May 4, 2020
Dear Incoming Kindergarten Families:
I hope this email finds you and your loved ones in good health. I wanted to share with you an update of what has been happening at Senesh and our plans as we look ahead toward the fall.
Senesh Distance Learning
While we feel a great loss of not being together in our school building, our community has shown just how resilient and resourceful we can be as we adapt to new ways of teaching, learning, and connecting.
I am extremely proud that our faculty has been so nimble to create such a meaningful distance learning program. We have taken some of the most impactful parts of a Senesh education and integrated them into remote learning to ensure that 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, and holiday commemorations and celebrations
Our current kindergarten class is enjoying a robust schedule with a variety of small and large group activities.
We continue to provide a balance of ‘live learning’ through Zoom with asynchronous learning on a platform called SeeSaw. This is designed to allow children to spend time with teachers and classmates for direct instruction, while also offering our students and parents needed flexibility during distance learning.
I thought you'd like to see their current weekly schedule to get a taste of what they are doing.
Senesh staff continues to collaborate with the Parent Association (PA) to grow connections for parents and to keep our PA committees active as they truly enhance our school program and community. We have been heartened by our many community events including our weekly Kabbalat Shabbat that draws more than 200 people, coffee talks with our school counselors, and more. In addition, Annette will send you information soon about some fun upcoming events to foster relationships between this incoming kindergarten class in advance of the school year.
Senesh Zoom Camp
We are also thinking ahead to the two weeks in June following the end of school. We are excited to announce that Senesh will offer a
Senesh Zoom Camp during the weeks of June 15 and June 22
from Monday through Thursdays. Incoming kindergarten children and caregivers are welcome to register for classes geared toward kindergarten. All classes will be led by Senesh faculty and will include a variety of activities. Stay tuned for more information about this!
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.
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.
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.
I very much look forward to welcoming you at 342 Smith Street in the fall. Please stay safe and healthy.
Best wishes,
