School News

FLEX Time Begins Sept. 6

Posted by
on 22/08/2023

Updated August 2023

FLEX TIME OVERVIEW

Black student in a yellow shirt facing the wall and working at a white desk in front of a black chalk wall with a weekly schedule on itManaging time and workload is a challenge that begins in high school and continues long afterwards. It is a skill that improves with practice. FLEX Time gives you the chance to practice this skill, by giving you control of your own learning and time. In order to be effective, you will prioritize when and where you need to focus your efforts, with some guidance from your teachers.

During FLEX Time, teachers will not be teaching new material. The overall goal is to support you in your current learning. Teachers will be available to students for additional help and guidance on current and ongoing work.

During FLEX, you may ask for additional practice or support to work through a challenging concept, but your teachers are not expected to create more assignments for you. Instead of focusing on the volume of work, it should allow you to focus on the quality of the learning.

We encourage students to use FLEX productively and to use the time efficiently so they can have more free time later in their day to pursue their own personal activities.  Device use should be school or project related.

HOW YOU CAN USE FLEX-TIME:Three students, two Black boys and one white girl, work on red robots on a table with a white female teacher looking on

  • Receiving help or feedback from a teacher or a classmate
  • Completing/reducing homework, missed assignments and tests
  • Preparing/studying for tests & quizzes
  • Learning how to organise your schedule & prioritize your activities
  • Decompressing through working on personal interest/passion projects
  • Gathering with peers to collaborate, plan, and complete group projects
  • Practicing presentations
  • Working on long term assignments
  • Reading silently
  • Re-Young Black girl reading a book while sitting in a bright yellow beanbag chairviewing course videos
  • Practicing good mental health practices or mindfulness strategies to start the day with a supportive mindset
  • Developing and improving skills: reading, writing, drawing, performing, creating, etc.
  • Working out, improving fitness (check with your PHE teacher to check which facilities will be open)

FLEX-PECTATIONS:

  • Directional sign pointing the left with the word "Notice"Attending FLEX every day is mandatory for all grade 8 students.
    • Leadership students will occasionally offer mentorship sessions and skill-development workshops in this time/space, but the rest of your days will be self-directed.
  • FLEX Time is Instructional Time; students on campus are expected to be in a classroom or designated learning space, with teacher supervision. It is not intended to be extra time for extra-curricular activities/clubs or just socialising in the common areas.
    • Students are expected to be available in FLEX every day.  If a teacher needs to see you and asks to see you during FLEX, let them know if you have already committed to meet with another teacher.  Otherwise, you should not have commitments outside of school at this time
    • Teachers are not available in every FLEX period, so pay attention to the schedule your teacher discusses or posts in class.  Part-time teachers may only be available on days they teach first period.  All teachers will take periods off for designated prep time and on Fridays teachers who are meeting in Professional Learning Communities/Collaboration Teams will not be available.  On days a teacher is not available, attend another of your classrooms; you may work on tasks not related to that space, so you can study for a Science class in your English classroom, but the teacher is unlikely to be able to support your activity.
  • While some teachers, especially those with complicated or part-time schedules, may have sign-up systems, students are always encouraged to let their teacher know in advance that they intend to come for FLEX Time so they can best prepare to help you. Also, not all equipment will be available in every period, so check in advance if you’ll be able to access the materials/equipment you need.Three young women wearing hijab working at a table with books and a laptop
  • While students may move from space to space during FLEX to maximize their ability to connect with as many teachers as they need, rooms may fill up, so it is best to attend your highest priority room first.
  • During FLEX Time, students respect the classroom rules and the school code of conduct.
  • Students are responsible for bringing all necessary supplies and study materials.
  • Teachers may request that a student attend FLEX for support or to make up work for their class. If there is a scheduling conflict between FLEX appointments, students should coordinate with their teachers.
  • Students should attend FLEX Time only with their CURRENT teachers, or access additional supports such as Connect, ELL support, Library, etc.

We hope that you will use FLEX Time in a way that supports you, and makes learning more personal, and as a result, more relevant to you.

Grade 8 Tutorials

It is mandatory for Grade 8 students to attend FLEX time.  In addition, selected Friday FLEX sessions throughout the year will be Tutorials led by our Leadership students.  The Leaders will teach a variety of lessons to help our grade 8 students adapt to the demands of high school so they can better thrive in the face of new academic, organisational, and social challenges.

• Sessions have been scheduled throughout the year from October to April for grade 8 students.
• Sessions run from 8:45 am – 9:30 am on selected Fridays

DAILY SCHEDULE:

  • FLEX is 30 minutes long from Monday to Thursday.  It is 50 minutes long on Fridays.  For this reason, many teachers schedule  make-ups for tests and in-class assignments on Fridays.

Chart showing the times and duration of each block in the timetable