Ref: Term 3 Half-Term Holiday Please be advised that Friday, 23rd April was scheduled as the half term holiday for the Bermuda Public School System.Given this, all schools will be closed for remote learning on Friday, 23rd April and resume on Monday, 26th April, 2021. The Department will notify parents today via The Scoop newsletter. Regards,Commissioner Richards            Kalmar Richards      Commissioner of Education      Government of Bermuda | Department of Education                          44 Church Street | Hamilton |  Bermuda HM12                          Extension: 3312                          Direct Telephone: 441 278 3312 | Cell: 441 534 0005 | Email: krichards@gov.bm                           Department of Education Direct Line: 441 278 3300

  

Dear Parents/Guardians, I hope you and your family are safe and well. As Bermuda continues to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, I wanted to provide an update to the public education family. Remote LearningAs Government has made a decision to extend the “shelter-in-place” regime until May 2nd, we shall resume the remote learning program, with some modifications, until further notice. All schools in the BPSS will be resuming remote learning the week of April 20th, 2020.  Senior schools will continue with the teaching of the essential curriculum.  Pre, Primary and Middle schools will focus learner activities on content and skills that have already been taught.  At these three levels, the focus will be on academics, physical activity and student well-being and each level within the system will have minimum expectations for the amount of time to be spent on activities.  Additionally, each school level will determine the minimum amount of time allocated for face to face time with students; the minimum amount of time allocated for “available hours” for students to contact staff; and the minimum expectations for staff to make contact with parents/students.  Hard copies of learning packets will be provided for students who do not have access to a device or the internet to ensure that all students are engaged in  learning activities.   More information will be provided by Friday, April 17th, 2020.   School Registration Decision NotificationsAs a result of COVID-19 and the shelter-in-place requirement, the Department of Education and schools have had to delay notifying parents of enrolment decisions for primary, middle and senior school.  We have also had to change the method of communication from paper letter sent by mail to electronic notification. The information below provides the new notification dates and the methods of communication:Primary (P1) Tuesday May 5th, 2020 Letter via EmailMiddle (M1) Tuesday May 12th, 2020 Power School NoticeSenior (S1) Thursday May 7th, 2020 Power School NoticeOn the dates listed above, parents of children entering middle and senior school will be required to log on to PowerSchool.  Instructions on how to access the enrolment decision of your child will be provided on PowerSchool, as well as the enrolment placement.   Parents who do not have access to PowerSchool should contact our Student Information Systems Management Officer. Mr. Shinah Simons, at simonss@moed.bm for assistance. Health and Well-BeingYou and your family’s health and well-being are very important to me. Please protect your family and our community by continuing to practice social distancing and frequent handwashing. If you or a family member need medical care  you should call your medical provider to report your  illness prior to seeking care at a clinic, physician’s office, or hospital. Please call the COVID-19 HOTLINE 444-2498 if you have any questions or concerns. The hotline for emotional wellbeing matters is 543-1111.You’re FeedbackIf you have any questions, concerns or suggestions you would like to be directed to my office, please visit the following link: https://www.research.net/r/BPSSFEEDBACK. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we deal with this unprecedented situation. We will continue to keep you updated via the Department of Education’s Facebook page, email, school apps, PowerSchool postings and our website (www.moed.bm). The Minister of Education, the Hon. Diallo Rabain, will provide further updates during the Government's press conference this evening. Please set aside time to listen to the update that he will provide.   I wish you and every member of your family the very best, Mrs. Kalmar RichardsCommissioner of Education 

 Parents/Guardians,I hope you and your family are safe and well.As Bermuda continues to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, I wanted to provide an update to the public education family.Remote LearningAs Government has made a decision to extend the shelter-in-place regime until May 2nd, we shall resume the remote learning program, with some modifications, until further notice.All schools in the BPSS will be resuming remote learning the week of April 20th, 2020. Senior schools will continue with the teaching of the essential curriculum. Pre, Primary and Middle schools will focus learner activities on content and skills that have already been taught.At these three levels, the focus will be on academics, physical activity and student well-being and each level within the system will have minimum expectations for the amount of time to be spent on activities.Additionally, each school level will determine the minimum amount of time allocated for face to face time with students; the minimum amount of time allocated for available hours for students to contact staff; and the minimum expectations for staff to make contact with parents/students.Hard copies of learning packets will be provided for students who do not have access to a device or the internet to ensure that all students are engaged in learning activities.More information will be provided by Friday, April 17th, 2020.School Registration Decision Notifications As a result of COVID-19 and the shelter-in-place requirement, the Department of Education and schools have had to delay notifying parents of enrollment decisions for primary, middle and senior school. We have also had to change the method of communication from paper letter sent by mail to electronic notification.The information below provides the new notification dates and the methods of communication:Primary (P1) Tuesday May 5th, 2020 Letter via EmailMiddle(M1) Tuesday May 12th, 2020PowerSchool NoticeSenior(S1) Thursday May 7th, 2020Powerschool NoticeOn the dates listed above, parents of children entering middle and senior school will be required to log on to PowerSchool. Instructions on how to access the enrolment decision of your child will be provided on PowerSchool, as well as the enrolment placement. Parents who do not have access to PowerSchool should contact our Student Information Systems Management Officer. Mr. Shinah Simons, at simonss@moed.bm for assistance.Health and Well-BeingYou and your familys health and well-being are very important to me. Please protect your family and our community by continuing to practice social distancing and frequent handwashing.If you or a family member need medical care you should call your medical provider to report your illness prior to seeking care at a clinic, physicians office, or hospital.Please call the COVID-19 HOTLINE 444-2498 if you have any questions or concerns. The hotline for emotional wellbeing matters is 543-1111.Your FeedbackIf you have any questions, concerns or suggestions you would like to be directed to my office, please visit the following link: https://www.research.net/r/BPSSFEEDBACK.Thank you for your patience and understanding as we deal with this unprecedented situation. We will continue to keep you updated via the Department of Educations Facebook page, email, school apps, PowerSchool postings and our website (www.moed.bm).The Minister of Education, the Hon. Diallo Rabain, will provide further updates during the Governments press conference this evening. Please set aside time to listen to the update that he will provide.I wish you and every member of your family the very best,Mrs. Kalmar RichardsCommissioner of Education