TMS Elementary Learning Plan

LEARNING @ HOME TMS ELEMENTARY LEARNING PLAN

Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 2 Roles and Responsibilities (School)............................................................................................................... 4 Roles and Responsibilities (Students and Parents) ....................................................................................... 6 Overview of Elementary Protocols ............................................................................................................... 7 Lower Elementary Program - Logistics........................................................................................................ 10 Upper Elementary Program - Logistics ....................................................................................................... 12 Additional Resources .................................................................................................................................. 14 Standards and Boundaries during Distance Learning ................................................................................. 16 Acceptable use of Technology – Lower School ........................................................................................... 17 Technical Support ....................................................................................................................................... 20

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Introduction Relationships are at the heart of the work we do in our TMS Elementary program. Our students experience pure moments of joy when they see their teachers each morning at school. It is this premise that helped us design our Learning @ Home program for our young students. As we evolved our offerings, relational learning and continued connections were at the heart of our decision making and motivated us to create a program that maintained that sense of community. What is essential for our team is that your child knows they are cared for in a time that may feel uncertain to them. As parents, it is also imperative that you too know the value you bring to our program. These relationships are the driving force behind the next phase of Learning @ Home.

Moving to the Learning @ Home Program has meant a significant change in how we deliver our Elementary program. We have learned a lot over the past few weeks. We have listened to the feedback from our teachers, students and parents. We have made changes and adapted to new technology. With all of that, we have put together this plan to clearly show the various components of this program and the level of teaching support. Over the past few weeks, we have had an opportunity to design a program that connects our students to us and to each other and provides them with new ways to experience learning.

The hub of this program is the technology that allows us to engage the students in live time lessons. In addition, we are using experiential learning opportunities that are rooted in inquiry to provide our students with the opportunities to learn, share, collaborate and internalize their learning. Real life experiences and problem solving that are already inherent in our Elementary classrooms have been reimagined to continue to inspire our students to think about things differently. While advancing our academic curriculum remains the focus for each grade, opening our students’ minds to the rich experiences online learning provides will equip them to be ready for the future. We believe this opportunity will give our students the chance to build resilience, learn to pivot and be adaptable, and increase their abilities to be resourceful. It is our hope that our students are engaged in online and offline collaboration to solve authentic problems, feel supported to take intellectual risks while persevering through challenges, and continue to receive feedback and experience time for reflection and revision.

The success of our Learning @ Home Program is dependent on careful planning by our dedicated faculty, appropriate student motivation and engagement, and strong parent support. The result of such learning experiences will expand student academic progress and attend to student social and emotional well-being. In this document, we have laid out how TMS has developed a distance learning program for Elementary which includes both an Asynchronous Learning Environment as well as Synchronous, realtime engagements. â—? An Asynchronous Learning Environment does not require participants, teachers, and students to be online at the same time. This allows for students to finish some of the work on their own time and at their own rate. â—? Synchronous, real-time engagements are opportunities for students to participate in academic and social engagements with their teachers and classmates at an established time to allow for interactions in real time.

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While we know it is hard to replicate the learning journey your child experiences each day at TMS, we hope this bridge to their learning is helpful, fun, joyful and engaging. We encourage you and your child to share your ideas, experiences and the conversations this new form of learning provokes. We hope that this will increase comfort using technology, encourage students to lean into a new challenge with courage and optimism and help to increase independence in our Elementary students.

I encourage you to follow along on our Learning@Home Page where you can get updates about our distance learning across all parts of TMS, see pictures and videos of student learning, and hear from students and their parents who are sharing their experiences with this new way of learning.

Thank you for continuing to encourage and support our efforts as we aim to together foster the growth and well-being of your children.

Rachel Marks Head of Elementary rmarks@tmsschool.ca

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Roles and Responsibilities (School) Leadership Team

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Develop divisional plans for distance learning.

Communicate with faculty/staff and parents.

Support faculty/staff and parents during Learning @ Home.

Ensure effective implementation of the Learning @ Home plan and accountability to student learning.

Classroom and Specialist Teachers

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Collaborate with colleagues to design Learning @ Home experiences for students in accordance with divisional plans.

Develop high-quality student learning experiences.

Communicate with and provide timely feedback to students.

Communicate with parents as necessary.

Assess students on an on-going basis giving both formative and summative opportunities for them to demonstrate their learning.

Classroom and Specialist teachers will collaborate on daily schedules to ensure a comprehensive program each day.

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Learning Support Teachers

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Learning Resource Time

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Librarian

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Online Tech Support Team

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Partner with classroom teachers to accommodate the Learning @ Home curriculum they are providing to their learning support students.

Communicate with all parents of students they are supporting regarding the Learning @ Home Program and how they will co-plan with teachers to support each child’s learning needs.

Recommend to parents and teachers other online learning platforms or digital tools that learning support students might benefit from.

Connect with students and support them for learning strategies including time management.

Drop in times are available for students needing extra help from 12pm to 1pm by day/grade.

Please see the schedule below for Learning Resource Times Curate resources for teachers to support the development of a highquality Learning @ Home experience for students.

Support teachers in the development of resources for Learning @ Home.

Undertake reading and/or research work with the Elementary classes and provide online resources to students for various project and reading supports.

Provide timely responses to student, family, and faculty requests regarding technology issues. Email helpdesk@tmsschool.ca for support.

Learning Resource Time, 12pm – 1pm Grade 1

G1 Learning Resource Time Monday, April 27⋅12:00 – 1:00pm Weekly on Mondays

Grade 2

G2 Learning Resource Time Tuesday, April 28⋅12:00 – 1:00pm Weekly on Tuesdays

Grade 3

G3 Learning Resource Time Wednesday, April 29⋅12:00 – 1:00pm Weekly on Wednesdays

Grade 4

G4 Learning Resource Time Thursday, April 30⋅12:00 – 1:00pm Weekly on Thursdays

Grades 5/6

G 5 & 6 Learning Resource Time Friday, May 1⋅12:00 – 1:00pm Weekly on Fridays

Please note that Learning Strategy teachers or classroom teachers will confirm the specifics of the Zoom Calls.

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Roles and Responsibilities (Students and Parents) Students

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Parents

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Dedicate appropriate time to learning, comparable to a school day and/or as guided by their teacher/s.

Check appropriate online platforms for information on courses, assignments, and resources daily.

Punctually attend the regular synchronous engagements offered by each of their teacher/s.

Identify a comfortable and quiet space to study/learn.

Engage in all learning posted with academic honesty.

Submit all assignments in accordance with provided timelines and/or due dates.

Abide by the TMS Acceptable Use of Technology Policy (included below) Ensure their own social and emotional balance by keeping healthy active lifestyle habits.

Parents will play a key role in helping their children succeed especially in younger grades. Partnering with teachers, parents can support their child/ren in their learning by: ● Providing an environment conducive to learning (access to technology, safe and quiet space during school hours). ● Engaging in conversations on posted materials/ assignments. ● Monitoring time spent engaging in online and offline learning, including variables like that of preferred asynchronous times (morning, afternoon, evening). ● Supporting emotional balance by providing ample room and time for reflection, physical activity, conversation, and play. ● Asking children to provide a brief summary of the learning he/she is engaging in for each class to ensure their understanding of the content and of the process they are being asked to engage in to demonstrate their learning. ● Asking children about their deadline calendar and supporting them, as needed, in submitting assignments according to the established deadlines. ● Reminding children to email his/her teachers if they have questions or if they need extra help and support.

Overview of Elementary Protocols During the school closure, students will participate in meaningful learning experiences in each of their classes, even though they will not be physically present at school. Learning @ Home will follow the 8day rotation, with classes beginning on Day 6, Tuesday, March 24, 2020.

Online Platforms The following Online Platforms support both Virtual Learning and faculty/student/family collaboration to ensure a quality student learning experience when planning and delivering remotely: ● TMS email is the communication tool used to contact and communicate with TMS families. ● Upper Elementary teachers and students will use Google Suite (school issued @ga.tmsschool email ids), which includes Google Meet, Google Classroom. Some Upper Elementary classrooms will use additional tools like Zoom. ● Lower Elementary teachers and students will use Zoom for live classes. ● Specialist teachers will use both Zoom and Google Suite, depending on the lesson they are teaching.

Content and Timing  Students will meet virtually each morning to set the schedule and plan the day.  From there, they will have a variety of lessons and or work time from all subject areas including: math, language arts (writing, reading and grammar), culture (history, geography), science (zoology/botany), music, French, art, gym and Technology classes on the scheduled days as per our 8 day cycle timetable.  The lessons will be a combination of synchronous and asynchronous formats and all follow-up assignments will be located in Google Folders (LE) or Google Classroom (UE) immediately following the lesson.  The teachers will use a variety of presentation formats including screen sharing, videos, digital workbooks and textbooks, manipulatives, inquiry based questions and discussions.  The teachers will provide support to students daily during lesson and online work times and can always be reached via email with a 24 hour response turnaround time.

Students will be provided with daily work for each class either in Google Folders (LE) or in Google Classroom (UE) to ensure they know what learning they need to accomplish each day. The daily work will ensure continuity of learning that is clearly connected to their learning in prior classes and in the classes following.

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Elementary Schedule and Program Expectations  The day begins with a touch point for the entire class, 8:30am depending on that day’s schedule.  During each 8 day cycle, teachers will lead sessions per subject as follows:

Math French Language Arts Culture (LE) History, Geography, Botany and/or Zoology Physical Education History/Geography (UE) Science (UE) Technology (Grade 1-2) Technology (Grade 3-6) Music Art Library

6 6 6 4 3 2 2 1 2 2 1 1

Synchronous Interactions ● Students will engage in synchronous, or real-time, engagement with their teachers and classmates using the specified platforms during their timetabled classes. ● Video conferencing lessons will be utilized on Zoom and/or Google Meet. This synchronous format will include teacher and student interactions, teacher and student presentations as well as peer to peer sharing and collaboration. ● Classroom lessons will be conducted both in small groups by grade depending on subject and discipline subjects and whole group meetings for social/emotional learning, discussions and mindfulness initiatives. ● Students will then have regular times when they can be online to talk to one of their teachers about any questions they have with their work.

Asynchronous Interactions ● Daily learning materials will be posted through Google Classroom and/or Google Folders. ● Teachers will also give oral instructions for all learning activities. ● Teachers will communicate expectations and give feedback and due dates for assignments. ● Daily schedules will be available the evening before via parent email (LE) and on Google Classroom (UE) These will include links to live lessons and/or details about asynchronous tasks in a given discipline ● Follow-up assignments and tasks will be in Classroom Google Folders (LE) and on Google Classroom (UE).

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Feedback ● Timely feedback is essential to student learning, especially in an online learning environment where students are not able to ask questions in the same way as they would in a classroom. ● Each classroom will have regular times when one teacher will be available to answer student questions and support their learning. ● Teachers will actively monitor email and will provide feedback/answers within 24 hours.

Assessment and Progress Monitoring  Teachers will use a variety of assessment tasks to inform instruction, improve learning, and report on student achievement.  Teachers will provide feedback to students at regular checkpoints on tasks that extend over multiple lessons.  Students will submit assignments and receive feedback from the teacher. Assessment will focus on a formative approach that shows one or more of the following criteria as it applies to the learning:  Knowledge - ability to recall information  Comprehension - the ability to understand text and information  Application - the ability to apply the same information in different contexts  Evaluation - present opinions and share ideas based on previously acquired knowledge  Critical thinking  Creativity  Teachers will provide choice with follow-up activities to allow students to pursue various ways that demonstrate their learning.  Teachers will give ongoing feedback to students and monitor deadlines and student progress in terms of timely submission, quality of work and understanding of material covered.  Outcomes will be achieved through a variety of methods including: presentations (oral and written), peer to peer sharing, written assignments and project based assignments.  Evaluation will be ongoing and shared via email (LE) and through Google Classroom (UE)  Summative assessments will be based on formative results and done at the discretion of the teacher.

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Lower Elementary Program - Logistics ●

Each evening parents will receive an email with their child's lesson schedule for the following day. With this schedule will be a link to a number of live lessons using a platform called Zoom. Some lessons will be active and some will recorded. In order for each child to have access to these lessons he/she will need the following: ● A tablet, iPad, desktop or laptop computer with camera and audio functions ● On the chosen device, please download Zoom https://zoom.us/download

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Included in this email will be two links - the only two links needed to find each child’s assignments. o One link will be to a specialist teacher’s folder and the other will be to a class folder. o Assignments will be organized by subject, grade and date. o Parents and their children will have access to all assignments daily using these two links. o The daily schedule will always include these same links. We suggest you save each link as a favourite on your desktop so you can access them easily.

Lower Elementary Sample Day Schedule Day: 2 Time

Grade(s)

Lesson

Location/ link

Morning Check in:

Zoom Lesson

8:30 - 8:45am

ALL

8:50 - 9:25am

1

Language: Poetry Writing

Zoom Lesson

8:50 - 9:25am

3

Language: Reading reflection take up

Zoom Meeting

Art: “Umbrella in the Rain” 2 sheets of paper Markers, scissors, glue

Zoom Lesson

9:30 - 10:30am

1&2

9:30 - 10:30am

3

Technology: We will take attendance at 9:30.

Then, we will continue coding in course C on code.org

Zoom Lesson

10:30 - 11:00am

3

Math: Join me in the workroom. Ask questions

Zoom Work room

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or just work quietly

11:15 - 11:45am

2

Language: Poetry Writing

Zoom Lesson

11:15 - 11:45am

1

Math: Join me in the workroom. Ask questions or work quietly

Zoom Work room

Lunch Time 1:00 - 1:30pm

All

Silent Reading Zoom Meeting

1:40 - 2:15pm

1:40 - 2:15pm

2:30 - 3:30pm Links to Work

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1

2

All

History: Months of the Year

Zoom Lesson

Math: Join me in the workroom. Ask questions or work quietly.

Zoom Work room

Gym

Zoom Lesson

Class 2021 Work Folder Specialist Work Folder

Upper Elementary Program - Logistics ●

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Teachers will continue to follow the current classroom schedule of lessons based generally on the TMS 8 day cycle. This will include a combination of both homeroom lessons and specialist classes.

Each evening we ask that each child checks his/her TMS Gmail account for his/her lesson schedule for the day. o Included with this schedule will be a link to a number of live lessons using a platform called Google Meet. There will also be a daily schedule provided by teachers that will give students an outline of their day. Parents will also receive the schedule for the day via email.

In order for a child to have access to these lessons he/she will need the following: ● A tablet, Chromebook, iPad, desktop or laptop computer with camera and audio functions ● Access to his/her TMS Gmail account The teachers will be using Google Meet for active online lessons. Not all lessons will be live. Some will be in the form of attachments. They will attach any assignments or suggested work following these lessons on their Google Classroom page. The students have access to their Google Classroom via their Gmail accounts.

Students are already familiar with this format as it is part of their daily routine in the classroom.

Teachers will be utilizing a combination of Google Meet and Google Classroom for their lessons.

Therefore, parents are asked to please remind their child to check his/her TMS Gmail account each morning in order to prepare for lessons.

Upper Elementary Sample Day Schedule Day: 8 Time

Grade

Lesson/Teacher/notes

Location/Link/Code

Class Check in and Mindfulness

Google Meet Lesson

8:30 - 9:00am

4,5,6

9:00 - 9:45am

6

Language

Google Meet Lesson

9:00 - 9:45am

4

Language

Google Meet Lesson

9:45 - 10:15am

6

Math

Google Meet Lesson

9:45 - 10:15am

5

Language

Google Meet Lesson

10:30 - 11:15am

4

Work time Teachers available for questions

Workroom in Google Meet

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10:30 - 11:30am

5/6

Technology

Google Meet Lesson

Lunch Time 1:30 - 2:00pm

4

Math

Google Meet Lesson

2:15 - 2:45pm

5

Math

Google Meet Lesson

2:45 - 3:30pm

4,5,6

French

Workroom in Google Meet

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Additional Resources Language

Worldly Wise i3000 - login information to be provided shortly

Reading

Raz Kids - Lower Elementary - Login information provided by teachers EPIC Books - Login information provided by teachers Audible - free audiobooks

Research

Worldbook Online Encyclopedia - login ID: tmslibrary password: research Wonderopolis National Geographic for Kids Fact 4 Me - username: read password: read Kiddle - safe, visual search engine for kids

Math

Khan Academy IXL Virtual Math Manipulatives

French Language

Linguascope (used with Lower Elementary) Francais Facile (used with Upper Elementary)

Music

Smart Music

Technology

Code.org Khan Academy

Physical Education

Sworkit Jugar Life Homecourt Elite Basketball partnership GoNoodle Cosmic Yoga

Assistive resources

Read & Write for Google (a Chrome extension found in the Chrome Web Store) for text-to-Speech and Speech to Text assistive technology. Offered by text help https://www.texthelp.com/en-us/ Notability - an organizational, note and annotation app https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notability/id360593530 PrizmoABC https://apps.apple.com/us/app/prizmo-5-pro-scanner/id1460243446 PrizmoGo Text Grabber https://apps.apple.com/us/app/prizmo-go-textgrabber/id1183367390

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Quizlet www.quizlet.com

Virtual Learning Tools

Google Classroom Flipgrid Padlet

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Standards and Boundaries during Distance Learning Transitioning to Distance Learning will be a new experience for faculty, students, and families. As with all our interactions, it is important that during Distance Learning, we ensure that our online behaviour is held to the highest standards.

Our current Code of Conducts for staff, students and parents continue to be the basis of all behavioural expectations and the following are intended to add to those existing policies.

For Students ● ● ●

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Come to each session on time and ready to learn. Mute your microphone until you are told otherwise so everyone can hear the communication from the teacher.

While wearing school uniform is not in effect we do ask that you are dressed appropriately, as you would for a civvies day at school.

As per the TMS Family Handbook, there shall be no harassment or bullying online. Any online behaviour that hurts members of the community or has harmful impacts on the school as a whole is considered cyber-harassment and will not be tolerated.

Any personal recording, manipulation or broader sharing outside of the class of these sessions is strictly prohibited.

Contact your teachers and other staff only using a TMS Gmail or email account or other TMS approved programs (Google Meet). You should not be connected with any TMS faculty or staff on social media platforms including, but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and LinkedIn. Follow your teacher’s guidelines for contacting them outside of learning times. Extra help is available but should be accessed in an appropriate manner (such as by school email) during working hours where possible.

As much as possible, video conferencing should be set up to eliminate backgrounds that provide information on personal lives and locations of participants (simple white or light-coloured backgrounds work best).

Students under the age of 13 should have a parent or a guardian present within the vicinity of the learning space and aware of the meeting, when meeting with a teacher online.

One-on-one conversations are audio only, unless a parent or guardian is present.

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Acceptable use of Technology – Lower School The purpose of this policy is to set out conditions for the use of technology in TMS School (TMS), including all computers, computer related equipment, personal computers or electronic equipment, database/records systems, networks, software, the e-mail system and use of and access to the Internet and/or Intranet at the School.

TMS students use technology in order to communicate with one another and fulfill their academic responsibilities effectively and efficiently. Access to these resources is a privilege and brings with it the need for responsible behaviour.

Each student has a responsibility to uphold the School's ethics and values and to use all technology, including the Internet, in a responsible, productive and professional manner. This policy has been established to ensure the security and the integrity of the School's computing and communication systems and uphold School standards.

Failure to comply with this policy may result in forfeiture of technology usage, suspension of computer privileges and disciplinary action up to and including possible expulsion. TMS will not provide compensation for any academic loss incurred as a result.

For the purpose of this policy, “academic” refers to any activity that is related to class or course work.

General Usage and Network Account 1. Computer usage is for academic purposes only.

2. Any inappropriate use of the computer or computer equipment is unacceptable. TMS Staff have the right to rescind the use of the computer immediately if any abuse of the computer is observed.

3. The user will not use TMS computers as entertainment. This includes but is not limited to leisure game playing and leisure web surfing.

4. No food or drink is allowed near the computer, whether in use or not.

5. The user will access and use only his/her own network account. The user will not divulge his/her password to other users.

6. The user will not tamper with nor modify another user’s account, computer workstation, system or files.

7. Changes to computer properties such as desktop, theme or cursor settings are not allowed.

Screensavers are not allowed.

8. Students must be mindful when printing. Abuse of printing privileges will result in their suspension.

Internet use, File Contents and Privacy TMS has put in place a blocked website list to prevent inappropriate material being passed through the network; however it does not ensure 100% prevention. Acceptable Internet usage remains the responsibility of the user. TMS monitors Internet access and the user should assume no privacy.

Violations of this policy may result in access suspension or revoked privileges.

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1. The user will only access Internet resources that are academically or course related.

2. Internet sources must be documented; plagiarism will not be tolerated.

3. The user will not intentionally access Internet resources which would generally be deemed inappropriate or cause embarrassment to others.

4. Any attempts to circumvent the school Internet firewall and network security are prohibited.

5. Any form of cyber-bullying will not be tolerated.

6. The user will not download any non-academic image, audio or video files.

7. The user accepts full responsibility for any content stored or created on TMS computers or the Internet.

8. The user is responsible for saving and organizing files. The user will back up important files to their TMS Google Drive. TMS assumes no responsibility if the user fails to do so.

9. TMS reserves the right to scan and evaluate the contents of user files at any time without the user’s permission.

Hardware and Software 1. The user will not connect any non-TMS hardware (locally or remotely) to the computer unless approved by the I.T. Department or the computer specialist.

2. Personal laptops or tablets are prohibited from connecting to the TMS network without proper authorization from the Learning Strategies Specialist and Network Administrator 3. Personal Wi-Fi devices such as handheld consoles are not permitted on the TMS network 4. Users may connect and store files on personal portable devices such as USB flash drives provided that they are virus free.

5. Installation of software that is not licensed to, or approved by TMS, is strictly prohibited.

6. The user will not use any file sharing programs or any instant/online messaging programs.

7. The user will not modify or attempt to modify any computer system software or hardware 8. Under no circumstances shall illegal copies of copyrighted software be made or used on school equipment.

9. The user is responsible for the cost of repair of any physical and software damage to the computer; this includes damage from carelessness and obvious abuse.

Email use (where applicable 1. TMS email is for academic purposes only; the user will refrain from using email for personal use.

2. Email accounts have a storage limit. The user is responsible for maintaining their emails, purging old emails when necessary.

3. Spamming or any form of junk email forwarding will not be tolerated.

4. TMS reserves the right to scan email accounts at any time without the user’s permission.

The following is a summary of the TMS Acceptable Use Policy. Please read and discuss the following points with your child before signing. We ask that older students read the policy in full. ● ● ●

School computers are for learning purposes only, not for gaming or other entertainment.

Students must use computer technology responsibly and under the supervision of an adult.

Internet sources must be documented; Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

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Printing is expensive, Students must be mindful when printing Students must not tamper with another user’s files or settings.

Students must never search for inappropriate websites or images on the Internet. This includes anything which might be embarrassing to others.

Students cannot use TMS computers, email or Internet sites to defame, ridicule, or bully others.

TMS email is for academic use only Students are responsible for the costs of damage caused by carelessness or abuse.

Students abusing their technology privileges will lose them.

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Technical Support We encourage faculty, students, and parents to contact helpdesk@tmsschool.ca for any tech related questions. This account is managed by our Online Tech Support Team. They will triage concerns and connect with the inquiring party likely by phone.

To assist us, for technical problems please provide details of the problem including: ● ● ● ● ●

When the issue started?

How long has the issue been occurring or is this the first time?

What steps have you tried to resolve the issue?

What was the activity you were doing just prior to the issue?

Did you receive any error messages? If so, please send a screen capture of it or a synopsis of the error

For any additional information or details, please reply to this email to update the ticket accordingly.

If you are seeking support for Zoom, please visit the Zoom support site for assistance: https://support.zoom.us If you are seeking support for Google Meet, please visit the Google support site for assistance: https://support.google.com/meet TMS I.T. Helpdesk

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