YSAR COVID-19 update, Friday March 23th 2020 1300hrs

YSAR Covid-19 update 3

Instructors, students and parents

Based on the information available today following the Government announcement, as of 1400hrs 23^rd March 2020, YSAR Management and Board of Trustees will be suspending all face to face week evening and weekend training activities until further notice however will remain committed to delivering the training programme through our Learning Management System (LMS) CANVAS.

Background

These are unprecedented times which none of us have encountered before. I hope you are all well and coping with this escalating situation. I ask that we continue to work together to provide a positive environment to ensure the best possible outcomes for students whilst maintaining, first our own safety, and then the safety of all cohorts, parents and volunteers. The Ministry of Health’s Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield provided an update to the media on the national COVID-19 response at 12:30pm today and announced 36 new cases. Bringing the total to 102. Community contact transmission is now apparent. The YSAR management met today with consultation with YSAR Board of Trustee Chairperson and evaluated both the Government’s advice and the rapidly evolving COVID-19 status in New Zealand.

Rationale to suspend face to face training

The rationale base for this decision has been across many combined considerations which include;

Change of Government Emergency Level from 2 to 4
Instructor, students and parent safety concerns
Instructor feedback on perceived risk of close contact programme delivery
Parent and student risk of YSAR training close contact
Government restrictions and recommendations to avoid unnecessary travel
Exponential increase of positive tests within NZ and in YSAR regions
Similar programmes are suspending their face to face activities
Other countries reporting on the highly contagious aspects of this virus

YSAR response to COVID-19 – Business continuity plan

We are very fortunate to have starting the development of a web LMS in 2019 which will now enable us to continue training delivery this year through these uncertain times. It is our expectation that all students will attend training online until further notice and will receive their Certificate of Completion and Certificate of Graduation at the end of the year.

We are committed to returning to both weekend training exercises and week evening training as soon as it is safe and practicable.

CANVAS LMS

Our online LMS is called Canvas and all students should be registered and it is our expectation all students have already logged in and completed the Passport to Canvas course.

Week evening training

The week evening platform to continue to deliver YSAR training is YSAR CANVAS conference and we will attempt to maintain the YSAR National training calendar schedule but may be combined Auckland and Tauranga. This platform works similar to Zoom and Microsoft TEAMS meeting. Once a Conference is set up within a Course, the student can select the Conference tab in their app or on their laptop and enter the classroom session, it’s very simple. Canvas conference, we can present and record presentations, add PowerPoints and allow for student input through the lessons. We can provide small assignments and quizzes to ensure students are keeping up with the learning https://ysar.instructure.com/

Student instructions

Students are advised to continue to monitor their CANVAS for class notifications

I encourage students login and view the existing modules and get familiarized with Courses, Modules and Conference.

URL links to Courses

Cohort 2018 training L3 Leadership and Management Course – W3LEADEOC https://ysar.instructure.com/courses/51
Cohort 2019 training L2 Leadership and Management Course – W2RAMS https://ysar.instructure.com/courses/50
Cohort 2020 training L1 Navigation Course – W1NAV https://ysar.instructure.com/courses/52

If you have problems with logins, could you please call me and I will fix it over the phone. I fully understand that the instructor and student Canvas training has been limited to the Passport to Canvas course and I agree this has been inadequate, but please be patient and positive and work together to ensure we can continue training as we all need to go into isolation for a period. One of the familiar characteristics of those involved in SAR and EM is volunteer resilience so let’s get through this together and minimize the impact as a team. Please give me a call if you have any concerns or queries.

Personal Safety

We will update you as often as we can but in the meantime please stay up to date with current Ministry of Health guidelines. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Take care and look after yourself and others around you.

Covid – 19 Website