Dear VCE Families,
I hope this message finds you and your families well.
This email is to connect with you and to provide you with some additional information about our plan at Vallelycliffe starting next week. I hope you have had some time to read through the letter sent yesterday from the Superintendent, which contains a lot of important information about the overall plan, please do so if you haven’t been able to yet. There is also a survey below with instructions, please complete as soon as possible.
I would like to start off by acknowledging that we are in uncertain times right now in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed how we are living and being at this time. We need to be sensitive and supportive of everyone in our community (and beyond) at this time. I want you to know that our staff at VCE is thinking about you and hoping you are finding some joy and time to take care of yourselves in these unprecedented times.
We are looking forward to connecting with all of our VCE families over the coming week and we will do our best to provide continuity of learning that is engaging and appropriate for these times. We know that all of our families are being impacted, in different ways, and we want you to know that we, at Valleycliffe, will do our best to provide appropriate and engaging educational opportunities and support for your children during this time. We are using this coming week to plan as a team appropriately and our goal is to not overwhelm parents or students. We will be flexible to the needs of our families and take this one step at a time. Please also take this time to recognize this is also new and evolving for our wonderful VCE teachers, EAs, and other support staff so we need to take time to care for them as well.
Needs Assessment Survey
Right now, we are conducting a short survey to hear from you regarding technology needs that you may need to support learning at home. The survey contains questions regarding needs like borrowing a device, accessing an app, and getting some help with WiFi and connectivity. The information in the survey will be shared with staff so that we can best prepare. This survey is brief and will only take a few minutes to complete. Please, try to complete BEFORE Monday so we have the info we need as soon as possible.
Please click on the link below to start the survey (only one per family is required):
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6DRQ2VG
Accessing the School Building
For now, we have limited access to our school building. We will be creating a system that will allow families to access essential resources and personal items from the school starting late next week.
What’s Next?
On Monday, your classroom teacher will be contacting you and your child/ren. They will be reaching out to let you know that we are here for you and working to support you and your family. We recognize that you might end up receiving multiple emails but it is important that all students are connected with their teacher. Of course, please feel free to connect with me at any time as well.
Additional Resources
Mental Health Support: you can reach the Kids Help Phone
- Text CONNECT to 686868 to reach a trained volunteer Crisis Responder 24/7.
- Call 1-800-668-6868 to speak with one of our professional counsellors 24/7.
General Mental Health
Kelty’s Key – https://www.keltyskey.com/ offers online therapy and self-help resources
Family Smart – https://familysmart.ca/ – Squamish’s Parent in Residence who can provide support can be reached at Trudie.Neubert@familysmart.ca
Mental Health Foundations – https://www.mentalhealthfoundations.ca/resources – offers some good resources and videos for parents and caregivers
Mood & Anxiety
Bounce Back – https://bouncebackbc.ca/ – A Canadian Mental Health on-line skill building program for adults and youth (15+) to manage mood and anxiety.
Anxiety Canada – https://www.anxietycanada.com/ – offers information and self-help regarding anxiety
ADHD & Parenting Resources
Confident Parents Thriving Kids – https://welcome.cmhacptk.ca/ – Offers telephone coaching to parents
Rolling With ADHD – https://healthymindslearning.ca/rollingwith-adhd/ – On line strategies for parenting a child with ADHD
ADHD Psycho-ed Videos by Russell Barkley – http://russellbarkley.org/index.html
After Hours Resources
BC Mental Health Support • 310-6789
Suicide Help Line – 1-800-SUICIDE • 1-800-784-2433 (24 hours)
Online Service for Adults • www.CrisisCentreChat.ca
Online Service for Youth • www.YouthinBC.com
I hope that you take this weekend to enjoy family time and we look forward to connecting with you soon.
Sincerely,
Sarah Hain
Principal of Valleycliffe Elementary
