NLPS getting student learning online moving for K-12

Northern Lights Public Schools is preparing to roll out online learning activities for their students.

The province established outlines for schools and students on Friday on how to move forward with educating students while they’re at home.

NLPS said these learning activities will be shared on a weekly basis through their website.

Parents of students in Kindergarten to Grade 9 will be contacted by a staff member and asked about their ability to access online learning activities and discuss what supports may be needed.

On Wednesday or Thursday of this week, parents will receive an email informing them that the lessons for this week are available, NLPS said.

“We realize that it may be challenging for some students to participate in online learning and complete all of the assignments provided to them.

“Please discuss any concerns you have with your child’s school and/or teachers. Our goal is to provide students with learning opportunities that will enhance their skills and knowledge so they are prepared to come back to school when it resumes.

“However, we also realize that when we do start the new school year, we will need to spend some time helping students learn and/or review the skills and knowledge they need to progress in their studies.

“We will be putting a plan in place to ensure students have those opportunities and the supports they need to succeed.

“After this week, parents can expect to receive an email every Tuesday afternoon letting them know that week’s learning activities are ready to be accessed and any other information they may need.

“Teachers will be checking in with families on a regular basis to discuss the activities and how students are doing.

“Alternatives methods may not be available at all schools,” they said.

Northern Lights Public Schools’ will continue to follow the 2019-2020 School Calendar so new learning activities will not be posted the week of April 6-10 (Spring Break) and school staff will not be available that week.

Our plan for Grade 10-12 looks slightly different, which we will explain below.

Kindergarten to Grade 3

Learning activities for students in Kindergarten to Grade 3 will focus on the language/literacy and mathematics/numeracy outcomes of the provincial curriculum.

Teachers will assign an average of five hours of work per student per week.

In addition to literacy and numeracy, teachers will also provide activities from other subject areas such as physical education, wellness, science, art, and social studies.

Grades 4 to 6

Learning activities will focus on language/literacy and mathematics/numeracy outcomes, and there will be opportunities to include science and social studies outcomes as well.

Teachers will assign an average of five hours of work per student per week.

In addition to the core curriculum, teachers will also provide activities from other subject areas such as physical education, wellness, art, etc.

Grades 7 to 9

Learning activities will focus on core mathematics, language/literacy, science and social studies curriculum outcomes.

Teachers will assign an average of 10 hours of work per student per week.

There will be opportunities to also share activities from other subject areas such as physical education, wellness, art, etc.

Grades 10 to 12

Content will be focused on specific and core courses required for high school graduation requirements, including language, social studies, mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics.

Content from other courses will be delivered where possible, and accommodations for students who are unable to complete courses are in place.

Teachers will assign an average of three hours of work per course per week.

Schools will be contacting families over the next few days to talk about course selection for the remainder of the year and develop a plan that will best meet the needs of students.

This will include selecting two core courses for students to focus on.

These two courses will be selected based on a number of criteria including:

• Whether or not the course is a specific or core course mentioned above (language, social studies, math, biology, chemistry, physics);
• Whether or not the course is needed to meet graduation requirements;
• How the student was doing in the course prior to classes being cancelled;
• What skills and knowledge students will need to build on as they progress (to the next grade level or on to post-secondary).

Focusing on two courses does not mean that students will work on content only from those courses.

The majority of their assignments will focus on those courses, however they may be assigned work from other courses they are also enrolled in.

Schools have been provided with flexibility in assigning credits to students for this year.

That means that some students may receive credit for a course based on work they have already completed and may not receive additional assignments for that course.

Alternatively teachers may ask for certain assignments to be completed to complete the course (fewer than would be required for the two courses students will be focusing on).

There may be some courses that students are unable to complete for a variety of reasons (ie. hands-on courses).

In those cases, principals have the ability to award credits to ensure student progression.

High schools have the flexibility to provide up to 15 additional credits for Grade 12 students to ensure their ability to graduate this year if they were on track to graduate prior to classes being cancelled.