Update on the 2021-2022 Training Year
Return to In-person Training
We are looking tentatively to return to in-person training Wednesday October 13 at École de pionniers (1618 Patricia Ave). This will be mainly an administration night to distribute and complete annual validation forms and registration for new cadets. Cadets will need to have a parent/guardian to attend and to be able to provide any updated changes to contact or personal information. More details will come once we’ve confirmed the night.
We are asking all cadets to fill out this short survey for planning purposes: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=-2oSqwzmL062z8c1DHbchDXZmyUKlq1DmjW_95cuKN9UQTVaQk9LSk1VWExVTkdPVzZNRVZZSFJTQS4u
IMPORTANT: Glider Pilot Training Course and Power Pilot Training Course
Starting this year, to be considered eligible for either the glider or power pilot scholarship course, candidates must enroll in and complete the online national ground school. This means if you wish to apply for power or glider for 2022, this ground school program is mandatory! The National Ground School is a self paced, 45 hour course offered by Moncton Flight College.
Before applying, please review the eligibility requirements and the FAQ about the program. Please note this program is only available for those that are applying this year, for everyone else, we will have our squadron ground school starting soon.
Course content may be accessed starting October 1 however, the deadline to register is Friday, October 8 2400hrs.
Link to sign up: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=n_hT2xUsWUmMsS4wUXQ5M6ZZw4wqXsdMjMu_ohRmkg1UNzk0TDFZUUM4NDE4OEdLMUw0RzFJVzZJSi4u
Summary of past meetings
We’ve had two meetings on MS Teams covering some updates and COVID-19 safety protocols so far. The recordings can be viewed in the 777 Cadets Teams > General Channel. If you scroll up a bit and find the post where the meetings took place, the recording is in the comments section. To summarize some points from the meetings:
We will be looking to return to regular training for Wednesday evenings from 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm at École de pionniers (1618 Patricia Ave). We are looking at potentially a staggered start time for different levels of cadets and to carry out two periods of training per night. Once we have an idea of our numbers returning, we should be able to provide more details as to how this will look.
Virtual options will be available for those uncomfortable with in-person or cannot attend regular training on our MS Teams platform
COVID-19 Safety protocols will be similar to those that were in place during October 2020 including:
Masks being mandatory for all personnel for all activities
2 m physical distancing
Facilities should operate at 50% capacity
Sanitization of common surfaces prior and after activities
Requirement for all personnel to do a self-check prior to attending any activities. If you are not feeling well, please do not attend
Sign-in with the COVID-19 register for contact tracing purposes
The Regional Cadet Support Unit Commanding Officer has clarified that, based on the requirements set out by BC’s Public Health Orders, vaccines are not mandatory (updated letter)
I have also attached an old copy of the COVID-19 Aide Memoire. Some of the dates might be wrong as this was for the previous training year; however, the content and how training will be conducted generally will remain the same
Tentative Upcoming Dates
The following activities are tentatively scheduled for these dates:
Sat Oct 16 – Uniform Day
Sat Oct 23 & Sun Oct 24 – Level 5 Training Weekend
Sat Nov 6 – Level 1 & 2 Training
Sat Nov 13 & Sun Nov 14 – First Aid and Marksmanship
Sat Nov 27 & Sun Nov 28 – Accelerated Cadets Training Weekend
Sat Dec 4 – Outdoor Skills Day
Sat Dec 11 & Sun Dec 12 – First Aid and Marksmanship
The uniform day will be for all cadets to return old uniform parts and to issue out new uniform parts, including the new field training uniform. More details will come on these activities once they are confirmed.
MS Teams and CADET365
We will continue to use MS Teams as our main platform for announcements and delivering virtual training. This may also be used to conduct certain activities (i.e. ground school). Sometime in this training year, cadets will be receiving their CADET365 account, which is the nationally managed Office 365 suite (Teams, Outlook, etc.). Some cadets will have already started using this platform if they participated in Virtual CTC. We will likely transition from our own squadron Office 365 platform to the CADET365 platform once this has been all set up.
If you need help with accessing your MS Teams account, please contact me by email: bryanh@777aircadets.ca