CDS Middle School
Weekly Newsletter
March 8, 2020
From the Director
Dear CDS Community,
I hope all of you are staying healthy and doing the best you can to maintain routines and general well-being even under these challenging circumstances. On Friday we concluded our first two days of synchronous e-learning, in which classes were held in real time according to our modified class schedule. Although e-learning is not ideal, I can assure you that CDS teachers continue to apply their full creativity, effort, and initiative to bring meaningful learning experiences to students at home.
We would like to remind you that synchronous e-learning will continue for the time being. Students should be present online and actively engaged in CDS classes from 8:00am-12:25pm Mon-Fri.
To be very clear, CDS students should NOT attend hagwons (either online or offline) during school hours. Further, we strongly recommend that students avoid hagwons even after school hours so they can maintain social distancing for safety. CDS teachers are deeply concerned not only with our students' academic wellbeing, but also their social and emotional welfare. We hope you will support us in encouraging your children to establish routines, take periodic breaks from their studies and screens, and find time each day for physical activity.
Our middle school division will send Google surveys to both students and parents early next week in order to receive feedback on what we're doing well and what we need to improve upon with regard to e-learning. We value your input and look forward to reading your responses.
Please stay safe and healthy in the week ahead. Ms. Lee and I will continue to be in the office, so feel free to email or call during school hours if you have pressing concerns.
Best regards,
Mr. Scoville
Director of Middle School
**Please scroll down for links to your child’s online learning plans
**자녀분의 온라인 학습계획과 관련하여 아래 링크를 클릭해주세요.
Distance Learning Expectations
Attendance Expectations for E-Learning
[This week around CDS MS]
The Importance of Routine
As we are in the 2nd week of school closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it is important to understand that keeping a routine is paramount to continued progress and to fight regression. Even though your child may not have the reminders of chiming bells to keep them on track from class to class, you can still find ways to make sure that he/she can be involved in the daily lessons and educational endeavors, especially as CDS moves into a synchronous learning model.
Here are some suggestions. Try to construct a scheduled day at home that resembles the school day as much as possible. This may mean setting up space in your home that mirrors a classroom setting, depending on your at-home learner’s needs and/or age. I would suggest that your child continues with whatever morning routine that they normally have as if they were going to school. It will feel odd for them, but they will eventually grow accustomed to it. As the “school day” progresses allow your learner to work on one class at a time as they would on campus. Please remember that even at school, there are times set aside between class periods, for lunch, for recess, Phoenix time, etc. that allow students to refocus and take mental breaks throughout the day. Since the virtual classroom will be the means that a student receives instruction, it is also important that screen time is reduced overall for the brain and the eyes to get a much needed rest throughout the day. When the school day is over, please allow the educational day to be over for your child as well, unless there is work that needs to be completed, just like it would be if they were in school.
If you have questions on how to help your at-home learner be as successful as possible, please feel free to reach out to me via email (fhinds@daltonschool.kr) or we can have a virtual video meeting to discuss any situation that comes up. I understand that this is a new and sometimes stressful situation, but with continued collaboration and communication, we can find ways for growth and success for all!
- Mr. Hinds
Featured photo credit: Freepik via freepik.com
Changes Coming to the CDS MHS Library
By the time students return, all the books will be back on the shelves and ready for browsing and checkout. The former book room will be turned into group study spaces, and there are more updates to come. CDS is working on making the library better for students based on survey results gathered last November.
Feel free to come talk to us if you have any feedback about the changes, and we plan to do another survey to find out how the changes are meeting students' needs. We hope more students will visit the library, browse the stacks, and use the space for studying and working on school projects!
-Ms. Choo and Ms. Carley
How 5th graders are doing with Distance learning?
The 5th graders were supposed to play ukulele duets for their final project. Instead, the students had the option of playing a "duet" with themselves. James recorded himself playing the chords and then took a video of him playing the melody on his ukulele. Nice job James! Watch the video: Jame's Ukulele Project
The 7th graders will be writing Original Songs for Term 4.
The 6th graders were supposed to perform their STOMP projects this week. However, with the cancellation of school, we turned the project online. Each student recorded their part (at their homes) and then edited the sounds together to be layered and line up. Listen to the 6B Girls' final STOMP/Soundtrap project.
- Ms. Van Liew
Virtual class meetings began!
- Mrs. Hinds
Showcasing Learning in Social Studies
To end our hectic term 3, Social Studies students in grades 5 and 7 were given a multitude of options to showcase their understanding of the content and extend their learning by creating products of their own. The ingenuity and creativity of CDS students were evidently displayed in a variety of formats, from graphic novels to minecraft worlds and even baked goods that were eaten during the French Revolution!
- Mr. Thach
Distance Learning Plan 3.9 - 3.13
[CDS MS Announcements & Reminders]
Cheongna Dalton School
Email: bscoville@daltonschool.kr
Website: http://cdsmiddleschool.weebly.com/
Location: Cheongna Dalton Foreign School, Incheon, South Korea
Phone: 82 32-563-0523 (302)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CDSMiddle/community/
Twitter: @ScovilleBen