In response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Canadian Student Leadership Association in partnership with the Good Spirit School Division and Yorkton Regional High School, has made the decision to postpone the 2020 Canadian Student Leadership Conference (CSLC) by one year. Yorkton Regional High School will host the 36th Canadian Student Leadership Conference from September 21st – September 25th, 2021.

Looking for on-line math resources? NLESD has a YouTube channel where all topics from Grades 7, 8, and 9 are discussed. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/user/NLESDMathematics/playlists.

Grade 9 students can also access Math resources through the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation (CDLI). You can apply for a free CDLI account at this page: https://www.cdli.ca//news/2020/04/08/how-to-access-cdli-resources! 

At this time it is important that you please take the time to sign into PowerSchool and review current marks.

A Progress Report will be available April 22, 2020. ALL students now have the opportunity to improve their current grades. Students and parents/ guardians are encouraged to get in touch with subject teachers to make arrangements for improving these current grades.

Learning is continuing and teachers are checking in making contact with both families and students. If you are unsure of where to look for materials or contact information for courses, check out our latest Newsletter at mdjh.info . This newsletter lists where you can find the latest information for classes.

Lastly, if you are unable to access PowerSchool (e.g. Forgot the password) please email Ms. Pike at christinapike@nlesd.ca and it can be reset.

WE are all in this together! Take care. Stay Safe.

Guidelines for Families to Help Protect Student and Family Privacy:

Video meetings between teachers and students are extensions of the classroom and regular classroom rules apply. While we are connecting with students in a virtual environment, everyone has a responsibility to ensure the protection of privacy. Please strictly adhere to the following guidelines:

• Teachers will invite students to participate in virtual meetings by sharing a meeting URL or unique nickname through Gmail or Google Classroom. To ensure that only invited guests have access to the session, please do not share this meeting information publicly.
• The meeting will show the names and faces of student participants. To ensure that identities are kept private, please do not post any photos or videos of your child’s virtual meetings to social media if other student faces or names are shown.
• Discuss ways you can protect the privacy of members of your household, such as physically locating in one spot without background activity.

During these unprecedented circumstances, our priority remains the health and well-being of our students. The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District (NLESD) will continue to provide services and resources that assist students in managing their mental health while in-school instruction and attendance is suspended.

We want students to know that help is still close by and they are not alone.

Therefore, as of Tuesday, April 7, the District will be launching NL Guidance Services in an effort to ensure that all students have access to a qualified School Counsellor during this time. We have established a volunteer team of counsellors from across the district who will:

• Provide confidential, individual counselling services via telephone during school hours (9:00 am – 3:00pm NST Monday to Friday); and
• Make referrals to community agencies as necessary and appropriate.

This is not intended to replace other services a student may currently be availing of, such as ongoing counselling services with their school-based counsellor or outside services provided by a private mental health professional or medical personnel. Inquiries that are academic in nature must be directed to the student’s school. We ask that students who are currently receiving services from their School Counsellor to contact them directly through email.

How to Access NLESD Guidance Services:

• Visit bit.ly/NLGuidance and complete the secure School Counsellor Referral form
• Call the toll-free hotline at 1-833-772-0007

This information is also available from the District’s website at www.nlesd.ca. A member of our team will make every effort to contact students on the same business day that their requests are received.

If the situation is an emergency, and you or someone else is at risk of imminent harm, please call 911 or contact the Mental Health Crisis Line which is available 24/7 at 1-888-737-4668.

Additional Support Services

• Kids Help Phone – text 686868 or call 1-800-668-6868 or visit www.kidshelpphone.ca
• CHANNAL Peer Support: The Warm Line 1-855-753-2560 (9 am – 12 midnight)
• Mental Health & Addictions Systems Navigator 1-877-999-7589 (9 am – 5 pm weekdays)
• Health Line: 811 24 hours; 7 days/week
• Bridge the gapp Website www.bridgethegapp.ca
• Crisis Text Line: Text ‘Talk’ to 686868 (24 hours; 7 days/week)

Given the current situation with COVID-19 and the travel restrictions, we are unable to ensure the safe delivery of the items. Once the situation has resolved, St. John’s Soap Works and MDJH will work together to make available the products that you ordered.

We apologize for the inconvenience and ask – once again – for your understanding during these unprecedented times.

From Ross Elliott, Program Manager, Turning Points and Entrepreneurial Adventure, NL:

As you are well aware, this year classes were suspended prior to the deadline for submission of student essays.  This means, I expect, that many students might have been beginning, or in the middle of, completing their essays, while others may not have yet begun.

At TLP, we have been thinking about ways in which we might be able to support your efforts as teachers to provide opportunities for student learning in our current circumstances.  Some of the examples of teacher/school initiatives that have been shared in the media in NL are indeed inspiring, and I am sure there are many others that we have not heard about.

In light of this, and in consultation with the school district, TLP is offering the following opportunity which, with minimal involvement by teachers, could provide an interesting opportunity for interested students:

1. The deadline for essay submission for Turning Points will be extended to the end of Monday, April 27th.
2. Students will submit their essays directly to the TLP site from their home.  They would simply need to visit this link, https://www.thelearningpartnership.ca/programs/turning-points/essay-submission and complete the form to submit their essays.
3. There will be no need for judging at the school level as in the past.  I have organized a group of very competent/experienced judges who will review all essays submitted.  This means that if you have 20 or even more students who submit essays, these essays are welcomed and will be judged by TLP.
4. Assuming that there are sufficient entries from each of the four regions in NLESD, the prize/recognition structure will be the same as in other years.
5. It is pretty obvious to us that there will not be a celebration event this year.  However, we can find other ways for public recognition, possibly at individual school celebrations in the fal