SCHOOL NEWS AND VIEWS
Sunday, April 5,2020
This week's update: End of Week 3 of Covid-19 Shut-down
Happy Palm Sunday, Holy Cross Families
I pray that you all are as well as you can be during these very difficult days Today is Palm Sunday. Typically, we would have a wonderful service in church and all of our children would be in a parade with palm branches. Today, there are no parades but we still can share with the world what we believe. One of our Sunday school teachers gave the kids the assignment of instead hanging palm branches on our door. I thought this was a fabulous idea!
We appreciate how difficult this is for all of our families. You have been thrust into the position of being home learning facilitators. Some of you are still going to work and have had to make arrangements for childcare. Some of you are still working out of the home while also trying to do your best for your families too. Some of you have lost your jobs or have been furloughed.
I can relate to all of these situations. My daughter is attempting to work from home while taking care of an infant and trying to home-school a kindergarten student. Both my son and my son in law have lost their jobs. All of our staff with children who are lucky enough to still be working are trying to do their best for YOUR children while also do the best for their own families.
I can tell you that this is much harder than classroom teaching. Some of us feel like we are working 24 hours per day. We are teachers because we love children and we want to make a difference. We miss them. We are deeply concerned about them. We pray for them daily.
I tell you this only so you understand that we are in in this together. And we are all doing our best.
We understand that "school time" may vary for many of you based on work schedules and due dates are very FLEXIBLE.
One of our goals this week has been to be in contact with every family to see how we can help. We have been able to reach about 95% of our parents by telephone even though in some cases we could only leave a message. Some of our parents have numbers that are no longer in service. If we were not able to reach you by phone, PLEASE call the school office tomorrow and update your phone number.
Another goal this week was to get available devices into the hands of students who need them. If your child is in 2nd through 8th grade and you still have no means of accessing google classroom (desktop computer or laptop computer) at home, please contact the school office tomorrow.
Now, on to instruction. All students in 2nd through 8th grade are receiving online content via their google classroom. Students in PK through 1st grade are receiving content through the classroom app that they were using prior to this crisis.
ALL STUDENTS NEED TO CHECK IN WITH THEIR HOMEROOM TEACHER EVERY DAY. We are still required to keep attendance and the only way that we can do this is to rely on our students, under the supervision of their parents, to check in EVERY DAY. Teachers are still spending too much time trying to track students down so please help us by making sure that this simple step is taken.
We have begun doing some face to face mini-lessons and face to face classroom check-ins with students. Please be on the look out for these invitations from teachers. I am sure that most of you are now aware of zoom meetings and we have started out by using these. We are also trying out googlemeet through the individual google classroom and we will then decide which meets our needs better and is most secure.I must tell you that it does not work as effortless and perfectly as you may think. If you are using a wireless device, the quality of your wireless signal will greatly affect the quality of the zoom classroom. If your child will be using a smartphone, you will need to download the zoom app in advance. There will be a meeting ID and for security measures, a password as well.
Parents, we have been thrust into this situation with no warning and no time to train or prepare. We do not have the tremendous resources of the public school system, yet I think that our teachers are doing a very admirable job keeping our students learning, involved and moving forward. We have done our best to get devices in the hands of any student who does not have one. (As a point of reference, another Christian school down the road from our school, with higher tuition, did not distribute any devices to students. we have distributed over 70 plus the middle school students who already had one that was assigned to them).
We really have just finished our first week because the week before spring break was a week of initial implementation. Bear with us and do your part as well, and this will get better and better as time goes on.
For the time being, we are keeping office hours. If you need to visit the office, we allow one parent in at a time and we ask that you stop at the blue line on the floor. In addition, an outside locked drop box is being installed and you will be able to insert documents/classwork, etc, into the box if the office is closed.
Our school is committed to helping our students and our community. For that reason, we continue to provide free lunch each day along with a takeaway breakfast for the next morning if desired. If you are not taking advantage of this, we encourage you to stop by between 11:30-1PM each day. Kindly observe the social distancing rules. Be sure to thank our cafeteria staff and wave hello to us in the office.
What is your role as parent:
1. Make sure that your student is checking in every day for attendance.
2. Do your best to insure that your students are doing the assigned work and are logging in to any scheduled class meetings or mini lessons.
3. Please do not just take your students word on whether or not their are doing their work. They need you to supervise them and check after them. Even older students. This is new and confusing for them. They are not ready to be left on their own.
4. Make sure that your student has a place to work that is quiet and that they have all of the materials they need.
5. If you need help, please ask for it. All of the teachers have supplied their phone numbers. Do not be afraid to use them. If they don't answer they will call you back. If you do not get the help you need, please LET ME KNOW.
6. Make use of all of the resources that are pushed out to you. In addition to the academic work, look at the enrichment activities and virtual field trips, museums trips and zoo visits, etc.
7. Please make sure that your child has time for recreation and outside activity and SCREEN FREE TIME.
Please do your best, encourage your children to do their best and send your love, prayers, understanding and appreciation to our teachers and staff, who are also doing their best.
Check out Mrs. Oxar's Youtube Channel
Click to follow our favorite story teller and art teacher, Mrs. Oxar's new Youtube channel, "Storytime with Balto and My Friends". There are 6 videos already posted and she is adding more!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBU9IZ0En8SeqLhMB-JMC2A/videos?disable_polymer=1
Fun Family Fitness Activities
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11R0pxgLskF3iQe1GrQURorjtlea_uc_k7_dAuMPa-1s/edit?usp=sharing
Palm Sunday Activities you can do at home
We hope that you will also join us in virtual worship. You can find our services on our facebook page or on our church website www.holycrossnm.com
Important Information about Billing/Finances
However, because we understand the many difficulties and challenges that this Covid-19 crisis are causing our parents, Holy Cross has cancelled all monthly tuition draws from FACTS for the month of April.
This is gesture of love and concern, and also an act of Faith on our part. Holy Cross truly is a non-profit school. In addition, for those of you who were billed for monthly OOS in March of $100, you will receive a $50 credit for those weeks that your student was out of school. I hope that this information helps relieve some of the stress that you may be feeling.
FEEDING OUR CHILDREN
Lunch will be served from 11:30AM until 1PM. Please observe the social distancing procedures that have been established.
Children must be accompanied by an adult. Only one family will be permitted into the cafeteria at a time to pick up their lunches. Please take them and leave immediately. While we are a very friendly and social place, unfortunately this is not the time for that.
If others are in line, please maintain a distance of 8 feet from any other person or family. Please keep your children with you at all times and under your control. There can be no roaming in the hallways or visits to any offices or classrooms. Our entire facility has been thoroughly disinfected in anticipation of a return to school and we must keep it that way.
Thank you to our hard working cafeteria staff for continuing to provide this valuable service to our children.
Uploading documents
Here is a link to more information and including Android and Desktop computers
https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6020285?co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid&hl=en
Additional materials for you to look at to keep kids busy
NEWER items added at the top
https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/national-parks/virtual-national-parks-tours
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/video/4500528-oakland-zoo-launches-live-interactive-virtual-tour/
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/travel/a31784720/best-virtual-tours/
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/03/a-virtual-tour-of-walt-disney-imagineering-part-1/
https://www.miamichildrensmuseum.org/museum-at-home/
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
https://www.playbill.com/article/15-broadway-plays-and-musicals-you-can-watch-on-stage-from-home
https://characterstrong.lpages.co/educator-resources/
https://www.weareteachers.com/things-to-do-during-covid/?
utm_source=WAT_MDR&utm_medium=Enews&utm_campaign=WAT_CVEnews03182020
https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours
COMCAST IS OFFERING FREE WIFI
To assist in Internet connectivity, Comcast continues to offer free WiFi via Xfinity hotspots where Xfinity service is available for 60 days. This is in addition to the Internet Essentials Program, normally $9.95 per month, that will provide an in-home modem and 60 days of free service for eligible low-income M-DCPS families.
Online Church
Click below to follow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNmDLPMR1WA&feature=youtu.be
WE are the church. The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is the PEOPLE! Join us and stay connected with our Holy Cross family.
Are you following our Social Media
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How to Contact Us:
650 NE 135th St.
North Miami, Fl. 33161
School 305 893 0851
Church 305 893 0371
Office emails:
Sherri Mackey smackey@holycross-nm.org
Marluys Sejba msejba@holycross-nm.org
Natalia Escobar nescobar@holycross-nm.org
Soraya Trujillo strujillo@holycross-nm.org
Roslyn Noel rnoel@holycross-nm.org
Lisette Rogers lrogers@holycross-nm.org
Marie Innocent minnocent@holycross-nm.org
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Background check authorization
If you completed a background check last year, DO NOT complete this again UNTIL you receive an email stating that it is expiring.
http://www.holycrossnorthmiami.org/schools-background-check-authorization