eLearning News for Pasco Parents
Vol 1. Issue 7: May 13, 2020
Focus for the Week: Finishing Strong
It is our aim to create the conditions over the final weeks of school up to May 27, 2020 that allow students to finish strong and experience success in Distance Learning. It is also our intent to empower teachers and teacher teams to prioritize key learning objectives and implement systems and structures of support for students and families.
Having grace, compassion and flexibility during distance learning means that we allow students to learn at their own pace, give them multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning, and provide the ability to turn in submissions additional times to show proficiency.
Additionally, because of our extended Spring Break, there is more content in each course than weeks left in the school year. Because of this we have asked teachers to do the following:
- Determine what critical content should be prioritized and what content should have less focus at this time.
- Exempt non-prioritized content by entering the gradebook and changing the status of those assignments to “excused.” Teachers must communicate to students that anything marked “excused” will not be their responsibility.
- Provide additional time during weeks 8 and 9, when content assignments are reduced, for students to make-up unfinished work.
Share your Feedback with Pasco County Schools
Leaders at Pasco County Schools want to learn more about what students, parents and staff are experiencing during this time of remote learning to better improve our district/network’s communication and support.
Please click HERE to take a short 2-3 minute survey.
- Completing this survey is voluntary and all responses are anonymous.
- Remember to click SUBMIT at the end of the survey to make sure your responses are received!
Parents/Guardians: If you have more than one child in the district, take the survey once per child. (Example: Click on the survey link and answer all questions as they relate to your first child. When finished, click SUBMIT, then click survey link again to take a second time, answering all questions related to second child.)
Your voice is critical in helping leaders across Pasco County Schools better understand what is working well and what can be improved during this time. We are looking forward to your feedback!
Upcoming Mental Health Awareness Week
In the Mental Health Distance Learning course, students will see information, announcements and most importantly directions for accessing Everfi and the Mental Health Basics course and how to reach out if they need additional support if needed.
Our district mental health team has thoughtfully developed directions and made adjustments to the learning experience for students as a result of the shift to Distance Learning and students not being in their school buildings with direct access to teachers and staff.
Knowing that conversations and learning about mental health can potentially cause increased stress for our students and/or their families all student services staff will be ready and available to support students and families with any needs that arise. Student services staff will serve as the "teachers" of the mental health course and will be available and provide support and resources as necessary.
This instruction is required by the Florida Department of Education for all students and we will monitor completion, but there will not be a grade given for this work.
If parents/guardians are interested in viewing the Mental Health Basics course, please go to https://everfi.com/courses/mental-wellness/ for additional details. Parents are able to set-up a free account to access and view the entire module.
Overview of Hands-on Science Activities with Alternate Options
Science exploration and discovery within the virtual modules provides students the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning. During these times, we know that materials for these activities may be difficult. We have provided a list of all science activities that require supplies and provided an alternate activity that provides the same learning without the need for materials. The table below contain information for Weeks 5 & 6.
Science Support for Week 7 & 8
STEM at Home-Discovery Education Coding
All students have access to explore and investigate coding at home through June 30th through Discovery Education. Students simply need to click on their Discovery Education icon on MyPascoConnect dashboard. Once signed in, the link above will take them directly to the interactive coding modules. Coding can also be selected directly from within Discovery Education. The Explorations are geared toward Kindergarten through eighth grade students.
Tech Tips: Did you know that there are live tutors 24/7?
It's true! Here'a a link to a video showing how students can access this support: https://youtu.be/DElu8PdJhN4
Technology Help Desk
- For fastest response from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm: Email TechHelp@pasco.k12.fl.us
- If you are not able to email you can call: 813-794-2859 (If all lines are busy, leave a message and we will respond as quickly as possible)
- Also, live chat is available from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm on our website at: Technology Help Desk Live Chat (you will see a green chat box in the lower right-hand corner of the screen)