Falcon's Nest
Alcova Elementary School
March 20, 2020
Principal's Message
Dear Parents,
Although we are working on Digital Learning Work on eCLASS or Google, the days are long when school is canceled. We also wanted to put together some suggested schedules and resources for you to help the days pass more productively. Send positive pictures of you and your child to our teachers or post on social media with the hashtag #alcovadld so that we can follow our journey! We may even feature some of these pictures in our yearbook!
I am also saddened that some of you can't get online for one reason or the other. We have limited resources relating to copies, packets, etc. and will keep you posted if anything changes. Please call us before you come up to the school asking for packets. We apologize but are working on a plan. Thanks for your patience! We miss you and hope you all are staying safe!
We want your feedback! Please click HERE to complete a quick survey to let us know how things are going!
Your Proud Principal!
Cortina Harris
GREAT NEWS!
Get Georgia Reading, the statewide reading initiative, worked overtime to get FREE access to myOn online! You now have access to over 6,400 online books and age appropriate news articles that you can share with your students and their families. Signing in to access these is EASY and FREE for everyone!
Getting started is easy!
Go to www.myon.com/login/index.html to login and start reading.
School Name: Get Georgia Reading(type the first few letters and select from the drop-down menu)
Username: yourcounty (e.g. gwinnettcounty)
Password: read
Click the Sign In button and start reading!
English Language Learners and ALL student Links...
https://www.understood.org/pages/en/school-learning/learning-at-home/
Lets get our password Imagine Learning users online!
A Sample Day with Ideas to Help Fill the Time
8:00 Make breakfast together
9:00 An hour of schoolwork
10:00 DIY Science project
11:00 Exercise! Here are some Indoor suggestions
12:00 Creative lunch-making
1:00 Second session of schoolwork
2:00 Round 2 of physical activity - we all need it...
3:00 Healthy snack & DIY Crafts project
4:00 Write, rehearse, and perform a play or mock commercial, or dress up time.
6:00 Prepare, eat, and clean up dinner; everyone helps.
8:00 Board Games/showers/read aloud before bed
Baking = great STEM learning
After you've done all the measuring, then you can think about the chemistry of cooking. At what temperature does butter melt? Or water boil? You and your child can generate hundreds of questions and answers about math and science by the simple act of making cookies.
Then, once those cookies are made, there are all kinds of story problems! If everyone in the family gets an equal number of cookies, how many cookies does each person get? What about the ethical dimensions of cookie-making? Who should get the most? The person who cooks? Who cleans? Who buys the groceries? Or should everyone get an equal amount?
Message from our PIC
Hello Alcova Families!
Hope this note finds you well and handling Digital Learning Days (DLD) ok! We know it is a different time and an adjustment for all of us . As we head in to our 2nd week of DLD I wanted to share a few ideas of things you can do to help organize your time and maybe take a little stress out of your week.
- Make a schedule (include breaks, meals, time to play a game or outside, exercise, etc. - even schedule device time especially if sharing)
- Make a video of you reading a book to your children and/or your family reading/dancing/ singing together to keep forever.
- Cook and/or bake together (lots of math and following directions in cooking/baking)
- Plan a family fun event each day (a quick dance party, work on a puzzle, family movie night, scavenger hunt, etc).
- Pick up trash on your street or in your neighborhood.
- Write letters/postcards to family and friends and mail them. Teach your child how to address an envelope.
These are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Be creative. Make use of your time together. Most importantly stay safe!
If you have any questions and/or needs during this time, please don't hesitate to contact the school, your child's teacher or me.
Libby Ballew
Alcova ES
Parent Instructional Coordinator
Branch Out Information
Parents,
Did you know that GCPS has a partnership with the Gwinnett County Public Library called Branch Out? When you sign your child up, they will have access to all of the digital resources available through the public library, including hundreds of eBooks! To sign your child up (Alcova students only), fill out the Google Form here. You will receive an e-mail from Mrs. Hervey, Alcova's Media Specialist, once your child has been signed up. The e-mail will give you your child's log-in information as well as some tips and tricks to navigate the public library website. It will take up to 24 hours for your child's account to be active. If you would like to sign up more than one Alcova student, please complete the form for each child.