2020
December 1st Update - Guidelines for Sanitizing Equipment in Classrooms
November 16th Update - COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Visual-Auditory Access
October 20th Update - POPDHH presents: Lunch and Learn Thursdays
POPDHH is pleased to announce a series of Lunch and Learn Webinars on select Thursdays once (or sometimes twice) a month, 12 pm to 1 pm. The TDHH Mentorship group will be in attendance, and we are extending the invite to the TDHH province-wide. Other Deaf education professionals and Community partners are also welcome to join.
See the dates, topics and registration link for 2020. More to come in the new year.
WHEN: Oct 29th, Nov 12th, Nov 26th, Dec 10th
WHERE: Online via Zoom – meeting link will be provided upon registration
TOPICS:
- October 29th: Updates from Post Secondary Communications Access Services (PCAS)
- November 12th: Minimizing the Effects of COVID-19 Safety Protocols on Visual and Auditory Access by Jessica Niemela, Audiologist, Interior Health
- November 26th: Inclusive Literacy and Quality of Life, by Provincial Inclusion Outreach Program
- December 10th: Overview of TDHH Induction and Retention Program (coming in January)
Register here for any or all sessions. The webinar link will be provided with registration confirmation.
Please note: the webinars may be recorded. You will not be able to use a webcam or a microphone during the session. Q&A portion, will be available via Zoom chat.
An interpreter will be provided for all sessions.
September 11th Back to School Update - Accessibility, Face Masks and PPE in Classrooms
What to consider? Masks with the best visual access may not provide the best auditory access, so please choose carefully to meet each student’s individual needs. Evaluate access in different environments with different PPE, and work together with the audiologist to ensure that listening devices are being utilized effectively.
Useful links:
May 27th Update - Coming into School Safely - in ASL!
Coming into School Safely in ASL
May 14th Update - Register for June Webinars
Coming soon: POPDHH presents Community Partners Updates – Tuesdays in June
The ProD Tuesdays Webinar series for TDHHs and other Deaf Education Professionals continues in the month of June! Our Community Partners have graciously agreed to share updates about their programs.
WHEN: Tuesday June 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd, 10 am to 11 am
WHERE: Online – meeting link will be provided upon registration
TOPICS:
June 2nd: Provincial Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
June 9th: DHH & DB Well-Being Program;
Post-Secondary Communication Access Services
June 16th: Deaf Youth Today;
Canadian Hard of Hearing Association – BC
June 23rd: British Columbia School for the Deaf
Register here for all sessions: https://forms.gle/g6PBMrpG17KbTRKD6. The webinar link will be provided with registration confirmation.
Please note: the webinars may be recorded. You will not be required to use a webcam or a microphone during the session. For Q&A portion, you will be able to submit your questions via chat box.
An interpreter will be provided for all sessions.
May 7th Update - ProD Tuesdays in May - Recordings and Materials
You can find the recordings of all presentations, as well as materials for each webinar here
.
April 24th Update - POPDHH e-learning Resources and more
POPDHH E-learning Workshops and Resources – We are pleased to share the presentations and useful links from our April workshops. Click to visit the page,
EASE at Home Resources – In response to the pandemic and requests received from educators, some EASE classroom activities have been updated for use at home by parents and caregivers to support children’s mental health and continuous learning during this difficult time and beyond.
EASE ‘At Home’ K-3 and 4-7 activities are now available on EASE website. Please feel free to share these resources amongst your various networks, educators and families. They will also be posted soon on the Keep Learning BC website https://www.openschool.bc.ca/keeplearning/.
April 15th Update - Covid 19 - Integrated Planning Framework
Other resources
April 2nd Update - Covid 19 - How can we help?
Dear Deaf Education Professionals, District Partners, POPDHH Counterparts and Friends,
Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing may be experiencing additional levels of isolation or anxiety about the unknown due to language or communication barriers. Check out this COVID Book that uses visual and simple language to help children understand why they are experiencing so many changes in their day to day life. For children who rely on Visual Language to communicate, these resources – courtesy of FNDC may be of interest to them or the helpful adults in their life who may not yet have the ASL vocabulary required to explain what is happening.
POPDHH is continuing with ongoing programming involving technology, such as ASL online and ASL Office Hours. Our TDHH Mentorship program will also continue.
We understand students are disappointed that Deaf and Hard of Hearing Connections Week is cancelled. We are reaching out to district partners to develop some opportunities for students to connect online.
Other points to consider:
- Please follow your district’s directives around contacting students individually.
- When you speak to families, be sure to emphasize that everyone’s physical distancing efforts are important! Reiterate self-isolation, hand-washing, sanitizing high traffic areas like door knobs, etc.
- Check-in with your district about community resources available to vulnerable families. If the families you work with need food or access to basic services, it may be helpful for you to know how to redirect those requests or make connections.
- If your district is expecting you to provide face-to-face services using a web meeting platform, the following Tele-therapy and Behaviour guides may be helpful to you as you begin to think about how you will implement services:
Behaviour Checklist
Teletherapy for Therapists
Teletherapy for Parents - Check out these videos about closed captioning for web meeting platforms. Closed captioning included!
- Check out these Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines: http://csep.ca/CMFiles/Guidelines/CSEP_PAGuidelines_0-65plus_en.pdf. Encourage families to get outside in unpopulated areas and move around (school aged kids need at least an hour of moderate activity per day, plus at least 3 hours of vigorous activity per week). Teachers, make sure that you are also getting off screens and getting some fresh air, too!
And finally, we’d like to share this blog post with you that explicitly addresses the unique situation we find ourselves in as educators (and maybe parents). Read on to learn more about the difference between ‘home schooling’ and ‘crisis schooling’.: https://www.heatheranneworld.com/post/homeschooling-is-not-the-same-as-crisis-schooling-advice-during-coronavirus-covid-19-shut-downs.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time. You can contact your favourite POPDHH consultant directly, or email office@popdhh.ca for general inquiries.
We are here to support you!
POPDHH Team