April 30, 2020
Dear Families,
I hope this email finds you and your loved ones in good health. Our community has shown just how resilient and resourceful we can be as we adapt to new ways of learning and connecting. At the same time, we are also feeling the loss of being together at 342 Smith Street and the energy and joy bustling in our hallways, the laughter and engagement in our classrooms, children interacting with one another, and the warmth and support from our teachers. We miss parents visiting our classrooms and joining for school
tekesim/
assemblies
and special events and our inter-grade and whole-school celebrations.
Because we remain committed to offering a robust program for the final six weeks of this school year, we will continue to utilize technology to communicate, collaborate, teach, and provide feedback and support to our students and parents. We are continuously reflecting on our process and making changes as we learn how to best serve and support our children and families.
Senesh Distance Learning
I am extremely proud that we have taken some of the most impactful parts of a Senesh education and integrated them into our distance learning program. We are continuing to evolve our program to ensure our program:
- Creates a space for students to feel connected to one another and to their teachers
- Provides structure, routine, and predictability
- Offers continued instruction of our curriculum with grade and subject level activities/assignments that are an extension of our current curriculum and continuity in our children’s learning
- Includes small group and differentiated instruction to meet our student’s individual needs
- Includes teacher assessments of student work to provide feedback and guide teacher instruction
- Builds opportunities for social action, community-wide Kabbalat Shabbat, communal tefillah including Zoom B Mitzvahs, and holiday commemorations and celebrations
As we look ahead, we are thinking about how to do our end of year grade level programs including a meaningful virtual graduation, a school yearbook, and more. As planned, students will receive progress reports in June. In keeping with other New York City independent and public schools, we will not be administering standardized tests this spring. We want to reassure our seventh grade parents that we are in close contact with high schools and are confident that our students will have the requirements needed for the high school application process.
Senesh staff are also collaborating with the PA leadership to continue to grow connections for parents and to keep our PA committees active as they truly enhance our school program and community.
Senesh Zoom Camp - Brief Survey
We are also thinking ahead to the two weeks in June following the end of school. It is with a heavy heart that we have made the decision to cancel our annual two week Hebrew camp. All registration fees will be refunded. Thanks to parent feedback and staff enthusiasm, we are excited to announce that Senesh will offer a Senesh Zoom Camp during this time. All classes will be led by Senesh faculty and will include a variety of activities geared toward Senesh kids of all ages. We would like to gauge interest in this program and learn what topics and time slots interest you most as we plan ahead. We will be in touch with our Senesh Zoom Camp offerings.
Social-Emotional Wellbeing
We know that everyone is navigating this crisis and managing the accompanying stressors and burdens in the best way they can. We also know that each family’s situation is unique. Some parents are not able to work at this time, some are juggling working at home with family responsibilities. Many families have competing schedules and needs. Some families are also having to care for sick family members. Every family has very different and specific challenges they are facing and we cannot have identical expectations for all families.
We remain committed to engaging children in work and experiences that are meaningful for them. We will continue to meet children where they are and modify our instruction and expectations as we need to and build children’s skills. We understand that our children in the younger lower school grades (K-2) require grown up support to participate in distance learning. Parents, please know that it is OKAY if your child does not do every assignment every day. Please do only as much as makes sense for you and your child. Our lower school distance learning program is set up so teachers can share assignments with parents in advance. This is meant to offer you greater time to prepare and more flexibility if your child cannot attend class.
Our communal responsibility is to help our children and one another through this experience. Parents can best support children by modeling calm and strength, sharing joyful and playful experiences, and keeping the lines of communication open so that children can express their feelings and ask questions. Together, we will continue to model for our children how to have a growth mindset, persevere, and approach each day anew.
Below are some resources you may want to review and please know that our school counselors are here to help. Please reach out to Lower School Counselor Carolyn Lyons at
clyons@hannahsenesh.org
or Middle School Counselor Julie Arner at
jarner@hannahsenesh.org
for support.
Outlook for the Fall
We know that many of you have questions about the 2020-21 school year, and we wish we could answer them with certainty. While a lot of unknowns remain about the course of this pandemic, we are making plans for a return to school in September. This planning includes provisions for enhanced health and safety measures that will likely be needed in the coming year. We have already begun to work with medical and health professionals to advise us on our reopening strategy. Additionally, we are considering and planning for varied teaching and learning models should social distancing and other safety precautions be necessary. Much remains to be seen in the coming weeks and months and we will stay in touch with you on our plans.
State of School Zoom Meeting
Please mark your calendars for a State of School Zoom Meeting on May 12 at 8pm with me and Board Chair Judy Schoenberg to hear more about our plans for the rest of the year and beyond. Join us via Zoom.
We all miss being with the children and families of our community. I remain grateful to our faculty who are innovating and teaching in new ways while caring for their own families at home, to our parents for the multiple roles they are simultaneously playing and to our students who are adapting to new routines and ways of connecting and learning with others, while they continue to bring so much joy to all of us. This is a difficult situation on many levels, but together we will support one another and grow as a community.
Thank you for your continued partnership during these challenging times.
