Hello Campus View families.
We hope you are well. At this time, we want to pass on some reminders and information.
Masks and Distancing Outside for Parents
As you know, wearing masks and keeping our distance from one another can positively impact our health outcomes; they are two things known to make a difference. When you are on the grounds, even though you are outside, please take as much care as possible. Even when talking to a friend; please keep your distance. This helps keep us all as safe as possible and models the kind of behavior we are doing our very best to model here as adults.
As well, since many of you are in small areas waiting for drop off or pickup, we recommend that you wear a mask once you get to that area. We cannot/do not enforce these things – it is up to all of us to be as reflective and respectful as possible. Nonetheless, we are recommending it for the reasons stated above.
Warm, Weatherproof Clothing
Reminder to send children to school prepared for West Coast weather as we will be outside rain, or shine. Having boots, a wind/rain coat and extra dry clothing at school can be helpful due to our sometimes unpredicatible and often changing daily/hourly wonderful west coast weather
Parking / Turning Left / Making U-Turns on Gordon Head Road
Please respect our parking guidelines – while it may look like there are empty spots in our lot, staff are coming and going at all times including the time when many of you are dropping off in the morning and picking up at the end of the day. About 50 staff work here on different days, sometimes overlapping during the day.
Families that are biking on Gordon Head Road to Campus View from the South must enter through the driveway as there is no other spot to do so. Extra drivers coming and going makes this all the more dangerous. Due to the many concerns and potential hazards entering and leaving the driveway and parking lot, while we ask children and families to walk on sidewalks, use crosswalks and NOT to walk through the lot, there are always many children and families not abiding by these requests.
When you are leaving the driveway, please respect the sign already erected on the fence. It tells you not to turn left during pick up and drop off times; it is very specific. Ignoring the sign and turning left, creates extra hazards and congestion. Even if it appears clear to do so, conditions can change quickly causing hazards and congestion for families and students, not to mention frustration for drivers simply trying to commute along Gordon Head road.
Last, please refrain from making U-turns on Gordon Head road in front of the school – this too creates congestion, frustration and as a result, extra danger. As a parent, if you are aware of drivers who are not following laws or are driving erratically once on Gordon Head Road, please take down the license plate number and call or report online to the Saanich Police directly.
School Information – Concerts / Teams / Schedules etc.
From outside the school, it may be difficult to have a deep understanding of how cleaning, cohorts and all the related schedule changes and grouping has affected our days.
Although it is difficult to articulate succinctly, some of you are asking about changes so I will highlight a few of the most significant things for those interested, to help build understanding and provide some explanation for why we may not be doing some things that you are used to.
Unfortunately to do all we can to keep our kids, their families and our staff safe, some activities we might have previously engaged in, while not against rules are expected to be discouraged if possible. This would be things like athletics that promote close physical contact even if they are outside. In short, the impact for school from past experience to how we have come to know it, is extreme.
Since our teachers at Campus View are unable to engage in creating or practicing with groups of students, the kinds of things we would normally highlight in performance and we cannot gather together, families, students and staff as a group or in groups, we will sadly not have a Winter Concert.
We understand and you may be aware that schools are sometimes, with some things, doing things somewhat differently than each other. This is due to various factors unique to different schools ie. sizes, staffing, grounds; plus different views of staffs and school leadership. We will continue to focus our time and energy on following all guidelines, use our best judgement when necessary, and strive to provide a safe learning environment and the best opportunities we can.
Dwayne Doyle
Principal,
École Élémentaire Campus View Elementary,
Greater Victoria School District,
250.477.0178