Message from Heather Moore, Head of School
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Dear Parents,
I hope everyone had a restful Passover break! It was wonderful to see everyone return yesterday for another wonderful week of distance learning at SIA.
Our fourth and fifth grade students have been working very hard, over the past several months, preparing each component of a meaningful
science project
. They are writing research papers, choosing a question to investigate, developing a hypothesis, and then designing and carrying out an experiment to test that hypothesis. The students collected data, are learning how to display it with graphs and charts, and, after analyzing the data, they will write complete and thoughtful conclusions. This year our students will create and record a presentation through google slides to show off their work. Their presentations will be shared with our volunteer judges, Tyler Hudson and Frank Palmieri, NASA scientists, who once again expressed their excitement to hear our poised and well-spoken young people presenting solid science work. Ms. Conley is planning an opportunity to share the science fair virtually with our entire school community along with the
Bridge Models
created by third graders and the
Habitat Diorama
s created by our second graders. Thank you so much to Ms. Tanya Conley for continuing to guide our fourth and fifth graders through the science fair process in a virtual world!
The
Parent Volunteer Organization
is excited about
Teacher Appreciation Week
, Monday May 4 – Friday, May 8, 2020! Look out for an email from your room parent. Together, we will make this a very special week for our teachers who do so much for our children and families!
Below you will see some reminders for next week.
Shavuah Tov,
wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!
Heather Moore
Head of School
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SPOTLIGHT ON SCIENCE FAIR PREP
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Fifth Grader Josh Rivera testing cleats on different surfaces
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Fifth Grader Natalie Berkovich tests ice melting on land vs. water
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Fourth Grader Noam Haas researching SPF and UV rays
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Fifth Grader Nadav Fried testing wall materials and noise level.
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Primary Years Distance Learning Reflections
Janet Jenkins, Director of the Primary Years
Program
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It is hard to believe that we are in
Week Four of Distance Learning
. Though we miss our students more than anything, we have developed a great routine "at school" which is hopefully reflected at home! Thank you for all of your support. We know at times it can feel overwhelming, and parents are expected to be super humans because of this quarantine.
Educators around the globe agree that this is an opportunity for us to develop resourcefulness, agency, and strong bonds as a family
. We, as many other schools all over the world, will be adjusting our curriculum as needed when we return in the fall. Our teachers have amazing superpowers and we know our students will be fine academically.
As an IB® candidate school we reflect on the process. Below are some suggested "IB Style" home guidelines as we finish out the school year. We are continually working on developing these IB® Learner Profile (LP) traits and you will see them referenced throughout this reflection:
Open-Mined - פְּתִיחוּת הַדַּעַת
Reflective - מוּדָעוּת עַצְמִית
Communicator - תִּקְשֹׁרֶת
Thinker - הָגוּת פְּנִימִית
Knowledgeable - לַמְדָנוּת וְיַדְעָנוּת
Inquirer - סַקְרָנוּת וְחַקְרָנוּת
Risk-Taker - לְקִיחַת סִכּוּנִים
Caring - אֶכְפַּתִּיּוּת
Well-Balanced - אִזּוּן
Principled - עֶרְכִּיּוּת
Keep an Established Schedule-
IB®
LP traits: Open-Minded, Reflective, Communicator, Principled
Though a schedule may not be something your family can do easily under these circumstances, we feel strongly that it helps keep normalcy in place. Use the Meet schedule we provided for your child's class. Print it or customize your own. To customize your own, open the document and
Make a Copy
(click on the File tab) and put in a schedule that works for your family including independent working times, brain breaks, and lunch/recess. Teachers know that Distance Learning schedules need to be flexible. If something isn’t working for your family, please let us know.
Set Clear Expectations-
IB®
LP traits: Open-Minded, Reflective, Communicator, Caring, Well-Balanced, Principled
These guidelines should include the following:
- Be Ready to Learn- Set up your expectations with your child for being up, dressed, and on time for a scheduled Meet. Eat breakfast before learning time begins. There is no need to show up for your child if they are not awake or ready. Contact your child's teacher to let them know your child is running a little late or wasn’t able to make it. Teachers may be able to schedule some time to review what was missed.
- Limit Distractions- Make sure that your child has a designated learning space. If needed, designate one item as a fidget and remove all other playful distractions.
- Practice Mindfulness- Once children reach their threshold, sometimes there is no coming back and learning has to stop. Forcing your child to keep going can build up frustration and anxiety. If your child is demonstrating frustration, stop and come back to finish later. Communicate this with your child’s teacher. They may be able to suggest some strategies. Please remember that our school counselors are available to talk to students. Contact Debbie Mayer or Michelle Fenley at any time to set up an appointment.
Respect the Learning Space and Learning Time-
IB
®
LP Traits: Thinker, Inquirer, Risk-Taker, Communicator, Principled, Risk-Taker
Some children need help, yet we would like for them to continue to develop agency. If needed, help your child with instructions then leave them to finish the work. Try to avoid sitting right next to them during all of their asynchronous activities.
Ask 3 Before Me
is a great way for your child to get assistance without always coming to you. Our Chrome books have the capability to use the microphone on a google search, and it can be set up to read selected text.
Hear text read aloud
. Call a classmate or ask an older sibling if there is a question about an assignment. Pose a question in the Google Classroom stream. Younger students will need a little more assistance, but anything you can do to support them finding an answer on their own is great for developing independence.
Let Them Meet-
IB
®
LP Traits: Caring, Communicator, Knowledgeable, Well-Balanced
Please be mindful and avoid coming into the background area when students are meeting for instructional time. We love having you listen out of the viewing area so you can know what is going, but please do not join a class meeting once learning has begun. For your child and other students, this can keep their attention off of the teacher or class discussion. You can always contact your child's teacher for an update or explanation. If it is a lunch or social Meet then please join in, but if your child is in a class Meet, please allow the learning to take place uninterrupted.
Accountability is Important-
IB
®
LP Traits- Reflective, Communicator, Thinker, Knowledgeable, Inquirer, Risk-Taker, Principled
We put a lot of time into making learning happen in the classroom, physical or virtual. Teachers are held accountable for lesson plans, being knowledgeable about subject content, and so much more. We also hold our students accountable for their work. We are keeping attendance in various ways, assessing learning, giving feedback and providing grades for assignments. Our teachers may ask you about missed assignments. Please don’t stress or get upset if this happens. We are passionate about what we do. Our teachers are very understanding and can make accommodations or modify activities for your child and family circumstances. We expect all of our teachers, including specialties, to hold office hours, plan and execute learning activities, and be there for our students and families. We will be providing a third term report card with the acknowledgment that learning has taken place despite the circumstances out of our control.
Our entire school was able to transition to online learning quickly. We knew how important it was to not miss a step and get our students into a routine as quickly as possible. We did it in one day while other schools took a week or more to prepare. We love our students and miss being with them in person. We will continue to make necessary adaptations as we go through this process. We are SIA- proud and strong!
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EY2 and Distance Learning
By Lorna Orleans, Director of the Early Years
Program
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Dear Families,
We are back after a bit of a Spring Break hiatus from the SIA Newsletter. Last time EY3 was in the spotlight. This week I want to highlight the distance learning and on-line connection made with our EY2 learners.
Our two year old friends meet Morah Jo and Morah Tiala each Monday thorough Thursday for a gathering time of learning and fun and they also join together with all the preschool on Fridays for an extended sing-a-long time.
We have had wonderful participation from our families and Morah Jo and Morah Tiala have been committed to keeping a connection with their students. They are so happy to see their faces each day and it seems the children are getting comfortable with this new kind of gathering and understand that their class and their teachers are still here. We are so happy to have a way to bring our community of learners together.
As distance learning began in mid March, Morah Jo and Morah Tiala continued with their IB Transdisciplinary Theme of
Who We Are.
Within this theme, they have been following the line of Inquiry-
I Have Abilities.
Recently, they worked on shapes; recognizing them, creating them and even cutting them out. As Passover approached they shifted gears to teach the narrative of the Passover story as well as the observances and traditions of the holiday- in keeping with the idea of "I can Celebrate" as one of their abilities. As we move into the final weeks of April they are continuing with
I have Abilities..
Morah Jo is focusing on
fi
ne and gross motor skills and Morah Tiala is pursuing an awareness of our five senses with her students.
I am so appreciative of how everyone- students, parents and teachers have adapted to our new reality of distance teaching. Next week I look forward to highlighting distance learning experiences in the Infant/Toddler program.
Please be sure to visit Morah Jo’s and Morah Tiala’s websites to see their updates and resources related to current learning.
EY2 - Click on the teacher name to access the class page:
In other news:
Morah Diana, our garden coordinator and keeper of
Pearl School
award points, submitted our application to
Lynnhaven River Now
an organization that recognizes schools for environmentally sustainable practices.
Our entire SIA school from Infants to 5th grade has achieved the Pearl School Award for the 5th straight year.
Also, Morah Diana’s class fostered pollinator plants all year in their classroom in grow labs that LRN donated. They have been planted in the Vibe District of Va. Beach along with plants from other schools to create a community park for everyone to enjoy.
L'hitraot
Lorna Orleans
Director, SIA Early Years
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Kids in EY3Smith received pollinator plants and fostered them all year.
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Above: Dani and her brother Avi found a great shape. Check out that circle in the word LOVE.
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Below: Olivia created paint circles and a tape square to sit in.
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What a great way to build fine motor skills. Our friend Grant is pushing those pipe cleaners through the holes in the sieve to build strong fine motor muscles.
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Our friend Eliza made circles with faces!
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Palmer used great shaking skills to make shapes appear.
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Above: Morah Tiala made matzah on -line with her students. Jay wanted J-shaped Matzah!
Below: She hid the afikomen for her kids to find. Can you find it?
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CLINIC CORNER WITH NURSE SUSAN
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Hello SIA Community,
CLICK HERE ON EACH TOPIC TO LEARN MORE:
Stay Well,
Nurse Susan
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Let's Help our friends at the Beth Sholom Village
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The onset of the COVID-19 virus has been a trying time for everyone, and especially for Beth Sholom Village. We are dealing with a crisis unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, and it is our goal to ensure that our residents and patients continue to be fulfilled and engaged in their lives at Beth Sholom Village. This is hard given our new reality, but we are persevering, and we would love the help of the community in showing our residents some love! Here is how you and your family can help and connect with patients and residents at Beth Sholom Village:
1.
Send us video clips of your kids or family saying “HI!” to our residents – tell us what you are up to!
We have a special internal channel on our TVs in resident rooms – and we can upload videos to that channel! At this time, we are no longer allowed to have group activities, resident outings, visitors to the building or communal dining. So we would love to help our residents feel like they have visitors right next to them! Email us your video clip (1-2 minutes) and we will make you a star on Channel 5! Videos can be emailed to
jbennett@bethsholomvillage.com
.
2.
Help us keep activities in full swing, with donations of supplies to our Recreation Therapy Department.
We will be in need of important supplies soon, and they are crucial to our delivery of recreation therapy to our residents, even while doing them at least 6 feet apart! Our wish list includes:
- Acrylic and/or washable paints
- Hot glue guns & glue sticks/Elmer’s glue/Gorilla glue
- Painters tape
- Poster board (assorted colors and sizes)
- Paper: construction paper, watercolor paper, cardstock
- Canvases (any size)
- Buttons, beads, yard, shells
- Mason jars
- Food coloring
- Fake flowers
- Magazines
- Popsicle sticks
Donations can be dropped off at our front door, or mailed to Beth Sholom Village. You can see what our residents do with these items by checking out our Facebook page!
3.
Send cards and letters to residents at Beth Sholom Village.
Our residents love receiving mail, and this is the perfect time to send a card or letter with well wishes! Make it an art project for your child, a mitzvah project for your teenager, or even create a holiday themed letter for the approaching holiday season. We will distribute your cards and letters to residents and patients, and encourage them to reply if you include a return address! Cards and letters may be dropped off at our front door, or mailed to Beth Sholom Village.
At the end of the day, we want to help our residents connect to the your family during a time when they need the most support and care. Thank you for taking the time to think about and reach out to our residents – we look forward to connecting with you in person, as soon as we can!
All items may be sent to or dropped off at:
Beth Sholom Village, 6401 Auburn Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23464,
Attn: Recreation Therapy.
If you have any questions, please reach out to
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Literacy Resources Available Online
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Try these great resources with your kids!
GetEpic
has both fiction, non-fiction, and popular chapter books that are great for all age levels (audio books, read-to-me, and e-books).
StorylineOnline
has actors and actresses reading stories, along with supplemental material for teachers - I will be using some of these lesson plans for my classes.
VOOKS
has both fiction, non-fiction, and IB related topics that are appropriate for all age levels (all animated videos with authentic illustrations and text from books)
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COMMUNITY RESOURCES FOR EVERYONE
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Simon Family JCC Online Classes
While the Simon Family JCC is closed, check out our FREE online classes. We'll post videos so you can join your favorite JCC instructors and get some exercise. Visit our
Facebook
and
YouTube
pages for the latest videos.
PJ Library is a Jewish family engagement program implemented on a local level throughout North America. In response to the CDC recommendations during this time, PJ Library in Tidewater will be going virtual!
You never know when you’ll need help, but you’ll always know where to find it. Whether you need assistance with putting food on your table, or help coping with the stress of these uncertain times, JFS is here to help.
Synagogues
Get updates from area synagogues
here
.
Our partners at Les Mills understand how important it is for us to be there for our members during these difficult times. They have made available 95 workouts across 8 categories FREE for all JCC members. No sign up is required.
Click here to see the workouts.
INFORMATION ABOUT COVID-19
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JCC Summer Camp Information
If your child is not already signed up with the SIA 12 month plan,
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