We are very excited to welcome everyone back on Monday! We hope that you enjoyed the March break and were able to relax and take a break from your usual routines. And what weather! Spring has definitely sprung!
The return to school will come with some changes as we shift to living with the new management protocols for Covid-19. When it comes to masking, we are keenly aware that personal opinions vary tremendously as some students will be happy to rid themselves of their mask, while others will feel anxious about masks no longer being required. We have heard from students, parents, guardians and staff about their strong feelings on this issue. We encourage all students to take the steps that they are comfortable with, while supporting the choices of others. It is extremely important that everyone respects individual decisions to ensure a safe and caring learning environment for all. Forest Hill will welcome and respect all personal choices.
There is much in this edition of the newsletter that addresses the shifts in protocol that will occur as of Monday and we ask that you take some time to read through this edition paying special attention to these sections:
- Revised Health Screening
- Masking & Expectations
- Students Who Travelled Outside Canada During March Break
- Short-term Remote Learning for Students Not Comfortable Returning with Removal of Covid-19 Protocols
Thank you for your support as we return to school and welcome our students back on Monday.
Sincerely,
Yvette Duffy, Principal Joseph Ghassibe, Vice Principal Anita Love, Vice Principal
In this issue:
- The Next Two Weeks at a Glance
- Revised Health Screening
- Masking & Expectations
- Students Who Travelled Outside Canada During March Break
- Short-Term Remote Learning For Students Not Comfortable Returning with Removal of Covid-19 Protocols
- Virtual Learning for September 2022 – Reminder of Deadline Monday, March 21 at 11:59 p.m.
- Parent-Guardian-Teacher Interviews – Thursday, April 7
- Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test – Grade 10 Students – Important Upcoming Dates
- Vaccine Clinics: Meningococcal, HPV, and Hepatitis B
- Extracurricular Activities, Clubs & Athletics - Update
- Robo Sapiens Wins $2500 Funding to Support Their Team!
- Messages from Guidance
- Messages from School Council – Chair Tracy Kowal
- Trustee Laskin’s Weekly Updates
Keep apprised of what is happening by linking to our school year calendar which is live on our school website landing page.
Revised Health Screening
Toronto Public Health has updated its screening for students and staff to align with the new direction from the Chief Medical Officer of Health with respect to isolation guidelines and masking requirements following a COVID-19 diagnosis or identification of being a close contact.
As of Monday, all students are still expected to complete a self-assessment with this Toronto Public Health revised screening tool before coming to school each day. Students will still be required to enter the school through the main entrance, but will not need to present their screening results to enter. Students are expected to follow the isolation guidelines and requirements indicated on the screening tool, such as masking and remaining at home to self-isolate if symptoms occur.
Masking & Expectations
As of March 21, masks will be strongly encouraged in TDSB schools, though not required. Masks will be mandatory for all staff and students in the following circumstances:
Forest Hill will continue to be a mask-friendly environment, with masks still available to staff and students upon request. Again, it is really important that we respect all personal choices with regard to masking and will ensure that classrooms are inclusive of all.
Students Who Travelled Outside Canada During March Break
Federal guidelines around international travel will still need to be followed upon return to school. Some travellers will be required to quarantine if requested to do so at the border crossing or airport entry. If you are exempt from quarantine, according to federal travel requirements you must:
- wear a mask at all times when in public spaces
- maintain a list of all close contacts for your first 14 days in Canada
- monitor yourself for signs and symptoms of COVID-19
For more information, please refer to the Toronto Public Health Travel Infographic.
Short-Term Remote Learning For Students Not Comfortable Returning with Removal of Covid-19 Protocols
Although some families and students will be excited to return to school without a mask, we have heard from many families who are highly concerned about what unmasking at this time means for them. The TDSB will be allowing any student who wishes to switch to remote learning to do so at this time as per PPM164.
It is important to note that only 65% of Forest Hill classes offer livestreamed synchronous learning this semester. If a student wishes to shift to short-term virtual learning at this time, it is possible that some classes will be available synchronously while others may not. This means that students who opt for short-term remote learning may not have access to all livestreamed classes and will be expected to learn asynchronously by following the Brightspace/Google Classroom platforms. Please reach out to your student’s vice-principal for support and information if you are considering switching your student to short-term virtual learning:
Students with Surnames A to K - Vice Principal Anita Love - anita.love@tdsb.on.ca
Students with Surnames L to Z - Vice Principal Joseph Ghassibe - joseph.ghassibe@tdsb.on.ca
Virtual Learning for September 2022 – Reminder of Deadline Monday, March 21 at 11:59 p.m.
The Government of Ontario announced in early March that all school boards must offer virtual learning to students for the 2022-2023 school year. To align with this directive, the TDSB plans to set up a secondary virtual school this September similar to the model used during the 2020-2021 school year.
On March 7, the TDSB emailed all families about the process regarding Virtual Learning for the 2022-2023 school year. All students interested in requesting Virtual Learning for the entire school year must complete this Virtual Learning Registration Form by Monday, March 21 at 11:59 p.m. It is important to note that once a decision is made regarding the 2022-2023 school year, there will be no opportunity to switch between in-person and virtual learning.
To learn more about Virtual Learning for the 2022-23 school year, including details around program availability and student supports, please visit TDSB Virtual Learning 2022-2023 or link to Questions & Answers: Secondary Virtual Learning.
If you wish to connect with the school to discuss this further, please reach out to your student’s vice-principal for support:
Students with Surnames A to K - Vice Principal Anita Love - anita.love@tdsb.on.ca
Students with Surnames L to Z - Vice Principal Joseph Ghassibe - joseph.ghassibe@tdsb.on.ca
If your student plans to attend in-person next year, no action is required at this time.
Parent-Guardian-Teacher Interviews – Thursday, April 7
Parent-Guardian-Teacher Interviews will take place on Thursday, April 7. Two sessions will be held as follows:
- Afternoon Session: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Evening Session: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
All interviews will be 5-minutes and conducted remotely. The objective of this Parent-Guardian-Teacher Interview is to gain a better understanding of how students are progressing at this early stage in the semester and to support students prior to the semester 2 official report card distribution.
Please note that Friday, April 8 will be a late start and classes will begin at 10:00 a.m.
More information about Parent-Guardian-Teacher Interviews will be available in the next newsletter. Stay tuned.
Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test – Grade 10 Students – Important Upcoming Dates
As you know, each year the Ministry of Education requires all grade 10 students to complete the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). This test is a mandatory graduation requirement that assesses grade 9 literacy skill development. All current grade 10, 11 and non-graduating grade 12 students are required to write the OSSLT this school year. All current graduating grade 12 students are exempt owing to the pandemic.
As the majority of our grade 11 students wrote the OSSLT in the fall, the spring session will primarily be for grade 10 students. Grade 11 students who were absent for the fall session or who wish to rewrite will also be included in the spring session.
Important Upcoming Dates:
- Thursday, April 21 – all grade 10 classes will be provided with an overview to the OSSLT and then have an opportunity to write an online practice test. Students should bring their own laptop to access the online practice test.
- Wednesday, May 4 in the morning – writers of the OSSLT will complete Booklet 1
- Thursday, May 12 in the morning – writers of the OSSLT will complete Booklet 2
Virtual students who wish to write will need to come into the building on these days. All virtual students will write as a cohort in a separate classroom and all efforts will be made to support with entering and exiting the building with minimal contact with others. Please contact Vice-Principal Love (anita.love@tdsb.on.ca) to make arrangements.
Please also note to support our virtual students and the fact that our school is sharing students with other local schools, Forest Hill will run a modified schedule on the following dates to support the administering of OSSLT:
- April 19, 21, 26 and 28
- May 4, 5, 11 and 12
On the above days, all students will attend two classes that will run for 2.5 hours each. Link to this OSSLT Modified Schedule for details.
Vaccine Clinics: Meningococcal, HPV, and Hepatitis B
Starting in March, students in Grades 7 through 12 will be able to receive the meningococcal, human papillomavirus and hepatitis B vaccines, if they have not already received these through Toronto Public Health vaccination clinics. For more information, please link to:
Extracurricular Activities, Clubs & Athletics - Update
After the break, all clubs and student groups will be able to meet in-person once again. Students are encouraged to speak to their staff sponsors as to how each group will meet moving forward.
Varsity Male Basketball is back! An information session was hosted prior to the March break. Tryouts will be hosted on Monday, March 21 and Tuesday, March 22 at 3:00 p.m. in the gym. All students must submit the necessary signed paperwork in order to be eligible to tryout. Thank you to Mr. Billinghurst who will be the staff sponsor for this team!
Robo Sapiens Wins $2500 Funding to Support Their Team!
Congratulations to our Robo Sapiens for winning a $2500 grant. The grant will support with their plan to purchase robotic parts to enter competitions, connect with mentors and arrange guest speaker events!
Thank you to Sarah Liu for all she did to work with the Robo Sapiens team to brainstorm ideas to put forward the application for the funding. A big shout out to Mr. Doyherard for being the staff sponsor for this dynamic group!
Messages from Guidance
Check out the FHCI Guidance Site for new postings on multiple pages:
Are you hoping to go directly to work after high school or considering taking a gap year?
The FHCI community is invited to visit the FHCI JOB FAIR 2022! Students who are interested in pursuing the workplace pathway after high school or taking a gap year will find links to Summer 2022 job opportunities, training information and employment programs in Ontario.
RBC Summer Tech Labs
RBC is offering a great summer opportunity for students interested in Business, Technology and/or Entrepreneurship. RBC Summer Tech Labs is an eight-week paid internship for students in grades 11 and 12. Throughout July and August, students will collaborate in small teams to grow their technical and professional skills, while solving real RBC business challenges.
RBC High School Summer Tech Labs 2022 applications are now open until 11:59 pm March 27. The application can be accessed here. Please link to RBC Summer Tech Labs for more information.
Scholarships & More…
Do you need access to scholarships, grants or bursaries to pursue post-secondary? If yes, check out this list of: Scholarships, Grants & Bursaries. Thank you to Ms. Beattie who has put together this list of resources to support our students and families.
Messages from School Council – Chair Tracy Kowal
School Council Speaker Series 2022 – Wednesday, March 30 @ 8:00 p.m. via Zoom – Join Us!
FHCI School Council is extremely proud to present:
Sean Mauricette
Dismantling Racial Bias: Empowering Your School Community and Engaging the Future
This online event is a wonderful opportunity for parents and guardians to come together to learn about race and racism. Please join us for the first instalment of our SPEAKER SERIES 2022.
When: Wednesday, March 30, 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Please click here to register: EventBrite RSVP for Sean Mauricette, Dismantling Racial Bias
For more information, please contact Tracy Kowal at tracy.kowal@yahoo.ca.
Trustee Laskin’s Weekly Updates
Learn more about upcoming events and keep informed by linking to Trustee Laskin's Weekly Newsletter.