I'm sure that every household has had a unique experience during this period of remote learning. We've gone from review sessions to new materials, and there is currently no news on the future of the rest of the school year. I've had an opportunity to speak with students, parents, teachers, and district office administrators, and there is not one person in that group that prefers remote learning to the classroom experience. All of us wish we were back in school - I even miss the New York State ELA and Math exams for third grade students.

My daughter is a freshman in college, so she is able to manage her class schedule. I don't have to add teacher of my own child as part of my duties during this pandemic. I'm fortunate. We have internet connections and devices to manage our household work expectations. We get on each other's nerves occasionally, but by distancing ourselves in the household throughout the day, we have been able to survive - so far.

Many families have to balance working from home, or still reporting to work, along with your regular parenting duties, and we've now added the role of teacher to your resume. Take on the roles which you are able to. If you cannot manage the school work, don't. If the two hours of instructional time is too much, take a break. I would encourage you to revisit it when you can, but please don't add to your already stressful situation if it is something that tips the balance on your mental health, or the mental health of your student. Tackle tasks in whatever manner you can. Please don't completely push aside the tasks, but coordinate with the teacher to strike a balance that works for your situation. Nothing about this experience comes close to the classroom experience, but it will help your child immensely if they stay connected to their classmates and teachers and try to keep their skills up. Recognize that is is alright to break things up, leave it for another time, or set it aside altogether. Ultimately, we hope to keep the academic skills up, but realize that there are other concerns that might take precedent.

There are different experiences for our students based on a number of factors. Just like families have different circumstances, so do our teachers. You may be struggling with different factors of remote learning, but every staff member is trying their best to provide a positive experience for the students. We will continue to improve the longer we are out of school, but understand that things may impacting teachers as well. Work together and communicate so that students will continue to see us partnering in their education.

We had to jump into remote learning with little preparation for students. If you are still experiencing technical issues, call the tech support line at 637-1904 or 637-1906. It is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 - 3:30. Listen to the message and make sure you leave accurate information so they can call you back when they are available. Computers can still be loaned to students by calling the support line. You may also call Barclay School at 637-1840 and leave a message. Voice mail messages will be forwarded to the appropriate staff member.

See the link below for additional information from our Mental Health Team.

Remember: If you submit work to special area teachers, please be sure to include your child's name, their grade, and their classroom teacher. Parent e-mail addresses and phone numbers don't always make a clear distinction between the parent and the student. This task was to create a nature collage. Special Area lessons and AIS lessons are separate icons in your child's classroom team.

I have created a new Facebook Page dedicated to assisting during Remote Learning. The description of the page is:

Barclay Elementary School 19-20 is a location where you can ask questions during remote learning as well as posting family and student updates. By agreeing to join this private group, you agree that any photos and videos posted may be available for all members of the group to see. Members accepted into this group must be currently associated with the school as a staff member or parent/guardian of a student currently at Barclay. The moderator will not accept requests through Facebook for other members to join.

Please realize this will be an area where you can seek out information specific to remote learning. Staff members may or may not join the group, but Mr. Morrison will be moderating the private group. Please answer all of the questions and agree to the rules (by checking the box by group rules - see image below) before you are accepted into the group. This is different than the Barclay page associated with the school district. Search for Barclay Elementary School 19-20.

I neglected to include information about the virtual talent show in the edition I sent last evening. See the document attached (below)for details. Please contact Mrs. Karre at katelyn.karre@bcs1.org if you have questions. This is the first time we've tried anything like this, so stay tuned for any important updates.