Ridge Relay: MS Virtual & In-Person
Soaring to Success! 7/24/2020
Message from the Principal
Hello Eagle Families!
We hope this newsletter finds you and your family happy, healthy, and enjoying your summer break! LISD has announced that all students will begin this school year with 100% Virtual Empowered Learning from August 13th through September 7th.
LISD is asking parents to decide before school starts on how they wish to continue their child’s learning experience once we are allowed to return to in-person instruction. The district will open the selection process for families on Friday, July 24th. On Tuesday, July 28th, the district will send instructions for families without internet access to submit their choice(s) via telephone. Parents and guardians will have until August 6th to submit their choices.
While this newsletter is lengthy, it is our intent to share key information to assist you in making the most informed choice for your child’s continued educational experience beyond September 7th. Regardless of whether you choose to continue with Virtual Empowered Learning or opt to return to in-person instruction, we will be doing everything in our power to keep our students and staff safe and engaged in meaningful, rigorous teaching and learning, despite the circumstances we find ourselves in during this unusual time.
Unfortunately, this one newsletter will not answer all of your questions, but rest assured that the district and campus will be providing additional communication in the days ahead. Please realize that plans and procedures could change before the start of school and are dependent upon directives from government officials, the Texas Education Agency, and/or local health authorities. It is our hope that this newsletter will effectively answer the following questions to aid you in your decision:
Why does middle school have a new 8 period A-Day/B-Day block bell schedule?
What does social distancing look like for students choosing “in-person” instruction?
What does 100% Virtual Empowered Learning look like for my child?
We know that the decisions you are facing as a family are difficult; this unprecedented pandemic brings many challenges. We are excited for students to return to school, but we also know that we will all have a year of unique circumstances ahead of us. Please have patience with us as we navigate these unchartered waters together. As with all changes, our decisions won't be perfect every time, so we urge you to reach out to our Administrators or Counselors with questions and concerns as they arise. We look forward to partnering with our families, as we value your insight during this time.
Mrs. Wendy Sturdevant
Instagram: Canyon_Ridge_MS
Twitter: @Sturdevant_CRMS
Why are LISD Middle Schools moving to an 8 period A-day/B-day Bell Schedule?
LISD middle schools have decided to move to an 8 period A-day/B-day alternating block bell schedule for this school year (link to draft bell schedule). Like our LISD high schools, A-day will consist of class periods 1-4, and B-day will consist of class periods 5-8 on alternating days. For this school year, middle school students will attend any given class period only every other day.
The decision to move to an A-day/B-day alternating block schedule with 90-minute class periods was made for several different reasons because we believe it is what is best for student learning during this time:
The optimal way to structure virtual instruction is to have a mix of synchronous (live interaction) and asynchronous learning within the same class period. With a 90-minute class period (45 minutes synchronous and 45 minutes asynchronous), there is time for the teacher to convene the whole class together for direct instruction, small group instruction, and meaningful classroom discussions, then provide the students with independent work time to process their learning and apply that content in new and meaningful ways. When we analyzed the traditional 7-period day with 50-minute class periods, the time spent in synchronous and asynchronous instruction felt very compressed and meant that students would be forced to attend all seven classes each day with a high likelihood that at the end of the school day, students would have an increased homework load. The traditional 7-period day in a virtual environment does not allow for optimal instruction and is not in the best interest of our students.
In order to staff both in-person and Virtual Empowered Learning, some teachers will be required to teach in both environments within the same school day (i.e. 4 sections of in-person and 2 sections of Virtual Empowered Learning). Thus, the bell schedule (start and end times for each class period) must be identical for both virtual and in-person instruction.
For in-person instruction, an alternating block schedule also cuts the number of passing periods in any given day by roughly half. Since passing periods are a time when students will not be able to maintain 6 feet of social distancing, reducing the number of passing periods reduces the likelihood of spreading the coronavirus.
What Does Socially Distanced “In-Person” Instruction Look Like?
LISD will begin the school year from August 13th – September 7th with 100% of students learning at home in the Virtual Empowered Learning program. Once students are allowed to resume in-person instruction in the school building, the following procedures will be utilized daily:
Unless there is a severe weather warning, students will not be allowed to enter the school building until 7:40 a.m. (first period class begins at 8:10 a.m.). Please do not allow your child to arrive on campus before 7:40 a.m. to prevent students from congregating outside the building and possibly increasing the spread of coronavirus. This procedure is a change for CRMS, since we have always allowed students to enter the building as soon as the first staff member has arrived.
Unless medically necessary and pre-approved by LISD school health officials in advance, all middle school students are required to wear masks or appropriate facial coverings while on school property at all times, unless eating/drinking, actively exercising in physical education, or supervised in some activity related to electives that cannot be accomplished while wearing a mask.
Once the school doors are opened, students will be required to report immediately to their first period class of the day. Those students who wish to eat breakfast at school, will be given assigned seats in the cafeteria for breakfast and will then be required to report immediately to their first period class. Students will not be allowed to socially congregate before first period as is the usual practice at CRMS.
Students will have assigned seats during all classes and during lunch every day. Assigned seats are necessary for the school to conduct contact tracing should there be a confirmed Covid-19 case at Canyon Ridge Middle School.
We are moving teachers into groupings of rooms by grade-level or pods of ELA, Math, Science & Social Studies to minimize the distance that students are traveling to classes and to allow for contact tracing if necessary.
Desks in classrooms will be facing forward and socially distanced as far apart as possible. Depending on the number of students who choose the in-person school option, we cannot guarantee the recommended 6 feet of spacing between student seats will occur, but we will do our best to space out as recommended.
While it goes against everything we have been working for as educators, students will not be allowed to work together in physical groups to collaborate this school year. Students will be able to collaborate electronically on documents using their mLISD devices or within the classroom from their socially distanced desks. Hands-on labs will be performed individually with lab materials cleaned before each student use.
Teachers will be facilitating in-person instruction from the front of the classroom while maintaining social distancing from students whenever possible.
Other than in the cafeteria for lunch or breakfast, students will not be allowed to eat snacks in classrooms unless medically necessary and pre-approved by LISD health professionals. It is when students remove their masks to eat or drink that we have the greatest chance to spread coronavirus while at school.
Students will take their materials from class to class throughout the school day via backpacks; we will not be issuing lockers this school year to avoid students congregating. Student backpacks will be allowed in all classrooms this school year, and we will be giving clear expectations for what students bring to school.
Please have your child bring a water bottle to school every day. In order to reduce the transmission of coronavirus, water fountains will be turned off in all LISD schools this year. The district is developing options to allow for students to refill their water bottles while at school, but a solution to this issue has not yet been finalized.
In order to reduce social congregation of students during the transition between classes (where contact tracing would be impossible), we will be staggering the release of classes to the next class period and closing off restroom use during this time. While we have traditionally asked students to wait until the end of class to use the restroom during the passing periods, this year, it will be the opposite. Students will access the restrooms during their class periods where the number of students attempting to use the restroom at any given time is reduced.
In order to increase social distancing at lunch, CRMS is instituting two lunch periods for each grade level (6 lunches total). Students will sit in assigned seats during lunch with as much social distancing between each student as possible. Depending on the number of students who choose in-person instruction, we cannot guarantee 6 feet of social distancing.
At the end of the school day, we will stagger student release from their last period class. Students will remain in their classroom until they are released in groups:
Students who ride the first wave of buses (already lined up in the bus lane)
Students who are walkers & bike riders leave campus
Students who are parent pick-up are released
Additional bus waves will be released as the buses arrive one-by-one
What Does 100% Virtual Empowered Learning look like for my child?
Virtual Empowered Learning looks a lot like in-person instruction, only done online. Each class period will be divided into 45 minutes of synchronous learning, followed by 45 minutes of asynchronous learning. Synchronous learning will involve real-time, live instruction with the classroom teacher utilizing Google Meets and/or Zoom technology. With 45 minutes of synchronous instruction, many of the routines utilized by teachers in an “in-person” setting can be duplicated in a virtual session (lecture, whole-group discussion, small-group discussion, philosophical chairs, Socratic dialog, lab demonstrations, etc.).
During asynchronous learning, students can utilize their critical thinking skills to develop responses to questions or problems posed during synchronous instruction, demonstrate the creation of knowledge through research and project work, or complete other assignments. Teachers are still available during asynchronous instruction time to provide feedback to students virtually through small-group or individual live sessions and real-time feedback on electronically generated documents.
Yearbooks are in! 6th Grade Eagle Camp, Laptop Distribution, Open House and Other Important Dates
We will send you more details on specific times soon, but we want to make sure you know the dates of our upcoming events:
- August 4: Yearbook distribution for our out-going 8th graders, before they start at VHS
- August 5: 6th Grade Eagle Camp: Webinar to welcome our newest Eagles to CRMS
- August 11: 6th grade virtual "Open House", AND drive-thru campus to pick-up laptops, SCHEDULES, school supplies, etc.
- August 12: 7th & 8th Grade drive-thru campus to pick-up yearbooks, SCHEDULES, school supplies, etc.
- August 13: First day of classes begin online through Virtual Empowered Learning
- August 18: 7th & 8th grade virtual "Open House"
Our yearbooks have arrived and look FANTASTIC! If you have not ordered your copy, you can purchase one ONLINE only, until July 31st. Due to current procedures, we will not be able to take cash for yearbooks in August, so be sure to place your order online before July 31st.
The 2019-2020 CRMS Yearbook is full of activities, sports, clubs and stories about our students. You can see some of those examples in this sneak peek video. Price is $45. What a great memento of this unforgettable year!
Canyon Ridge Middle School
AP/Counselor by grade-level:
- 6th: Cassandra Ricks/Shirley Dean
- 7th: Mandi Vogel/Staci Cote
- 8th: Monica Diaz Carle/Lauren Gripentrog
Instagram: Canyon_Ridge_MS
Email: wendy.sturdevant@leanderisd.org
Website: https://crms.leanderisd.org/
Phone: 512-570-3500
Twitter: @Sturdevant_CRMS