Principal Message
March 29, 2020
Dear Maple Hill Families,
It's hard to believe that it has only been two weeks of our school closure. March 16th (first day of closure) seems like eons ago. I hope that all of you are staying healthy and that your families are secure. The Maple Hill Team and I are thinking about all of you and miss our students dearly. We have enjoyed hearing from our students as we adjust to this "new normal".
In the weeks to come, expect a "Principal's Message" from me every Sunday evening. It will include updates, videos, resources, and activities to assist your family during the school closure. In an effort to create some normalcy for our students, I will also be sending out Morning Announcements on Mondays and Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. via the phone. If you see an incoming call from Maple Hill, you can let it go to your voicemail and play the recording for your child at an opportune time. I believe your students will enjoy starting off their day with this school morning ritual.
I am hoping that you had the chance to read Dr. Taylor's, our superintendent, message about the next steps with Distance Learning (Phase 2). If not, I included it in an attachment below. Over the course of these next two weeks, teachers across the district will be working collectively with administration and the district on creating Distance Learning packages for our students to access April 20th (last day of spring break)-May 5th. In the meantime, please continue to utilize our Learning Enrichment and Resource Network at http://learn.wvusd.org to access a plethora of resources and learning material for your child. The site just added TK-5th grade math packets for parents to download.
As always, if you have any questions or you would like to provide feedback, please don't hesitate to email me at kmorris@wvusd.k12.ca.us. We are in this together!
In partnership,
Ms. Morris
Principal of Maple Hill Elementary School
Benchmark Advance
Accessing LA County's Digital Library To Check Out E-Books
You can access eBooks, Audiobooks, Digital Magazines, Online Learning, Music, and Movies & TV, from the LA County LIbrary's Online System. The one requirement is that you are a resident of LA County. Normally, you would have to visit the library to set up your online account, but the public libraries are closed. See below for steps to creating an online account via the LA County Library website. I am a resident of San Bernardino and use their online system to access books and I absolutely LOVE the resource! I love having the ability to check out and return books from my iPad.
- Click the MENU button
- Click the DIGITAL LIBRARY tab
- Click EXPLORE tab
- Click DIGITAL LIBRARY CARD
- Complete the TEMPORARY DIGITAL LIBRARY CARD application (good for 90 days)
Amazing Paid Online Programs That Are Now Free!!!
Normally, these online programs can only be accessed with paid subscriptions, however, in an effort to support students during school closures, the creators of these programs are offering them for FREE!
ABCmouse (TK-2nd), Adventure Academy (3rd-8th), and Reading IQ (Preschool-6th) are phenomenal online resources that I highly recommend. Please open the attached PDF to learn how to set up your FREE account using the School Code.
Yearbook Photos
Our yearbook has some extra space since we have had to cancel some events. We need your help! During the school closure, send us pictures of how our Maple Hill kids are spending their time. Email these photos to our Yearbook Committee and we will try to add all of them to the yearbook. You can share pictures of your child playing outside, walking the dog , rollersakting, building with Legos, creating art, cleaning their room, helping with chores, cooking, reading...the sky is the limit!
Email your photos to our Teacher Yearbook Committee at:
All photos need to be submitted by April 5th
A Read Aloud with Ms. Morris
Watch Ms. Morris reading aloud "The Good Egg" and how she uses the skill of Metacognition (Thinking about one's Thinking) to read the story. Using Metacognition Sentence Stems, while a child reads, builds reading comprehension skills. I have included several of my favorite Metacognition Pages below. Have your child read two pages of a book, stop, and do a Metacognition Sentence Stem aloud. We want our students to think more about what they are reading!
I have also included some EGG activities that go hand-in-hand with the book, "The Good Egg". I did several of these activities with my niece and nephew and we had a blast. The activities include reading, writing, art, and science for all grade levels.
Build Listening Comprehension
My 7 yr. old niece and 3-year-old nephew loved the step-by-step drawing activity of the "Good Egg"
These Egg-cellent Activities are posted below!
Delve Into Life Science
We learned about the parts of the egg and practiced our labeling skills. At the end, we cracked open an egg and got to observe firsthand our new learning.
Science At Home
Create your own Maker Stations at home! Maker Stations provide targeted design thinking challenges for elementary students, emphasizing skills in engineering, art, math, science, technology, and music. This package contains 15 Maker Station options for 3 weeks of daily home activities. Each Maker Station includes simplified supply lists, instructions, scannable QR code resources, and student planning/reflection templates. App extensions are provided for students to share and present creations virtually.
Card Games
I have so many fond memories of playing cards with my Grandma Frances. She taught me how to play Crazy Eight's, King's Corner, and Rummy. I am so appreciative that she took the time to teach me these games, and more importantly, share quality time together. We laughed endlessly, told stories, as we played each game. Playing cards increase a child's math and reasoning skills and strengthen their ability to logic. Grab a deck of cards and play with your child tonight! Below is a website that has the directions for 12 card games for kids. Let the games begin!
Science Textbook Online Preview for Parents
Parents are able to preview the recommended science textbooks online before the April 1 Board meeting. The link and information are on our District Website- under news and announcement. Each publisher provided an online web address with username and password for public preview.