Planning for Home Learning
Parent Edition: Issue #3
Checking In
We are all sensitive to the hardship that many families are facing when it comes to the uncertainty that goes along with this situation, the new normal, financial concerns, and social/emotional struggles. With that being said, you may be receiving a communication from a teacher or administrator to check in. We are connecting with families that have not yet checked into SeeSaw or Google Classroom to see if there is anything that we can do as a school district to support you. While these assignments are optional, they are very important to help reduce loss of learning during the school closure. We do not want to pressure anyone; but, we also don't want to neglect anyone that is in need of help. If there are families that are unable to access materials electronically, we'll need to know that for future planning purposes. I want to reiterate that our communication is not meant to place additional pressure on families; it is just to get the best understanding of where we stand as a district, and to discover who needs support.
Thank you for all of your support! Stay healthy and safe.
Lewiston-Porter Spirit Week
Zoom Resources
Here are a couple of tips, considerations, and clarifications:
1. The instructions and guidance that you've seen in my videos were based on our school issued Chromebooks. The app was pushed out to student Chromebooks and also made available to download in the Chrome Web Store if they did not get it.
2. While the app is not always necessary, you will find that zoom works much better on most phones with the Zoom app. The same can be said for iPads. If using a personal device rather than a school device, I'd recommend using the app.
3. Zoom is an excellent tool. It is helpful and easy to use. It has been a tremendous help to us thus far. With that being said, we've had little time to analyze Zoom's privacy and security policies. Students need not worry about this as it is not necessary for them to create accounts for themselves. All they need to do is click on the link provided to them from their teachers. By creating an account, especially if you so through Facebook shares unnecessary data. I don't want anyone to worry but it's always best to share as little as possible.
Notice from Castle Learning
We are seeing online learning picking up considerable momentum as reflected in the extremely high user volumes we are experiencing on Castle Learning. Unfortunately, at times, high usage is causing slow response times within the application, which can be very frustrating for teachers and students working to create and complete activities. We are seeing peak activity between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., and faster response times outside of that window.
We apologize for the inconvenience and are working quickly to boost performance of the environment. This will be an ongoing effort over the next several days and we will provide updates on our progress.
We greatly appreciate your use of Castle Learning and your patience as we absorb the increase in volume.
Sincerely,
Ron Borowski
Director of Customer Support
IEC Student Email
Email for students in the IEC has been opened up. Students will only be able to send and receive messages to/from @lew-port.com addresses. Teachers may use this to communicate with students. Please remind your child to take look in case there is anything important shared in their gmail account.
Attention Math Teachers
Nicholas Hill
Lewiston-Porter Central Schools
For immediate technology needs please call (716) 821-7171
On campus technicians: Ken Bass (Monday & Tuesday); Jeff Murphy (Wednesday-Friday)
Tech Integrator: Melanie Kitchen (Mondays & Tuesdays)
Email: nhill@lew-port.com
Website: www.lew-port.com/technology_services
Phone: (716) 286-7295
Facebook: Facebook.com/LewistonPorterCentralSchools/
Twitter: @lewportcsd