Park Terrace Elementary
September 23, 2020 Newsletter
See translation information below / Consulte la información de traducción a continuación.
Greetings, Park Terrace families!
We are well into our second full week of school, and we are quickly establishing new routines. Students and staff have done a wonderful job adapting to both learning models.
As we continue to learn and grow, please continue to communicate with your child’s teacher regarding what is working and any struggles or concerns you may have. The key to our success will be keeping the lines of communication open so we can adjust as needed for the benefit of our students and families. Additionally, if you have any questions or concerns regarding internet access at home, please reach out to our social worker, Kim Zack, kzack@district16.org.
A few reminders for families of students in the Modified Campus (Hybrid) model:
- If your child brings his/her iPad home every day, please be sure the iPad returns to school fully charged and is in the protective case.
- If you drop your child off in the morning, please use the drop off loop in the parking lot and remain in your car. For the health and safety of our students and staff, parents should remain in the car and not walk their child up to the door.
- If you pick your child up in the afternoons, thank you for patience. We are working hard to speed up the process and it’s getting faster each day. Similar to drop off, for the health and safety of our staff and students, it is critical that all families use the pickup loop in the parking lot and not come to the door. Please post the sign with your child’s name either in the passenger window or on the passenger side of the dashboard.
- We are still missing a number of library books from last year and need your help. Please take a look around your child’s room or other favorite reading spaces and send back any library books you might find. We are excited to start library checkout soon and would love to have as many books available to students as possible.
For families of students in the Extended Flexible Learning (distance learning) model, please see Kim Fehringer’s update below with some specifics for you this week.
As always, thank you for your continued flexibility, support and patience and for all the ways you are supporting your student’s learning. We are grateful for your continued partnership.
Warmly,
Mona Perkins
Principal
For Extended Flex Learning Families: Materials pickup, technology and attendance reporting
Greetings Extended Flexible Learning Community,
The warm temperatures may be reminiscent of summer, yet the school year is well under way. Teachers are reporting active learning and engaged students. Students are reporting that they are excited about their teachers and classes. I just heard a video recording of a student who says she “loves, loves, loves school!” This is exactly the response we, staff and families, are looking for and we continue to work hard to make this happen for each student.
Three quick updates for you this week:
- Materials pick up: If you were unable to pick-up your students’ learning resource pack at the District Services Center today (September 23), please contact your child’s teacher. We will be happy to arrange another day/time for you to gather these resources.
- Technology help: Many technology issues have been and are being resolved, however if your family continues to face technology challenges, please reach out to our technology services team, techsupport@district16.org or 763-600-5555. Our tech staff is happy to assist you, and please know they are working as quickly as possible to get to and resolve any issues.
- Reporting when a student will be absent: We ask that you please call your home school attendance line to report a student absence when a student is not able to attend and/or participate in "live" sessions, and/or complete daily work expectations. This includes when a student is ill or will miss instruction for other reasons, including vacations, appointments, etc.
Thank you, families, and have a great week!
Kim Fehringer
Principal on Special Assignment
K-4 Extended Flexible Learning
What to expect if teachers need to be absent
Absences are going to occur as they do in any school year – for all kinds of reasons. Fall allergies, colds and flu are on our doorstep as we also continue to see COVID-19 cases in our communities. We expect teachers will have days when they aren’t at school or are not able to fully engage in learning. We will honor a teacher’s right to privacy, and we want families to know what to expect as teacher absences occur this year.
For Modified Campus (Hybrid) Learners:
- If a teacher needs to be absent and is unable to teach, your student will have another teacher in the classroom. We will communicate a plan with families any time a teacher's absence will exceed a week.
- If a teacher needs to be absent and is still able to teach, they will continue to teach from home using our technology tools with support in the school classroom provided by other staff members who are onsite.
For Extended Flexible Learning (distance learning), if a teacher needs to be absent and is unable to teach, your student will have an adult who checks on the class and establishes the plan for self-guided (asynchronous) learning for the day. If the absence is extended, we will communicate a plan with families.
If you have questions about the approach for supporting the continuation of learning, please contact the school office.
Music: Learning, Health and Safety
We continue to offer meaningful and safe music education opportunities for students in both the Modified Campus Schedule (Hybrid) and Extended Flexible Learning (Distance Learning) learning models. Our music educators and health staff have spent significant time developing opportunities and reviewing health and safety guidelines to support deep learning and protecting health.
If your student participates - or is considering participating - in music opportunities, please take a moment to learn more about how we're approaching the learning and health and safety protocols on the Music: Learning Approach and Health and Safety page.
In case you missed important information from last week's newsletter, check out the topics below and click to learn more.
- School meals this fall
- Technology Tools, Resources and Log Ins – find technology support, tutorials and FAQs.
- First Days of School Flickr Album
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