Wow! We have had a busy two weeks. We continue to be amazed by the hard work and effort both students and parents have put into Remote Learning. Navigating the Zoom links, participating in small Breakout Room discussions, or just following along with the video lessons have been impressive examples of a cooperative willingness to work and a dedication to learning. Let’s keep up this great momentum as we head into Week 3!
Just a few reminders… all students should plan to attend both the 8:00 (8:30 on Wednesdays) Morning Meeting as well as the 2:30 Guided Learning Groups every day. Along with enrichment and intervention, these times are set aside to review daily schedules, give announcements, record homework assignments, and receive any extra help you may need. Questions are always welcomed and encouraged as well. Please don’t miss out on these opportunities! It is also very important that all students turn on their video and leave it on for lessons. This way the teachers know you are present and engaged. If this presents a problem for any student, please reach out to one of us, and we can help you with accommodations. And finally, we take attendance multiple times a day to ensure students are in class. The office will be notified of any morning absences at which point they will contact home. Parents will be notified directly of any subsequent absences throughout the day. Please let us know in advance of illness or upcoming appointments that would prevent your child from attending class. Thank you!
Thanks for your participation in our supply pick up and drop off last Friday. We feel strongly that it is important for students to use print materials and science/ math manipulatives to reduce the amount of time they must be online. The two week rotation will be our best tool to accomplish that goal, and we really appreciate your cooperation. Materials sent home can be left in quarantine for three days. After that time, teachers will instruct students on how to use the items.
In social studies, we will wrap up our migration unit with a discussion of carrying capacity and how our planet will respond to an increase in population in both rural and metropolitan areas across the globe. On Thursday we will have a short quiz on the vocabulary terms we’ve been discussing. These terms can be found on page 5 of our social studies notebooks, “Migration Notes.” A short study guide will also be made available on Monday.
In ELA, we have been working on our reading fluency and comprehension skills. We spent class time on Friday with the concept of theme using some of our favorite childhood songs to practice. I think it made everyone in the class “Happy” to be working together. Although we will be starting our next reading packet, “The Dog Didn’t Eat My Homework,” on Tuesday, this week we will also focus on explanatory writing with some interesting writing prompts.
A final note about homework. We feel strongly that kids need down time from school! Most every day there should be a fair amount of class time given for students to complete classwork. Any work that isn’t finished during that time can be done during Guided Learning Groups from 2:30-3:00. If this time is used as intended, there should be minimal – if any – homework to be done after school hours. Parents, if you notice that your student has an excessive amount of homework after school, please reach out to us. We are more than happy to work out a daily schedule with any student that feels overwhelmed with the work load.
If you’ve made it to the end of this long email, thank you!! We hope you enjoy your Sunday evening 
Future Dates:
Friday, September 4: Early Release at 1:00 – Teacher In-service
Monday, September 7: Labor Day – No School
Friday, September 11: Next Materials Pick-Up/Drop Off
Kindergarten 1:00 pm
Grades 1-8 3:00-4:00 pm