Room 104 News
Week of March 30
Distance Learning Newsletter Week 1
(the one with information overload)
To Start..
As you can imagine Mountain View staff is hurting, myself included as Mrs. Hatland taught right next door to me and I worked with her for 11 years. I didn't want to send this newsletter without addressing it. I know your students are hurting too, particularly students I've adopted from her classroom. Ms. Doreen or Ms. Ellie will be reaching out if they haven't already. If you need additional support from me, please do not hesitate to ask.
Below is my favorite picture of us because I feel like it sums "us" up so well. I know I will miss her dearly, and our students as well, for she was a force to be reckoned with.
New Times are Upon Us
Dr. Peplinski sent our correspondence on March 18th that outlined the district's plan to roll out our distance learning plan. You can find the full statement on the district website and social media outlets.
There have been a few changes to that plan. Originally we were rolling out new lessons, graded work, etc. the week of April 20th. That has been moved up to the week of April 6th.
That means it will only be this week that work is enrichment only and not required/graded.
And more info below!
Digital Content Part 1: Zoom
For Face to Face Class meetings, read alouds, share, conferences, etc. we will be using program called Zoom. We have been using it for our school and district meetings and it is pretty user intuitive. You do not need to create accounts as I will provide a link for each time we meet. The first time I meet with the class I will lay out my expectations for them. For example: Everyone will be "muted" when they enter, if they have a question they will need to raise their hand and I will unmute them, etc.
Individual Google Logins
Please do not change any passwords, we have a program to do that so if you need assistance please let me know.
If you have more than one child using a device, then I recommend this article to help you navigate transitioning between profiles with less issues.
For article, CLICK HERE
I have bookmarked all the initial sites we will be using into your child's account. As long as they are logged into Chrome with their school account, they will have a bookmark bar with all sites accessible.
Google Classroom
For a parents guide to Google Classroom, please click HERE.
This will be the primary location of our assignments during distance learning.
Once they get logged in, they can do the morning check in!
Kindergarten: yours will be a little different. We will touch base.
PSS: I know some of you tried connecting your parent account and it's asking for a code. I'll get back to you on this!
Seesaw
Seesaw is a simple way for teachers and students to record and share what's happening in the classroom. Seesaw gives students a place to document their learning, be creative and learn how to use technology. Each student gets their own journal and will add things to it, like photos, videos, drawings, or notes.
Some assignments will need to be completed in Seesaw during our distance learning.
For more information on SeeSaw click here: https://web.seesaw.me/parents
Epic
IXL
IXL is designed to help your child learn at his or her own pace. The program is adaptive and will adjust based on your child's demonstrated understanding of the material. All of your child's results will be saved, so you can monitor his progress anytime by clicking on Analytics. For on-the-go practice, you can download IXL’s free tablet apps for iPad, Android, or Kindle and sign in with your child’s username and password.
I will primarily be utilizing it for math, but also social studies and science at times.
Final Thoughts
Wrapping Up
Next up I hope to provide you with some resources to support students during this unpredictable and uncertain time. Also please know that Ms. Doreen and Ms. Ellie are available as well, I will get you there best contact information to use during this time.
The BEST way to reach me is through the Remind App that almost everyone has connected with me on. The next best way would be through email: jamie.reese@simivalleyusd.org.
When I need to disperse a lot of information to everyone, it will be through my newsletter system, Smore, and I'll link it through Remind as well.
Enrichment grids will be sent out this week! My goal is by Wednesday at the latest.
I think that's enough for Round 1! This is a trial and error/ ebb and flow situation. Some of this information may need to change. I'm sure their are typos here, but I wanted to get you guys this information. Also, teachers are not required to make contact until April 1st so you're other teachers may not reach out until then.
I will get back to everyone who has messaged me, don't worry! You guys are just SO on the ball, I am impressed!