Trojan Times
Family Update
Dear North Crawford Elementary Families,
Some of you may be searching for ways to talk as a family about how COVID-19 has changed our school, town, state, country, and world. Our hope is to offer some ideas and research about how these conversations can sound. As always, a resource not a requirement. If you need any support during this challenging time, please do not hesitate to contact me or Principal, Amanda Killeen, we are here to help.
Zoe Ellerbusch Elementary School Counselor
608-624-5201 Ext. 104 OR 608-447-0638
zellerbusch@ncrawford.k12.wi.us
Amanda Killeen, Elementary Principal
608-624-5201 Ext. 232
The following tips and recommendations were compiled from the below listed sources:
Helping Children Cope With Changes Resulting From COVID-19
Dr. Jamie Howard, Director of Trauma and Resilience Service for the ChildMind Institute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhVad8ToCiU&feature=emb_logo
Talking to Kids About the Coronavirus
https://childmind.org/article/talking-to-kids-about-the-coronavirus/
Stay calm, listen, offer reassurance
Children follow and learn from your example
Focus on things you can control
Social distancing, deep breathing, looking for the positive, your routine, identifying projects that might help others
Monitor television and social media viewing
For yourselves and your children. This can cause anxiety and confusion. Talk about facts, use reputable resources such as the CDC.gov website for information and updates
Be aware of your child’s mental health
Contact the school or your physician for support if your child is exhibiting significant changes in behavior for more than 2 weeks:
Preschoolers—thumb sucking, bedwetting, clinging to parents, sleep disturbances, loss of appetite, fear of the dark, regression in behavior, and withdrawal
Elementary school children—irritability, aggressiveness, clinginess, nightmares, school avoidance, poor concentration, and withdrawal from activities and friends
Distance Learning Update
- Continue working with the packet work that was sent home to the best of your family's ability. These are NOT meant to be a point of stress. Do what you can and what works best for your family. We will turn in what you have done after all this is over for teacher feedback.
- Digital learning will begin April 13th. You will be receiving information about how to access these materials next week. Our Pre-K students will be given weekly learning ideas sent to parent email addresses, these activities will not require a device. Students in grades K -2nd will use a platform called SeeSaw. Our 3rd - 5th graders will be using Google Classroom. Instructions will be sent soon with how to use both of these platforms!
- DPI's recommendation for daily distance learning is one hour for students in K-2nd grade and around 2.5 hours for students in grades 3-5th. That being said, you need to do what works for your family. Please know that when we return to school we will be spending time reviewing and supporting all students with where they are at academically. Your child's emotional well being is more important then anything we will be offering in terms of academics during this time. Please let us know if there are ways we can support your child or family. We are all in this together!
- We are working to organize and distribute Chromebooks to be delievered for those families who indicated that they needed a device for their child. Our hope is to have these all delivered by April 7th.
- We are waiting on delivery of the internet hot spots for families that indicated a need for internet service. We are crossing our fingers they come soon. In the meantime, please remember that our parking lot at school has wifi that you can get from your car to download items you may need.
Please be on the lookout for more information to come about device roll out and accessing online learning platforms.