Whole Child Newsletter
September 2020
Where Can I Get COVID Tested?
Don't Bring COVID-19 Home.
Get Tested Today At No Cost.
Are you or is someone close to you sick or has symptoms? Do you work outside the home? You should get tested for coronavirus. There are many locations where you can get tested at no charge to you.
Call the COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136, press 1.
To See Testing Sites Near You Click Here
Oct. 19 "Day of Discovery" Countywide Virtual PD Day
Join Us on October 19th!
(CLICK HERE TO REGISTER) (CLICK HERE TO BE A PRESENTER).
This will be a flexible day of fantastic learning where any educator, leader, staff, or community partner can register to virtually attend up to five 1-2 hour sessions (much like EdTech Kickoff) and earn SCECHs. Learning Services Team, Ed Tech team, Special Education Team, Community Partners/Leaders and many others will offer 40+ unique sessions. The session topics include everything from:
- integration of education and technology
- googleclassroom, seesaw & schoology use
- tech tips and tricks
- social-emotional learning
- whole child support systems
- responsive teaching and instructional strategies for math, science, literacy, and social studies
- early childhood strategies
- differentiation & assistive technology
- special education supports
- self-care for staff and students
- equity in education and community
- trauma-informed practice for leaders & teachers
- data use and formative assessment
- MTSS/PBIS & other systems of support
- flexibility & creativity in uncertain times, AND MUCH MORE...
Nominate Families in Your Community
Nominate Here: https://bit.ly/3hbWG1f
Social Media Posts :http://www.mediafire.com/folder/qnjurgk6dpxeb/Home+Fridge+Advantage
Teaching Social-Emotional Skills Amid COVID-19
While adopting a comprehensive, evidence-based SEL curriculum is best, if a school doesn’t have one, that doesn’t mean it’s too late to introduce social emotional learning. There are ways to weave SEL into the school day without overhauling established plans and adopting new SEL curricula. While it’s hard to teach children social and emotional skills while they are working remotely or sitting in classrooms where everyone is spaced six feet apart and wearing a mask, it’s not impossible
Ensuring that students are connected to their peers and have strong supporting relationships with adults in school will go a long way toward helping them cope and getting to a place mentally where they are ready to learn.
Free Social Emotional Learning Lessons for Parents and Educators
The Michigan Cares Portal by Michigan Virtual offers Michigan families and educators FREE digital lessons designed to help students in grades K-12 develop the skills required for social, emotional, and mental well-being. This portal will be freely available until the end of the 20-21 school year. This online platform houses hundreds of lessons designed to help children in grades K-12 develop the skills required for social, emotional, and mental well-being. Each child's lesson is accompanied by a parent lesson that offers tips for having conversations with your child and helping them work on these skills.
The Mystery Bug Collection – a Conversation with Kids about COVID-19 and Personal Safety
At Ramirez and Clark Publishers, our purpose in writing "The Mystery Bug Collection" is to create conversations that parents and teachers can have with children in their circle of influence about how to thrive in this extraordinary time of Pandemic. The first of two children's books, "Juliette and the Mystery Bug” is a first step in providing understanding, written in a light and poetic tone as readers learn how and why they should wash their hands as a hygiene habit that benefits all. In the second book, Juliette takes us through why it's important to wear a mask to keep the Mystery Bug from spreading in "Juliette and the Masked Hero". This story also talks about what Social Distancing means and how the world can be a classroom, even if kids can't always go to their schools.
We’ve created a wonderful classroom learning opportunity (virtual and/or physical) by also developing a Teacher's Guide and supplemental lesson plans to accompany the “Juliet and the Mystery Bug Collection”, and that are age-appropriate. With the help of an education advisory group of practicing classroom teachers, the guide and lesson plans for Kindergarten through third grade students make it easy to incorporate the lessons learned in Mystery Bug and Masked Hero in the classroom. All content incorporates the necessary criteria to align with core curriculum standards. And, there is a poetry project directed toward middle school students that encourages them to explore and experiment with the magic of anapestic tetrameter - a poetic writing style mastered by Dr. Seuss.
Ramirez and Clark Publishers is coordinating financial support to subsidize the cost of printing and distributing the books to elementary school students at no expense to the schools. Our request of you is simply to accept the free books, Teacher’s Guide and lesson plans, and share the content with your students in Kindergarten through Third Grade. We will provide hard copy books for distribution to students when you have the opportunity to physically deliver them, and will also make available an online version (similar to the sample attached to this email) along with the teacher’s guide and lesson plans, on our website.
If you are interested in participating in this opportunity for schools and students in your geographic zone, please reply to this email with your confirmation, or reply directly to pam@ramirezandclark.com
What is Equity?
Contact the Whole Child Team
Janelle Buchler: Whole Child Consultant (janelle.buchler@jcisd.org)
Eric Swihart: Whole Child Coordinator (eric.swihart@jcisd.org)
Caitlin Williams: Attendance and Homeless Program Coordinator (caitlin.williams@jcisd.org)
Rebecca Hurst: Behavior Health Project Coordinator (rebecca.hurst@jcisd.org)
Kelsea Jabkiewicz: Data Integration and Medicaid Cost Recovery Coordinator (kelsea.jabkiewicz@jcisd.org)
Angela Maddox: Whole Child Secretary (angela.maddox@jcisd.org)