Principal Walder's Monday Memo
For the week of March 23
We got this! #TitanPride
Legacy Team,
Thank you for your continued patience with us all and each other during this time. At this time, I continue to go back to Jon Gordon's Circle of Things I can Control. I have shared this with you before. Before you continue on with the very long Monday Memo for this week, take a moment to remember what is in our "Circle of Control" right now.
Summary of Monday Memo Contents:
**Complete the Feedback for. Dr. Walder Form 3.22.20.
- Here is your Checklist for the week
- What should I be working on this week?
- Taking Attendance
- Dr. Walder's Schedule
Please make sure to read through each part of the Monday Memo. Reach out if you have any questions this week. I look forward to visiting with each of you. --Samantha
Here is your checklist for the week:
- Put approved, finalized Learning Boards/ Unit Plans in the Legacy At-Home Folder each week. (linked here)
- JK- 2 and SPED/TLR/ Int Specific: All Learning Boards must also be linked on the Legacy Learning Hub each week. At PLC this week, let’s discuss the Plus/Delta of including past Learning Boards should we need it.
- 3-5 (and SPED/ TLR if applicable) Specific: Dr. Warzecha and I should be added as Teachers to all Google Classrooms Delivering Content.
- Send the parent email with the attached learning board or unit plan between 2:00- 7:00 pm and include Dr. Walder on the email.
During the Week:
- Create a spreadsheet from your lunch sheet and record which students complete work.
Be available to answer questions and provide formative feedback on assignments. Remember that the caregivers may have no educational experience.
Complete the Engagement Spreadsheet daily (see below)
Answer any tech questions from parents and use the Technology Help Desk Link if you need assistance. Chris, Jamie, Jenna, and a team are all using this document to get you help asap.
If a student doesn't have a device or they change their mind and decide they need another Chrombook for their home, contact me. I will set up a time to meet them or deliver one.
If they need internet access, direct them to the DEC as Mrs. Esping and Dr. Warzecha are taking care of this.
- Regular, expected communication should be present in the form of a daily message to students. It may be a morning meeting video or message on Google Classroom. Be creative!
As a professional reminder, our contract days involve an 8:00- 4:00 pm time frame. We are not asking you to sit quietly at a desk with your computer/ email open. We just want you aware in the event families or school personnel are trying to communicate with you.
Friday:
- Send a Friday Wrap Up to all parents (JK-5) to all parents between 8:00- Noon.
- All emails should have the same Subject line.
- Follow the protocols to send out the survey for Parents/ guardians (JK-2) and for Parent/ Guardians and Students (3-5)
What should I be working on this week?
- During this week, you should be tweaking the plan for the upcoming week (March 30- April 2) if you find out something you planned will not work or could work better another way. Submit it to me as you update it. The final plan will go in the shared folder.
- Each grade level has tasks to be considering and researching how to teach the skills remotely. If this continues, we will need to get to the point that we are introducing new skills and continue on our Pacing Guides as much as possible. We will do what we can with what we have been given.
As you consider online instructional strategies, the study you underwent last spring during the Summer Symposium and many times throughout this year of the new Math and ELA standards will be critical to your success.
Many of you know that I have taught undergraduate courses online for years. At first, I found it easy to fall into the trap of only assessing comprehension of a concept or a text instead of using technology to enhance my instructional strategy or enhance the evidence of learning a student could submit. I do not want you to make the same mistake I did. If you know your standards well, which you do, there are a few simple questions to help guide you:
- What is this standard really trying to teach?
- How can I use technology to enhance the student's learning?
- How can I use technology to enhance how students present evidence of their learning?
And, now, the questions are no longer "Can I use technology..." due to present circumstances, it is now "How can I use technology..."
Grades JK- 2 should be investigating the online instructional strategies for teaching Vowac and the CC Sets. You could also be working on how to better organize work submission for the week.
All Grades should be considering how to meet the needs of student relationships. We are all delivering a daily message. How do we know this is effective? How can we make sure students know that we are safe too? Can you combine some synchronous, scheduled Google Meets with videos uploaded for students to see?
We will continue to talk about this during PLCs to discover what we will be able to accomplish given our limitations. We still can accomplish a lot!
Taking Attendance via an Engagement Document
We will not be taking "official" attendance and nothing will be put in Infinite Campus right now.
Engagement may not be turning in assignments. It could just be an email or a "heart" on your SeeSaw post. Some parents may get two days of work done in one day and send it all to you on Tuesday. That is okay.
If you do have not had contact with a student for two days in a row, please reach out to me at the end of the second day and we will begin problem-solving. We have many options to make sure our families are safe.
3-5 Classrooms: You will record your daily student engagement by 4:00 pm each day in the same Google Sheet.
Many of you have creative ways to support this with a daily question or prompt. Make sure that you are finding a way to have the two-way conversation with students using the Chromebook features.
If you do have not had contact with a student for two days in a row, please reach out to me at the end of the second day and we will begin problem-solving. We have many options to make sure our families are safe.
(Example: Students completes tasks on Monday and you put an "X" in the engagement survey for the day. You do not hear from them on Tuesday at all. You do not hear from them on Wednesday and it is 4:00 pm. At this time, we need to start problem-solving to figure out what is going on and if the family needs help to access their education online.)
SPED and TLR: Please be in contact with the classroom teachers when you get a chance to visit with the students or their parents. This can be a quick email. Normally, the classroom teacher would see this, but for the purposes of this Engagement document, it could be helpful to make sure we are engaging with students daily.
Next Week: (if needed) Heather will make us a new spreadsheet for each week.
Dr. Walder's Schedule
During this time, all meetings will be held virtually using Google Meet. I will in my office every day from 8:00- 4:00 unless something changes. Besides my office, the rest of the building is off-limits as it has been thoroughly sanitized. If you have something that is a critical need, please let me know and I can make arrangements. Thank you for understanding.
Monday:
- 8:30- 10:00 Instructional Leaders Meeting
- Noon - 1:00 Device pick up opportunity at Legacy (Please have parents email me if this is needed.)
- 1:00 Counselor Meeting
- 3:30 IEP for PS
Tuesday:
- 7:30 IEP for JW
- 9:00 5th PLC (click above to provide topics for PLC)
- 10:00 4th PLC (click above to provide topics for PLC)
- 11:00 Specials PLC (click above to provide topics for PLC)
- Noon Meeting with Heather
- 2:00 3rd PLC (click above to provide topics for PLC)
- 3:30 IEP for CO (tentative)
Wednesday:
- 8:30 JK- 2 Districtwide PLC
- 10:00 3-5 Districtwide PLC
- 12:30 K-12 Sped PLC
- 2:00 Elementary Admin Meeting
Thursday:
- 9:00 2nd PLC (click above to provide topics for PLC)
- 10:00 1st PLC (click above to provide topics for PLC)
- 11:30 IEP for GW
- 12:30 Intervention PLC (click above to provide topics for PLC)
- 2:00 JK/ K PLC (click above to provide topics for PLC)
Friday:
- 9:00 Regular Staff Meeting
- 10:30 SPED/ TLR PLC (click above to provide topics for PLC)
Contact Dr. Walder
Email: Samantha.Walder@k12.sd.us
Website: https://www.teaschools.k12.sd.us/
Location: Tea, SD, USA
Phone: 6058817381
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeaAreaLegacy/
Twitter: @swalder7