Dear Parents,

****UPDATE/CLARIFICATION!!
Mathnasium @ Home online will not be stopping! It is a continuing program/option. For those who are currently doing the online sessions, these will still continue regardless of the centre re-opening. You have the choice to do online, in-centre or even both! I believe a few parents were confused that this was the end of the online program. It is not! It was a program developed over the last 3 years and was beneficial during the current situation but was not as a result of it. It will continue to be an option at least through the summer!

*Please read this email in its entirety as it contains important information*
I have been eagerly awaiting the day when I could send you this email to announce our re-opening. The time has finally come! We are happy to announce that our Vaughan and Thornhill centres will be reopening on Monday June 22, 2020. As I am sure you have heard, Doug Ford announced today that York Region will enter stage 2 of the reopening process this Friday, which means that we are now allowed to reopen our centres. We are looking forward to seeing all of our Mathletes return.
Attached to this email, you will find a list of new policies and procedures in place to protect the staff and your children while they are at Mathnasium. Safety is our number one priority, and we are doing everything that has been outlined by both the province and our head office, to maintain the safest environment possible, and to adhere to the physical distancing policies. While everything is outlined on our policies and procedures page, we wanted to highlight a few items for you. Parents will not be permitted to enter the centre. When you bring your child, please wait in your car until the centre manager or an instructor signals your child to come to the door. At this time, their temperature will be taken with a contactless thermometer, they will be given hand sanitizer, and then permitted to enter the centre. Please DO NOT leave the parking lot until your child has been cleared to enter. Our instructors will be separated from your children by plexiglass shields which are on every table. Our instructors will have face shields when moving around the centre (i.e. walking a student out). All children are permitted, but not required, to wear a mask while in the centre. We do encourage them to wear a mask into and out of the centre, and even have an order of Mathnasium branded masks on the way, that will be available upon arrival. We have designed the centre, the layout, and the plexiglass to ensure that students are always 6 feet away from other students, and separated and protected from the staff by the plexiglass. Please read the attached page carefully to make yourself aware of all of the policies and procedures that we will be following.
Some of you are already starting to book your appointments. Time slots are going to fill up fast. Appointments will be booked on a first come first serve basis. We recommend that you pick the days and times that you would like to attend, and try to keep the same appointments each week. Because we have to limit the number of students in the centre at any given time, we will extend our hours as needed to make sure we can accommodate all of our students. Please note that for the first few weeks, all appointments will be limited to one hour. As you know our program is unlimited and you can attend as many times per week as you would like. Because we have to adhere to additional cleaning protocols in our centres, we have to leave extra time between sessions. Therefore, at this time we can only accommodate one hour sessions. If you are not planning to return until July, please book your appointments as early as possible to make sure you can get the days and the times you want. If you want to make up for the time missed in March and plan to return in June, you will not be charged for the remainder of the month. Please email Paul or Russell at [email protected] or [email protected] to book your appointments.
Our hours of operation beginning on June 22, 2020 will be as follows:
Monday : 11 am to 5 pm
Tuesday: 11 am to 6 pm
Wednesday: 11 am to 5 pm
Thursday: 11 am to 6 pm
Friday: 11 am to 5 pm
I have spoken to many of you over the past 3 months. I know you are all concerned about the work that your children have missed during the school closures. I know that you are concerned that your children will not be ready for the next grade when they go back to school in September. With no camp this summer, it is a great time to take advantage of our unlimited program. Let us get your children caught up and prepare them for their next grade level.
On a personal note, I want to thank each and every one of your for your support over the past 3 months. Your emails and calls and general concern for our well-being have been greatly appreciated. I miss seeing all of your children, and I have appreciated hearing how they have been doing over the past few months. I know that life at Mathnasium (and everywhere else) is going to look different for a while. I am committed to using the summer to provide a little bit of normalcy for your kids. Even with all of the new procedures we have had to put into place, I am confident that we can provide your children with the same high quality instruction that we have always delivered, while at the same time giving your children a place to go where they can have some fun.
I look forward to seeing all of you back in the centre over the next few weeks. As always, if you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]
Sincerely
Robyn Steiner
Owner Mathnasium Vaughan/Thornhill
**IMPORTANT: Policies and Procedures (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!**
Policies and Procedures to Maintain Social Distancing at Mathnasium Vaughan/Thornhill
Both centres have had a deep cleaning, and will be cleaned again just prior to opening.
Our centres have been fitted with plexiglass shields for the tables. This will provide a barrier between the instructors and students. There is a pass through slot in the plexiglass for students to pass their binders through for contact free marking of worksheets.
Hand sanitizers/wipes will be available on every table.
Binders will be disinfected before being returned to the binder shelf.
“High-touch” surfaces (door handles, tables, chairs, light switches, etc) will be disinfected regularly, after each round of sessions with students.
No staff member or student will be permitted to enter the centre if they are exhibiting any signs of illness.
We will have a contactless thermometer on sight for staff and students.
If a student starts to exhibit any signs of illness while in the centre, their parent/guardian will be called for immediate pick up and they will be isolated from the other students until they are picked up.
Students are free to wear masks and/or gloves if they choose. We have been advised that the plexiglass shields will be adequate protection, however this is an individual choice and we will not prevent any student from wearing a mask or gloves if they choose to.
Staff will wash their hands between sessions.
All students will be asked to sanitize their hands upon entering the centre and before leaving.
Students will be spread out with only one student per table. A reminder that there will be plexiglass shields separating the instructor and students.
When students arrive at the centre for their scheduled session, they will remain at their car/outside until signalled to enter by the centre manager. The manager will take their temperature (using a contactless thermometer) and give them sanitizer, and then they will enter the centre. Please do not leave the parking lot until your child has been cleared to enter the centre.
The parent waiting area will be closed. Parents will need to drop off and pick up outside the centre. For younger students, instructors will walk students to their parent/guardian picking up while maintaining social distancing.
Students will maintain social distancing at all times while in the centre.
Student work areas will be cleaned after every student session.
Students will have their own pencil, eraser, and scratch paper to work with which will be kept in their binders in between sessions.
There will be a maximum of 10 students in the centre at any given time. (operating hours will be extended throughout the summer in order to accommodate this maximum numbers of students. More information on operating hours to follow closer to reopening).
Parent meetings will be conducted by phone whenever possible. If a conference needs to happen in-centre, strict social distancing policies will be followed while facilitating the conversation.
Students will not be checking in or out on the tablet. The centre manager or an instructor will record attendance in our database.
Manipulatives and desk tools will not be shared. If they are necessary to facilitate a students learning, they will be disinfected after each use.
The games table will be temporarily closed.
Instructors will not write on student pages, but will utilize scratch paper to help with problem solving.
The centre manager will manage the prize wheel and rewards cabinet. Students will not be permitted to spin the wheel. The centre manager will conduct all spins.
Instructors will get the student’s binders from the shelves, and upon completion of the session the students will place their binders in a box to be disinfected by the staff prior to being returned to the shelf.
Pages will be marked upon completion, instead of question by question. Students will be able to move their binders toward the instructor, and the instructor will mark the page without touching the binder and without removing the sheet from the binder. Any corrections or instructions will be modelled on scratch paper.
At the end of the session, students will be instructed to move completed sheets to section 4 or section 5 of their binder.
The washroom will be temporarily closed. Please encourage your child to use the bathroom at home before they come to the centre.
