Davis Elementary Principal's News
August 2, 2020
IN THIS EDITION
- Curbside Registration (August 3-6, 9-11am & 1-3pm)
- Principal/Parent Zoom Chat (August 5, 10:30-11:30am)
- Virtual Meet the Teacher (week of August 11)
- Drive Through Home Learning Materials Pick-up (Friday, August 14)
- Virtual Learning- First 3 Weeks of School (General Information)
- BLEND/Seesaw Resources (Parent BLEND Course, BLEND/Seesaw Information Slides)
- Chromebook/iPad Requests
- AISD Reopening Family Pulse Survey
CURBSIDE REGISTRATION: AUGUST 3-6
If you have not yet registered your child for the upcoming school year, the first step is to complete the online registration process through the AISD Portal. Directions for this can be accessed at the link below. Davis will also offer curbside registration August 3-6, 9-11am and 1-3pm each day.
For curbside registration, parents should enter the front parking lot, park in the spots in the first row closest to the school building, and follow the directions on the sign posted. Stay in your car at all times. Davis staff will come out to your car to answer questions, provide any paperwork that needs to be completed, and gather required registration documents.
Parents registering students new to AISD will need to provide the following documentation:
- Child’s birth certificate
- Child’s social security card (optional)
- Child’s immunization records
- Child’s withdrawal form/last report card (if applicable)
- Parent/Guardian photo ID
- Proof of guardianship (if applicable)
- Proof of residency
If you have questions about the curbside registration process, call the Davis office at 512-414-2580.
AISD Registration/Enrollment Information
PRINCIPAL/PARENT ZOOM CHAT: AUGUST 5
Principal/Parent Zoom Chat
Wednesday, August 5, 10:30-11:30am
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/97867538630?pwd=dWtVQ0Y0OVBlbDY1bE41MVJLQXRiQT09
Meeting ID: 978 6753 8630; Passcode: 095653
In this session, information will be shared about daily schedules during the weeks of virtual instruction. Time will be allowed for questions as well. For anyone not able to attend, this session will be recorded and shared.
VIRTUAL MEET THE TEACHER: WEEK OF AUGUST 11
- August 11-12: Teachers will contact parents by phone to introduce themselves and inform them of class placement for their child.
- August 11-12: Teachers will send Class Dojo invitation for parents to connect. Once parents are connected with Class Dojo, they will receive class announcements and school wide announcements.
- August 13 (time TBD): Teachers will host a Zoom 'meet the teacher' session with all children/families in the class.
- August 14: During the drive through home learning materials pick-up, teachers and staff will be outside waving and welcoming Davis students and families.
DRIVE THROUGH HOME LEARNING MATERIALS PICK-UP: AUGUST 14
We are excited to share that we will be providing home learning materials to all students for use during the weeks of virtual learning. A drive-through, contactless materials pickup is scheduled for Friday, August 14, 7:30-9:30am, with recommended times designated by first letter of last name (A-M: 7:30-8:30am, N-Z: 8:30-9:30am) to help with traffic flow. This will also be an opportunity to see Davis staff and say hello. Each grade level will be assigned a drive through pick-up location, either on the east drive (accessed from Bull Run) or in the front drive (along Duval).
Procedures for Pick-up of Home Learning Materials.
All pick-up will take place outside on the east drive or front lot.
Place a paper with your child’s first name, last name, and grade level on the passenger side window of your car so it is visible to school staff.
Stay in the car at all times- No getting out of cars for any reason.
Wear a mask.
Stop at the designated location corresponding to your child's grade level.
Once stopped, open the trunk/window of your car from inside your car. School staff will place home learning materials in the trunk/car.
Wave and say hello to the teachers and staff!
Proceed through the drive and exit.
Additional Notes:
- If you have class library books or school library books to return- There will be a large, labeled bin where parents may drop off library books. Parents may roll down their window and drop books in it without leaving their car.
- If you pre-ordered school supplies, these will be available for pick-up.
- If you ordered a 2019-2020 yearbook and have not yet picked it up, you will be able to pick it up.
- If you did not pick up your child's belongings in May (from last school year), these will be available for pick-up.
- Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms must not come to Davis to pick up home learning materials or any other items.
Any families not able to pick up materials on 8/14 will have another opportunity to do so on Monday, 8/17. More details will be communicated as soon as plans are finalized for both 8/14 and 8/17.
VIRTUAL LEARNING- FIRST 3 WEEKS OF SCHOOL
At this point in time, we know that the first three weeks of school will be 100% virtual for all students. During this time, teachers will be working to make connections/develop relationships (teacher:student, student:student), build the class community, and establish routines/procedures, while integrating social-emotional learning into all aspects of instruction. While the focus will be in the aforementioned areas, this time will also include review of previously learned academic content and gradual introduction of new content. Virtual instruction/learning will include a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences.
Synchronous: Every class will have a synchronous morning meeting with the teacher to start each school day. Other synchronous instruction for every student will consist of small group instruction with the teacher four days/week for 20-30 minutes. Depending on the unique needs of each student, there may be additional synchronous small group instruction or synchronous 1:1 support provided by the teacher. In addition, there will be some synchronous whole class lessons provided for students in grades K-5th, including content area lessons and a synchronous art, music, and PE lesson each week.
Asynchronous: Students will also be assigned learning activities to complete asynchronously. These activities will include offline and online learning tasks for students to complete independently. Pre-recorded lesson videos will also be a part of the assigned asynchronous work. The asynchronous activities will be assigned through Playlists/Choice Boards, where students will have some 'must do' tasks to complete, along with an opportunity to make choices in other tasks to complete.
Daily schedules are currently being developed and tentative daily schedules will be shared at the upcoming Principal/Parent Zoom Chat.
Note: These plans are based on current guidelines from TEA. With TEA coming out with new guidelines at least weekly in recent weeks, these plans may change as TEA guidelines change.
BLEND/SEESAW RESOURCES
General BLEND information can be found at https://www.austinisd.org/technology/blend.
There is also a BLEND Parent Tour course that provides more detailed information. That course can be accessed at http://bit.ly/BLENDparentTOUR.
Most students in grades PK-2nd will also be interacting with the Seesaw learning platform. BLEND/Seesaw information slides are available at this Parent Information: BLEND & Seesaw link.
Teachers will provide information to parents about accessing and interacting with BLEND and/or Seesaw (depending on the grade level). Davis will host virtual BLEND/Seesaw help sessions once school starts to provide assistance in navigating BLEND/Seesaw for anyone who is having difficulty.
CHROMEBOOK/IPAD REQUESTS
AISD is committed to ensuring that every student, PK-12th grade, has a technology device for use at home this year. PK-2nd grade students are eligible to receive an iPad, and 3rd-5th grade students are eligible to receive a Chromebook.
AISD has ordered the devices, and at this time there is a delay in delivery. Because of this, not all students will receive requested devices before school starts. We will be checking in with each Davis family the week of 8/11 to determine technology needs.
The recommendation for students in PK-2nd is to request an AISD iPad, as these devices will come with required learning apps pre-loaded. For students in 3rd-5th grade, there are no pre-loaded items, so students may use a home device or request a Chromebook if no device is available at home.
Parents may request a device through the AISD Parent Cloud. If you have difficulty accessing the online request form, you may also complete a paper request form at Davis during curbside registration 8/3-8/6.
For more information, visit the AISD Fall, 2020 Technology Request & Distribution FAQ for Families.
REOPENING FAMILY PULSE SURVEY
All parents are asked to complete this survey to inform us how you are feeling about sending your child back to school. This round of the survey closes Monday, August 3. All parents will receive another pulse survey before the school year begins.
Per AISD: The circumstances of the pandemic are constantly changing, and we know those changes will impact family needs and plans. Family Pulse Surveys have been planned to check in on how families are currently feeling about physically sending their students back to schools. The current survey will provide information to staff regarding all students enrolled for the 20-21 school year. This survey will be available for participation between July 27 and August 3. The information you provide about each student will be shared with the campus principal. Please respond to this single item survey for each of your students. You will have another opportunity to indicate your plans for your student in August.
If you are not able to locate the survey link in your email, you may complete it by going to Reopening Family Pulse Survey Link II.