Download the New COVID-19 Alert App: Anderson Bi-Weekly Connect

This week we will be sharing some updates regarding the COVID-19 alert app as well as how to potentially become a virtual fan at a Raptors game, we will also be sharing two short stories. We hope you enjoy them!

New COVID-19 App Available

Residents of Ontario can now download a new app that can tell them whether they have been near someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 over the previous two weeks.

COVID Alert is the federal government’s latest move in the battle to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as Canada’s economy gradually reopens. Here’s how it works:

You start by downloading the app to your smartphone. Please note – the choice to download the app is completely voluntary!
1.The app will allow the phone to use Bluetooth technology to exchange signals with nearby phones.
2.If someone tests positive for COVID, their public health authority will give them a one-time key to enter into the app.
3.The app will then send out notices to every phone that has been within two metres of the infected person’s phone for at least 15 minutes over the previous 14 days — as long as those other phones also carry the app.
4.Those who receive a notification will receive instructions on what to do next.

Officials say that the app will become more effective as more people download it — and they stress that it’s a notification app, not a contact-tracing app. To protect you and your loved ones, please download the app ASAP.

How to Become a Virtual Fan at a Raptors Game

In an innovative move to combat restrictions on live sports due to COVID-19, Microsoft Teams (which we’ve all come to know and love!) are hosting virtual fan experiences for Raptors fans. This means fans can see the game live and be seen by players on the court and in the background of games by anyone watching at home! Essentially it works like a giant MS Teams class, which we’re all familiar with.

The NBA has released a step-by-step guide for joining the waiting room to be selected for a game. While there’s no guarantee you’ll be chosen to help fill the virtual NBA stands, but there’s no harm in trying.

The Importance of Family – Short Story 1

‘Getting late for a meeting, need to run’, he said, as he slung his coat over the shoulder, and bounded out of the house. As he drove away, she came running down the stairs two at a time. ‘Wait, wait’, she said, but he had already left.

Her mouth crumpled like used wrapping paper. ‘He forgot to give me a goodbye kiss’, she whispered in a voice that trembled under the weight of her hurt. She called him, ‘you left without giving me a kiss’, she said accusingly. ‘I am sorry sweetheart’, he said, his voice contrite. ‘It is okay’, she said, trying to be all grown up as she cut the call.

She gulped down her breakfast morosely, wore her shoes, picked up her school bag and started to walk out of the door, her shoulders slumped. As she climbed down the steps, the car glided to a stop outside the house. He got out of the car. She ran to him, her whole face lit up like a Christmas tree.

‘I am sorry I forgot’, he said, as he picked her up and hugged her. She said nothing. Her jaw ached from smiling.

Fifteen years later, no one would remember he was late for a meeting, but a little girl would never ever forget that her father drove all the way back home just to kiss her goodbye!

The Sweeter Apple – Short Story 2

A lovely little girl was holding two apples in her hands.

Her mom came in and softly asked her little daughter with a smile, “My sweetie, could you give your mom one of your two apples?”

The girl looked up at her mom for some seconds, then she suddenly took a quick bite on one apple, and then quickly on the other.

The mom felt the smile on her face freeze. She tried hard not to reveal her disappointment.
Then the little girl handed one of her bitten apples to her mom, and said, “Mommy, here you are. This is the sweeter one.”

Sincerely,

The Anderson College Team