Dear Elementary Families,

What a year it has been! We have all been on an incredible adventure together as we navigated the impact COVID-19 has had on our daily lives.

In school this impact was particularly prevalent as our flexible seating was no more, the most expressive part of our face was covered and we were required to stay apart. That didn’t stop us though. We rethought, remixed and reinvented our approach to learning. As a school that practices inquiry-based learning our lens was big picture, solution fluent and grounded in the drive to turn challenges into opportunities. Our investment in ed-tech and innovation certainly supported the accessibility of our students and teachers to engage in meaningful digital learning across the grades. In a year where distance and independence was greater than in the past, our students’ integrity was rock solid. In a year filled with uncertainty and unique experiences, they have been outstanding in their actions. Finally, though we were more isolated in our learning than we have been in the past, interconnectedness continued to be a bright spot as we had classes connected with schools beyond our borders, and the community came together to help one another in so many ways. This was a year we truly applied our learning framework of i3 to our experience.

To end, we wish you much happiness this summer. We hope you find time to recharge and refresh over the summer months. To those of you who will be leaving, you will be missed and we wish you nothing but the best. To those who are returning for the 2021-2022 school year, we look forward to welcoming you back on August 29! We could not have done this year without you and we are so appreciative everything you do for your children, our staff and our school.

I will leave you with two messages that have been shared with the students. The first is a video that will be part of the School Yearbook and the second message is from the “Words of Wisdom” speech given at this year’s Grade 5 Completion Ceremony.

Thank you again and have an excellent summer holiday!