struggling with sending her own kids back to school and knows every choice is tough but they’re committed to making both parents and staff feel safe. I am feeling really good about our decision.
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emma
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Post by emma on Aug 14, 2020 10:36:14 GMT -6
Is anyone closely following the WE charity stuff with Trudeau? I feel like I’m too tired for more fuckery but I should probably read about it beyond headlines. i've been lightly following. The BBC has a decent top level overview www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53494560He should have stepped down a year ago after the last 2 scandals, plus his weak ass refusing to take a stand for the Wet'suwet'en pipeline protests. I'm so over him pretending to be the good guy
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emma
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Post by emma on Aug 14, 2020 10:39:18 GMT -6
I just got an email from the school board saying mask use is now being required for k-12 instead of just 4-12. I don't feel so silly for my insane drunk mask buying frenzy a few weeks ago. I've got about 25 kids masks ready to go and don't have to stress about getting some shipped in time.
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valiente
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Post by valiente on Aug 14, 2020 10:53:30 GMT -6
I just got an email from the school board saying mask use is now being required for k-12 instead of just 4-12. I don't feel so silly for my insane drunk mask buying frenzy a few weeks ago. I've got about 25 kids masks ready to go and don't have to stress about getting some shipped in time. I’m going to need more masks... At least if they’re requiring it they will be offering support while at school, right??
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emma
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Post by emma on Aug 14, 2020 10:57:05 GMT -6
I just got an email from the school board saying mask use is now being required for k-12 instead of just 4-12. I don't feel so silly for my insane drunk mask buying frenzy a few weeks ago. I've got about 25 kids masks ready to go and don't have to stress about getting some shipped in time. I’m going to need more masks... At least if they’re requiring it they will be offering support while at school, right?? i don't know about support, i guess they will try to help but i'm also assuming they will be fairly relaxed with the lower grades. FYI - out of all the kids masks i've ordered these are by far the nicest and most breathable. www.happymasks.com/
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Post by babybean on Aug 14, 2020 11:18:39 GMT -6
Is anyone closely following the WE charity stuff with Trudeau? I feel like I’m too tired for more fuckery but I should probably read about it beyond headlines. i've been lightly following. The BBC has a decent top level overview www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53494560He should have stepped down a year ago after the last 2 scandals, plus his weak ass refusing to take a stand for the Wet'suwet'en pipeline protests. I'm so over him pretending to be the good guy but he cries on camera, that means he’s sincere!
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emma
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Post by emma on Aug 14, 2020 11:30:31 GMT -6
i've been lightly following. The BBC has a decent top level overview www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53494560He should have stepped down a year ago after the last 2 scandals, plus his weak ass refusing to take a stand for the Wet'suwet'en pipeline protests. I'm so over him pretending to be the good guy but he cries on camera, that means he’s sincere! of course! He sincerely cares about keeping the money rolling in and appeasing corporations
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Post by misskilljoy on Aug 15, 2020 20:46:39 GMT -6
Hello, hi, I am here and I can give you all the deets on schools in Ontario but basically it is STUPID AS FUCK and the Ministry isn't allowing any actual solutions for class size, physical distancing, or safety protocols. Notable: they have not even provided boards with their direction for what to do when a student or staff member tests positive. For those keeping track, some boards start in 16 days. As of right now I have no finalized teaching assignment, timetable, class list - nothing. I was not going to engage in 3-day-old shenanigans in the other thread, but what Tlex said she heard from me is accurate: while a very small number of boards have said they will not reorg schools due to remote learning registrations, the vast majority will be redoing class lists once they know who is online versus in person, then staffing schools with the same allocations as always - e.g. full classes. This will mean that parents can't change their mind until end of term when staffing can be redone again. It's an absolute fucking nightmare.
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Post by misskilljoy on Aug 15, 2020 20:50:46 GMT -6
Notably, TDSB put forth a plan that would have allowed them to maintain elementary classes at 15-20 at very minimal cost, with the entire funding coming from their reserves, and the plan was rejected by the Ministry of Ed because it would have required ending the school day 48 minutes early. The plan would have allowed classes to have only one teacher contact, with no teacher prep happening during the day. MoE said that they will absolutely not approve a plan that changes the amount of instructional time at school.
My board was planning to look into a similar plan. I'm not sure if they'll do so now. If I end up with the timetable I was given as a tentative assignment back in June, I will have contact with 80-90 students instead of just one class.
Fuck this government.
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Post by Notarobot on Aug 17, 2020 9:11:06 GMT -6
My board just released the numbers and apparently 20-25% of parents in elementary and highschool opted for fully remote. That's lower than I was expecting it to be, to be honest. They're going to release an updated plan this week for what this is going to look like now that they have the breakdown and also to address some issues from their last plan. School starts Sept 3. I just don't see how it's going to get figured out in two weeks.
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Post by Cupcakemama on Aug 17, 2020 11:10:59 GMT -6
Ontario as well. Our board has released dates that we are able to switch between. Elementary can choose to switch in Nov. or Feb with notice given to the board a few weeks before. Highschool can switch in Feb. with notice given in Jan. I have decided to keep DD (grade 2) home and DS( grade 9) will go to school. I am doing chemo right now and as such am on medical leave until at least December. After which I work the night shift. I am hoping by then DD will be in a good routine so that I can maybe doze on the couch while she does school. If it's not working out then she will go back in Feb. Unfortunately, I really think the lack of a good plan is so Ford can say we tried it, it didn't work so we are shutting it down again. If they wanted to make it work they would have put more things in place for the elementary school kids. The high schools have smaller class sizes for goodness sake.
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Post by misskilljoy on Aug 17, 2020 12:18:48 GMT -6
Any of you who are in Ontario who are opting for remote but also think the required screen time is insane (180 mins/day for kinder, 225 mins/day for grades 1-12): know that you can opt out of the synchronous learning part and be provided with offline activities instead. That note is buried deep in the MoE memo and boards aren't great at advertising it.
If you want a good time tomorrow, there are two different board meetings being livestreamed that should be interesting: TDSB (two different afternoon meetings) and OCDSB (evening).
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Post by Notarobot on Aug 17, 2020 13:28:09 GMT -6
Any of you who are in Ontario who are opting for remote but also think the required screen time is insane (180 mins/day for kinder, 225 mins/day for grades 1-12): know that you can opt out of the synchronous learning part and be provided with offline activities instead. That note is buried deep in the MoE memo and boards aren't great at advertising it. If you want a good time tomorrow, there are two different board meetings being livestreamed that should be interesting: TDSB (two different afternoon meetings) and OCDSB (evening). That's interesting and good to know. I saw 5 hours of synchronous learning/day pop up in the FAQ for our board today and we were talking about how long that is for kids and teachers.
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Post by August Blooms on Aug 17, 2020 17:43:48 GMT -6
Any of you who are in Ontario who are opting for remote but also think the required screen time is insane (180 mins/day for kinder, 225 mins/day for grades 1-12): know that you can opt out of the synchronous learning part and be provided with offline activities instead. That note is buried deep in the MoE memo and boards aren't great at advertising it. If you want a good time tomorrow, there are two different board meetings being livestreamed that should be interesting: TDSB (two different afternoon meetings) and OCDSB (evening). Lol at 180 min for a kindergartner. My kid wanted nothing to do with those zoom chats her teacher arranged. I’m also in Ontario thank you so much for all the info.
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danib
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Post by danib on Aug 17, 2020 19:01:11 GMT -6
Our official guidelines were released today. There isn't a remote option. They aren't reducing class sizes. Or making masks mandatory (even though they are now mandatory in every other indoor public space). What they are doing is telling everyone to wash their hands more and kicking 6000+ kids off the school buses (so that buses are reduced capacity even though classrooms aren't) and those 3-6 thousand families just have to figure out transportation on their own.
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Post by misskilljoy on Aug 17, 2020 19:54:24 GMT -6
Our official guidelines were released today. There isn't a remote option. They aren't reducing class sizes. Or making masks mandatory (even though they are now mandatory in every other indoor public space). What they are doing is telling everyone to wash their hands more and kicking 6000+ kids off the school buses (so that buses are reduced capacity even though classrooms aren't) and those 3-6 thousand families just have to figure out transportation on their own. LMAO, but Ontario isn't reducing bus capacity - they're going to continue packing buses 3 kids to a seat and putting the onus on the bus driver to enforce masks and seating assignments. What a shit show this is all going to be. Heard a rumour today that one of the teacher unions might seek a court injunction to delay the start of the school year...
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danib
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Post by danib on Aug 18, 2020 1:21:15 GMT -6
Our official guidelines were released today. There isn't a remote option. They aren't reducing class sizes. Or making masks mandatory (even though they are now mandatory in every other indoor public space). What they are doing is telling everyone to wash their hands more and kicking 6000+ kids off the school buses (so that buses are reduced capacity even though classrooms aren't) and those 3-6 thousand families just have to figure out transportation on their own. LMAO, but Ontario isn't reducing bus capacity - they're going to continue packing buses 3 kids to a seat and putting the onus on the bus driver to enforce masks and seating assignments. What a shit show this is all going to be. Heard a rumour today that one of the teacher unions might seek a court injunction to delay the start of the school year... Our teachers union is pissed and put out a snarky statement how "kids are safer in Walmart than school" with our guidelines, so I could totally see something like that happening here as well.
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Post by August Blooms on Aug 18, 2020 8:22:54 GMT -6
So Morneau has resigned, Freeland moves to Finance and parliament is being prorogued until October.
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