Parent Participation Program Update May 4th

Parent Participation Program - Service Requirements Update

Dear CCS Families:

Our thoughts and prayers are with each and every one of you as we navigate these new and unprecedented times. We must take comfort in drawing on our faith and knowing that our community will see through all of the challenges and uncertainty we are facing as a result of COVID-19.

Our school and parish rely on the service provided by CCS families through the Parent Participation Program to help offset maintenance costs and keep operating expenses affordable. At the same time, we rely on parent participation as a means of building our school and parish community by bringing people together.

Due to the current public health crisis we are facing, the Parent Participation Program is temporarily suspended. Our primary goal at this time is to protect the health and safety of our community so that the spread of the virus can be flattened and so that we can one day resume gathering as a community again.

Given the unique circumstances we are currently facing, the PEC has decided to prorate the family service requirements for the 2019-2020 school year. All families are now only required to complete 20 service hours in fulfillment of their parent participation requirements. Additionally, there are no minimum required maintenance hours this year, given that all Work Bees for the remainder of the year have been cancelled.  

The PEC will also extend the service hour completion deadline beyond May 31, 2020. At this point, we do not have a hard date set due to social distancing restrictions; however, we anticipate it will be an extension of at least two months once measures have been lifted.  This extension will hopefully provide families short on hours time to complete their remaining hours.  Should the public health protective measures extend into the summer, the PEC will reassess the appropriateness of a new completion deadline and will communicate any consequential change to the policy. Those families who have not completed 20 hours and wish to opt out of the parent participation program for the 2019-2020 school year are permitted to do so; incomplete hours will be calculated in accordance with the original policy, up to a maximum fee of $300.  If, for whatever reason, you do not think your family will be able to complete the service hours and are facing financial hardship, please contact the PEC.

Families, we will all weather this storm together. Our community and our faith is strong. When we do return to our daily lives and are allowed to meet again in person, our community will need all hands on deck to come together to help restore our school and parish grounds through maintenance tasks. When the time comes, we will be asking all families to volunteer their time to complete these tasks and reconnect as neighbours.

We wish all of you the best and pray for your health, safety and strength during this difficult time.

God bless you all.

Cloverdale Catholic School Parish Education Committee