The Cat’s Connection
August 2020
What's Happening at LaCreole
A Focus on Care and Connection
Our work will obviously look different this fall. The rich experiences we are able to offer to our kids in a regular school year, though not impossible, will be difficult to provide due to access to one another in person as well as materials, equipment, and technologies students typically only have access at school. Instead, our energies will be most effective geared toward finding ways to bolster connection and give our students a reason to continue to tune in to what we have to offer day after day until we get to have them back with us. Change is inevitable and we will take advantage of finding ways to provide meaningful experiences first through connecting with kids and by challenging them to learn at deeper levels.
We could get down and look at all that is lost this year and I feel it! We all take pride in watching our kids grow in the opportunities normally offered at LaCreole and it’s sad that we, most likely, won’t be able to provide those anytime soon. Thankfully, we do have an innovative staff and an opportunity to try some new things that will aid in our connections with kids, raise engagement, and still provide amazing experiences, perhaps just a little different.
We all want the same thing - our kids to thrive and to enjoy learning! I challenge each of us to look past what we are familiar with, and what we have always done and embrace perhaps our greatest asset, our creative spirit in discovering what helps our kids grow. I feel as though this might be a fun opportunity for us all!
Sample Student Schedule
Distance Learning at a Glance
We are only a few short weeks from kicking off our school year which will take the form of Comprehensive Distance Learning. Along with care and connection, we are working within grade-level teams to provide courses and projects that are both rigorous and provide an integrated approach to the content we teach. We know that completing these courses will be challenging, require discipline, and rely heavily upon a strong partnership between students, staff, and parents for success. Our schedule will look different and will be adaptable when we move to a hybrid model eventually.
Our staff is looking forward to the opportunities and challenges presented by our current situation. We will utilize the week of September 14th to connect with students and learn how we might best serve them through distance learning. We will also use this week to orient our students and families to our new learning platform and gear up to kick off our academic program the following week.
Attendance & Participation
- All classes will be graded, attendance will be taken raising accountability for all.
- Participation is required and we stand ready to support students with unique situations to support their learning. Accommodations will be made for students who may not be able to attend in-person sessions. We will have session recordings available in our Canvas System.
Student Schedules
- Registration this year will be easy! For all returning students including our new 6th graders who attended Whitworth last year, our system has rolled-up information from the previous year. If you have information that has changed please contact our office.
- We are currently working on scheduling all of our students into their classes and will have them available soon for parents to view via Home Access. If you need help with getting set up with Home Access, please contact our office.
- Most students will be enrolled in 5 courses and a Homeroom Group each nine-week grading period. Above is a sample of what a daily routine for a five day week will look like for students. Classes will offer a variety of live as well as recorded lessons.
- Applied learning times are flexible to individual family situations and can be adjusted to meet those needs.
- Students will have access to both content area teachers and their homeroom teacher as guides to support learning.
- Our homeroom design allows for all students to have a personal guide for supports including social-emotional, academic, and other needs such as technology. The homeroom teacher will be the key source of communication, streamlining contacts between school and home.
- Scheduled class lessons will be either live instruction via the video Zoom app or recorded and accessible in our learning management system known as Canvas.
- All classes, though simply labeled, like math or social studies, will be leveled. Students with learning needs either for advanced or remedial work will be done on an individualized basis according to each student's needs.
- Wednesdays are reserved for distance learning through applied learning activities that are designed for practice and/or to give background for future learning. These times can also be used to catch up on work or arrange for additional support from staff.
Electives
- Though we are not able to offer formal electives, our elective team will be working closely with grade-level teams to support creative outlets. Elective teachers will rotate teams every nine weeks allowing for a variety of experiences for our kids.
Canvas Learning Management System
We understand that students should not necessarily be tied to a computer all day to complete their learning. Likewise, busy parents need the ability to connect on the go to see student progress. The two apps below are available for free on multiple platforms through the respective App stores. We recommend downloading them. We will send guardians the student pairing codes once our initial scheduling processes are complete. Students will be given their own login credentials. I expect that to be completed in early September. We will use student Homeroom Group teachers to be the conduit for pushing out this information.
Welcome 6th Grade!
I look forward to serving our new batch of Wildcats!
Welcome to our new Assistant Principal Mr. Mabry
Upcoming Dates!
September
- Monday, September 14, 2020 - Comprehensive Distance Learning Orientation Week (all students)
- Monday, September 21, 2020 - First day of Comprehensive Distance Learning (all students)