Personal Best Staff Bulletin
Volume IX Number 1 - July 19, 2020
Summertime and the Livin' is Easy?
Hi everybody!
I hope you are enjoying summer, spending time with family, reading books, enjoying your well-deserved vacation! My oldest, Patrick, graduated from Molloy, probably taking a year off before starting his Masters in Social Work. Joey (SUNY Purchase) and Nicky (Temple) are awaiting final plans about college in the fall. Olivia and Juliet spend a great deal of time in the pool (their suntan game is STRONG!).
So... what's happening in September? NYSED issued guidelines for school reopening last Thursday. District plans are due July 31. Governor Cuomo is expected to make a definitive decision on the status of school during the first week of August. School buildings could be open, closed, or incorporate a hybrid model. I’ll stay in touch as plans proceed.
Our registration has been VERY light (one new admit). Should that change, I'll keep you posted. Also, construction is proceeding as scheduled. The electrical / ceiling work should be completed by mid-August. Meanwhile, Chad and I have decamped to the guidance offices.
An omission from our end of year faculty meeting “Staff Recognitions”: Jessica Minch has been re-assigned to the principal’s office at Seaman. We will sincerely miss Jessica’s hard work, expertise, smiley face, positive disposition, and friendship! Our great loss is Ivy’s gain!
One major thing for us to be mindful of is that if we are open with students in the building, there is the possibility that it might not remain that way for the duration of the school year. Any spike in new COVID-19 cases can cause us to have to work remotely again. As a district, we are in the midst of preparing for this possibility. Recent professional development from our technology department was focused on some of the online tools (Google, Canvas) that many of us were using this past spring. Additional professional development will include support for teaching remotely. I’ve included below links to a great post from the Cult of Pedagogy and a curated list of resources for Remote Teaching PD.
Although we’re not certain what the plan will be for September, please begin thinking about the layout of your classroom spaces. There may not be room for all of the furniture and items that we normally include. Classes with rectangular tables most likely will be replaced with individual desks to help with social distancing. Think about what is essential and what could be stored away outside of the room for a period of time. If you want to chat about the layout of your room, just let me know.
Lastly, keep in mind what social-emotional learning will look like when we start up again. We made great strides with our work around Restorative Practices. With children being out of school for approximately six months by the time September arrives, we definitely want to revisit classroom and school routines and foster even more positive student-to-student interactions. We will also use the time this school year to address social issues that are impacting countless people across the country and world. A great resource that you should consider subscribing to for FREE is Teaching Tolerance: https://www.tolerance.org/. This organization is an excellent resource in helping schools educate children on issues of social justice.
I'll follow up with additional updates. Otherwise, continue to enjoy the summer break with your family and friends. If anyone wants to connect via Zoom/Meet to share stories and laughs, just say the word. If there is anything I can assist with during our time apart, please also let me know.
Enjoy, talk to you soon!!!
Love,
Don
Links and resources
Cult of Pedagogy
Everything Jennifer Gonzalez writes is “GOLD”. This is a terrific piece for teachers. I recommend subscribing to this blog. In this post, she writes about essentials for Remote Teaching. Great list of important considerations!
Tutorials for Remote Teaching
This is a crazy-comprehensive list of Tutorials for Remote Teaching. I got it from Jennifer Lee Quattrucci but not sure to whom the original attribution belongs.
Principal's Staff Bulletin
Email: dgately@jerichoschools.org
Website: dfgately.com
Location: 99 Old Cedar Swamp Road, Jericho, NY, United States
Phone: 516-2-3-3620
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JerichoMS/
Twitter: @Donald_Gately