Dear GMS Families,
The last two days, your faculty and staff have been hard at work (while still practicing social distancing) preparing both physical and online materials to engage all our students during this temporary suspension of in-person learning. During this time, two things are at once abundantly clear:
- We already miss your children.
- Our teachers care deeply about each child and remain as committed as ever to supporting their students' continued growth during this time.
Our team wishes your family the best as you work through these stressful times. We hope the materials and communication we provide will encourage and engage your child in a way that works for your family’s schedule and your child’s learning.
Wednesday morning you can pick up your child’s physical materials (
click here for car line details) which will include a variety of items: everyone has work packets; some students have actual works; some are borrowing technology; some have science projects coming home; and some have blankies and rain boots for home. There may also be a few, fun treats included, as well.
While the physical pick-up of materials is Wednesday morning, the digital delivery of lessons, links, and activities will be spread out over the coming days. We want families to be able to engage with the materials in a time and fashion that works for you. While most videos and activities can be visited at your convenience, students in older grades will have some specific times when they need to log on to join a group video conversation. Students who work with
Sidney McGinnis will receive a separate email with specific ways she will support your child’s learning needs.
Please scroll to the bottom of this email for division-specific notes about what's to come for your child’s remote learning experience. Below is a list of resources available to all students.
- All of our classes will send a short daily email and video at 8 a.m. that will include some sort of lesson, a song, or a reminder of work to do that day.
- Upper Elementary and Junior High faculty will begin this tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18.
- Toddler, Primary, and Lower Elementary faculty will begin this Thursday, March 19.
- All of our students will have a weekly virtual video check-in with one of their teachers, be it to stay personally connected or to go over individualized work plans or to review work completed so far. These video check-ins will be scheduled by your teachers.
- Each class has built out a password-protected Google Drive folder where families can access all of the linked videos and activities we are sending. If you ever experience technical challenges, please email Brandon Johnson, our director of information technology.
- We will send a weekly email with more ideas and activities, as well as any updates for reopening our physical campuses.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email any of us or your teachers.
Even though we are all concerned about how COVID-19 will affect our loved ones, communities, and businesses, your School has managed to turn anxiety into excitement as we worked to prepare for your child’s continued learning. And, we are ready for putting Dr. Maria Montessori’s words into practice: "Montessori is an education for independence, not just for school, but for life."
Take good care of yourselves.
