I hope week two of remote learning is going smoothly for everyone. In speaking with families and staff, it seems that we have found our groove as compared to where we were last week.

 

Thank you for taking the time to complete the surveys sent out last week. The majority of the people who responded felt the workload and communication were appropriate, so we'll continue along the same path, with a few adjustments along the way. 

 

Next week, K-5 parents will notice a bit of a shift because the packets we sent home were based on a two-week closure. Since our closure has extended past the original two weeks, teachers will be distributing resources electronically. Please know you do not have to print out everything that comes home. Students can do the work on loose leaf paper, or for older students, they can use a Google Doc. Students could even do homework on a whiteboard and take a picture of their completed work to turn into their teacher. We want to stress that we are not expecting you to print everything sent home; we encourage some creativity around how assignments are completed. 

 

Another interesting aspect of remote learning is grading. Since not all of our students have the same access to at-home help or support, remote learning creates an ethical question around equity. Students shouldn't have their grades negatively impacted because they aren't able to access curriculum the same way they would be able to if we were meeting in-person. Due to this equity issue, we have determined that no students' grades will be negatively impacted by this time of remote learning. What does that mean exactly? It means that work will be recorded based on completion.

 

We will continue to collect work at each grade level, and teachers will be providing feedback. For grades K-2, the teachers will be recording two assignments per week. Grades 3-5 will record three assignments per week. Teachers will notify parents about which assignments they are collecting for attendance and accountability purposes. Middle school will continue to record all assignments. In all grade levels, we are expecting that all assignments are completed, even if they are not being "recorded." The work is important to help build and reinforce skills. We want our students to stay actively engaged in learning. We realize that for some students (and parents), this will be a hard shift from grades being a motivator to learning/practice being a motivator. We will try to be creative in how we are motivating students to complete their assigned work and encourage parents to do the same. 

 

This overall situation has been very stressful for everyone, so let's have some fun next week. We are going to have a virtual spirit week! Here are the themes for next week:

 

Monday: American pride day - sport your red, white and blue

 

Tuesday: Crazy hair day - always a favorite! 

 

Wednesday: Jersey/sports team day - many of us are missing cheering for our favorite teams or getting to play our favorite sports!

 

Thursday: Bring your pet to "school" day - take pictures/videos to introduce your friends to your pets. If you don't have a pet, share your favorite stuffed animal. 

 

Friday: Character day - dress as your favorite character from a movie or book

 

Please share your photos/videos with [email protected] and me, and we'll put together slide shows and social media posts for each day. Since we can't physically be together, at least we can share the fun and spirit virtually!

 

I know I speak for all teachers and staff when I say, WE MISS YOU! I hope everyone is doing well. If the school can help support you in any way, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Sincerely,

 

Mrs. Simpson