Dear parents,
I hope you and your loved ones had a restful and enjoyable holiday season. I am relieved that 2024 commences with the return of our children to school and the conclusion of the strike. The Minister and the Ministry consulted EPCA regarding a back-to-school strategy, and we specified:
- That the weight of the ministry exams needed to be lowered;
- That LEARN Quebec must be included in the partners that the Ministry is awarding extra funding to in order to meet the needs of our community;
- That effective and transparent communication between parents and the school team is crucial for identifying and addressing vulnerabilities the student may have and that it may not be possible to immediately identify these vulnerabilities; therefore, until the end of the school year, it will be crucial to modify the resources provided to each student in accordance with their changing requirements.
Some important notes for parents: The ministerial examinations, originally planned to take place at the end of the holiday season, have now been rescheduled to occur between late January and early February. Please visit this link for complete dates. As well, the deadline for the second report card of the year has been moved to March 28 instead of March 15, 2024. Finally, the weighting of these ministerial end-of-year examinations has reverted to the percentages established during the pandemic: 10% for final results at the conclusion of elementary and secondary 1-3, and 20% for secondary 4-5.
I’d like to also note that the Minister of Education's directive banning cell phones in the classroom came into force on December 31, 2023, with exceptions provided for pedagogical, health, or special needs reasons. EPCA, however, does not believe that the Directive goes far enough, that the measures are punitive in nature, and the underlying behaviours and addiction are not addressed. We will continue to advocate for more to be done on this issue, especially with respect to combating cellphone addiction in youth.
In closing, I’m happy to present this issue of the newsletter which will deal with homework and strategies parents can use with their children. Take care and enjoy the month ahead!