Welcome back! We are excited to get started and get to know all of our students! Since there is so much that will look different this year, please take the time to read the entire update. If you have any additional questions, please reach out to your child’s advocate.

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Orientation Schedule

Remember to bring a lunch that does NOT require any heating. There are no microwaves, utensils, plates, etc. for students to use. Snacks are ok for the morning and between tests in the afternoon, too! 

Monday, August 17th – Mrs. Dewar’s Advocacy

Tuesday, August 18th – Ms. Cooper’s Advocacy

Wednesday, August 19th – Mrs. Cundari’s Advocacy

Thursday, August 20th – Ms. Sander’s Advocacy

*Please note that one whole Advocacy class will be split into the four rooms and not all will be with their teacher on that day to ensure social distancing requirements are followed.

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Look Out for the Following:

Before our first Advocacy meeting on Aug. 21, there will be 3 "Getting to Know You" pages coming home. Complete the student interest survey and one or both of the About Me pages. Please print and complete if your child is not attending orientation.

There will be a writing pre-assessment sent out to be completed BEFORE our first live Language Arts class on Wednesday, Aug. 26

There will be a couple discussion questions and a quick sorting game to be completed for Social Studies BEFORE our first live class on Aug. 25.

There will be an Earth's Layer's assignment for Science that is due BEFORE our first live class on Aug. 25. 

How to videos- a guided video on how to access all the platforms we are using this quarter.

Class updates will be individual per class on each page. 

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Important Dates

Friday, September 4th - No School (Teacher Work Day)

Monday, September 7th - No School (Labor Day)

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Communication

The best method of communication for all 5-6 teachers is email. You should always receive a response within 48 hours (excluding weekends). We love communication and believe it is valuable for our students to know that their teachers and parents are working together for their benefit. Please see the communication pathway in the Community Handbook, which suggests always communicating with your child's advocacy or content area teacher regarding concerns first.

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Zoom

We will be using Zoom to virtually conduct all our classes. In order to run these classes as smoothly as possible, we have come up with a list of norms for students to follow. Please review these norms with your child:

• Please take Live Zoom Classes seriously – just as if you were here at school!
• Turn your camera on (if possible) – we want to see each other
• Keep yourself muted unless it’s your turn to talk
• No backgrounds or filters – it’s distracting! No inversions/flipping screen
• Listen respectfully to all speakers
• Language and comments should be respectful and productive
• Do not spam the chat or use it for off topic discussions
• DO use the chat for affirmations, on-topic comments, or questions
• Be on time (to the best of your ability)
• Be prepared – have notebook, workbooks, or other required materials/supplies ready
• You MUST sign in using your first name and last initial or you will not be admitted
• All classes will be recorded and posted to Microsoft Teams

Consequences for violating these expectations:

• Verbal reminder (whole class)
• Private warning through chat
• Parent email
• Removal from Zoom meeting

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Advocacy

The school-wide advocacy focus for the month of August is Coping with Transition & Change. We will focus on topics such as team building, embracing ambiguity, & learning how to be students and classmates during remote learning.

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Schedule

Students will be required to attend live Zoom classes Monday through Thursday. If a student is unable to attend a live Zoom session, they should watch the recorded lesson that will be posted to Microsoft Stream. A Zoom schedule with passwords will be emailed out separately. The schedule for 5/6 is as follows: