PRE Newsletter
August 28, 2020
Important Dates
September 3 Back to School Night Virtual Style! 5:30 and 6:00 P.M.
September 4 Optional Remote Kindergarten ONLY Supply Pick-up (more details to come soon)
September 8 1st Day of School Kindergarten ONLY, Dismissal at 12:10 P.M. (details to come soon!), optional remote supply pick-up 1-5 (details to come soon)
September 9 1st Day of School
September 15 & 16, 6-7 P.M. Parent Training Sessions on the SchoolWork app that will be the elementary’s Learning Management System
Class Lists
9:00-10:00--Students with last names of A-F
10:00-11:00--Students with last names of G-K
11:00-12:00--Students with last names of L-R
12:00-1:00--Students with last names of S-Z
We will also send you a message letting you know that teachers have been assigned and can be accessed through Skyward. This is a great perk if you are unable to make it to the school and would rather not be around too many people!
Back to School Night
Lost and Found
Staff Changes
Amy Powers, 1st grade teacher, decided to take on a new adventure of owning a preschool. We wish her luck and know that this is a great opportunity!
With Mrs. Powers leaving 1st grade, we had a vacancy. Melissa Mendez, 3rd grade teacher, is going to move into the open position and make her home in 1st grade, while Mrs. Sudac, part-time library media specialist, will now go back to full-time teaching in 3rd grade. Many changes, but all staff that are currently in our building.
With teaching and learning looking a little different this year, we have three PRE teachers who will be optional remote teachers. These teachers will be teaching from their classrooms every day and will be assigned optional remote students from PRE as well as a few other students from a nearby school in the district. Susan Robertson (K), Allie Goodman (1st), and Chandler Harrison (4th) will take on the role of optional remote teachers.
Teaching and Learning Q & A
Q: How many days a week will students be learning?
A: All students (on-site and optional remote) will be expected to get through 5 days’ of learning material in 5 days’ time. It will look different for on-site students than optional remote. On-Site students will receive direct instruction 3 days a week (2 days on-site & C Days), and work on 360 minutes/day of teacher-assigned Learning Activities during ‘off-days’. Students on off-days will still be required to join the Morning Meeting and any student support groups (reading/math support). Optional Remote students will receive 5 days’ week of instruction via virtual meetings.
Q: What does the C-Day/Optional Remote day look like?
A: Students will all participate in a Class Meeting and Direct Instruction zooms as determined by each grade level to be appropriate based on grade and age. Students receiving support services will continue to receive these services virtually on any remote learning days.
Q: What if my child has technical difficulties or does not understand something on an off-day?
A: Teachers will do their best to provide clear directions for all assignments, and utilize ‘off day’ learning activities as activities students can reasonably expected to work on independently with minimal guidance. Thank you for being aware that teachers are teaching on-site students all day on A and B days. Teachers will not be available to respond to email or voicemail communications until the conclusion of the school day, and are expected to respond to all parent communication within 1 business day. Email is almost always the quickest method for communication. If you have technical difficulties, students and parents can reach the k12itc Help Desk by calling 816-382-4840.Hours of Operation are Monday - Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Each teacher will provide office hours on C days/ 1x/week for parent meetings as needed.
Q: Will there be specific times a day a student will be expected to be online for off-site and C-Days?
A: Yes. Students will be required to participate (zoom in) to a synchronous Morning Meeting, which will also be when attendance is taken. This time will be the same Each Day, regardless of A-B-C days. On C Days, students will also be expected to participate in their Specials meeting time, which is the same time it would be during an on-site day. It is unlikely students will zoom more than 30 minutes for any given lesson or meeting. Students will NOT zoom in for synchronous specials class time on their off-days. On off-days and C Days, students may also need to zoom in for synchronous instruction if the student receives additional reading/math/special education support.
Q: What if we can’t join in the zoom meetings due to a scheduling issue? Can the teacher zoom with my child separately?
A: Parents should immediately contact their child’s teacher if they will not be able to join a scheduled meeting. It’s important to remember that flexibility will be extremely limited on the school side of operations and scheduling. We appreciate your understanding that it is impossible to accommodate moving class schedules around to accommodate any one individual’s needs.
Q: How much time will my child be on zoom/ on a tablet? What does a learning day look like?
A: Optional Remote (OR) Students will still be required to join the Morning Meeting, direct instruction lessons, small group instruction, Specials class 3x/week, and any additional student support groups (reading/math support). Optional Remote students will receive 5 days’ week of instruction via virtual meetings. Optional Remote Teachers have been provided with professional development on developmentally appropriate amounts of screen time instruction and the importance of application activities away from a screen. OR Students will still receive breaks for movement (recess), and lunch (30 minutes). The daily schedule will be different for each OR Teacher but it will remain relatively consistent throughout the year.
Q: How available will the OR Teacher be for questions and phone calls throughout the day?
A: OR Teachers will not be available to respond to email or voicemail communications until the conclusion of the school day, and are expected to respond to all parent communication within 1 business day. Email is almost always the quickest method for communication. If you have technical difficulties, students and parents can reach the k12itc Help Desk by calling 816-382-4840.Hours of Operation are Monday - Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Q: When will I get needed supplies?
A: Technology Kits (iPads etc) and materials (content workbooks) to keep at-home for off-site learning days will be sent home on the first on-site day for students. There will be a supplies pick-up on September 8 for Optional Remote students.
Q: Will I as a parent receive Technology Training?
A: The district will be offering two Parent Training Sessions on the SchoolWork app that will be the elementary’s Learning Management System. Sept. 15 & 16, 6-7 pm (zoom link to come later).