Electronic Friday Folder -- December 4, 2020
Ways to Support Your Child During Virtual Learning
As we continue to learn how to support students using different platforms and applications on their devices, I wanted to share some thoughts and offer clarification about parent and student engagement.
*Asynchronous Mondays are NOT optional. These lessons are crafted to support students in the practice of what has been taught during the previous week. Every lesson throughout the week is important to your child’s learning and the expectation is that children are engaged in learning Monday through Friday from 8:50am-2:20pm. Many grade levels have specials on Monday and this is an important part of each student’s social emotional and physical development. If you have questions about this, please email me and we can set up a time to talk about these expectations. Our goal is to have our students moving forward in their learning and be prepared for benchmarks and grade level expectations. All assignments, Monday through Friday, are part of their grades and progress. Please remember that our learning day is 1 hour and 21 minutes shorter than if we were in person, and there is no homework other than to practice reading daily, so every minute is necessary.
*Students should be on their devices at 8:50am each morning. The 10 minutes of morning announcements help students to identify with other students in the school, learn interesting facts, share news about students throughout the school, and learn the local weather. During these times where we are not together, we look for opportunities to share on the camera. The Tech Crew has done an excellent job of providing this programming to all students. Besides the announcements and some humor, it provides a team building time for children to see other members of the community.
*Assistance on activities and assessments. We are so appreciative that parents and guardians have been assisting students with getting connected, keeping them on task, and assisting when needed. You all have been amazing in working with us to collaborate on virtual learning. We do ask that you allow your child(ren) to complete their own assignments and assessments. As student write, they may make errors in their spelling and punctuation. Our teachers will meet with individual children to help them with these skills. When study guides for tests are given in the upper grades, we appreciate having you quiz the student(s) before his/her assessment, but not during the assessment.
Some of our placement materials, such as Lexia, RAZ Kids, and Performance Matters, are meant to be completed independently so we know what skills students have mastered and what we need to reteach. Please help us, by allowing your child(ren) to complete these tasks independently.
*Leaving the student’s camera on. While it is not required, it is extremely important for all elementary students to keep his/her camera on throughout the learning day unless the teacher asked the student to turn his/her camera off. Just as if we were in person, we monitor our students visually as they are working. We prompt them to be on task and engaged at points in the lesson so they can access the information and skills. Imagine if you tried to drive a vehicle with your eyes closed. This is how we feel when we cannot see our students. Please help your child(ren) to stay engaged by having his/her camera on. This is also another tool for building community and social emotional learning. The students benefit from seeing each and their teachers as they are learning throughout the day. While they cannot be in person, we need to ensure they have the opportunity to see each other on camera and engage in Morning meeting to share feelings, ideas, and learn through peer and teacher modeling.
*Technical Difficulties including not being let in a “room.” We work every day to try and keep all students engaged and to ensure that the technology works. Mr. Harvey is here every day helping people in person, on the phone, and by email. However, we must recognize that there are glitches with technology and sometimes, we cannot fix the problem. Some days, connectivity can be an issue which creates some challenges. During a recent incident, we did find out that many student iPads had various websites open and it “clogged” our system. All of these pieces, we are learning as we continue on the digital highway of learning. No one purposefully exit a student or teacher from a classroom. These are pieces of technology and we must work through them together. Please be patient.
We could not have come this far with virtual learning without your help, support, and feedback. You all have been so collaborative and we want to thank you. More than any other time in our educational journey, we need you actively engaged. It is this tripod approach, you, your child, and us that makes this work. Please wear your mask, wash your hands, social distance, and keep safe.
We all count our many blessings during this season and are grateful for health and family. Please know that we are the ASFS Community and we care about each other. Thank you.
Mary E. Begley, ASFS Principal
Please send all eFF submissions to Puja Valiyil by EOD Wednesdays. All content will be subject to approval by ASFS administration and the ASFS PTA.
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