MACS Family Resources
Week of December 14- 18, 2020 - Volume 12
Happy Holidays MACS Families!
MACS Families, we want to provide you with some information and resources to support your child and family during the holiday season. As always, your child's teacher(s) is the best source of information and support for their classwork. Our teachers do a great job of communicating and providing assignments and resources through Seesaw (in K-2 grades) and Schoology (3rd-5th grade). If you need assistance accessing these resources please let your child's teacher know.
Remote learning days will be held on Monday, December 21 and Tuesday, December 22, 2020. Our holiday break begins on Wednesday, December 23 and MACS students return to school on Tuesday, January 5, 2021.
Ideas for Family Learning at Home
- Bake with your child- a new recipe can bring the whole family together to learn in the kitchen.
- Try stop motion animation with playdough
- FaceTime with those you love!
- Write a letter or email to family and friends.
- Write a short story & illustrate it.
- Teach your family pet a new trick.
- Do a fun family photo shoot in your yard.
- Go old school and have a board game family day.
- Watch a YouTube yoga video and exercise as a family.
- Popcorn and movie marathon family style.
- Set a timer and see how quickly the whole family can clean 1) the car, 2) the kitchen, 3) the living room or any shared activity.
- Give the dog a bath and do a photo shoot with them in the yard.
- Fold and fly different styles of paper airplanes. How can the science of flight help you design a better plane?
- Using your phone make a series of "how to" videos for others to watch and learn.
- Take turns reading aloud your favorite childhood books.
- Make your own board games.
- Take a family walk and complete a scavenger hunt or look for things in nature to collect: acorns, leaves, rocks, etc....
- Go through your home and declutter. Are there items that can be donated to others? Clothes, books, toys or other household items.
- Visit the San Diego Zoo online and learn about new critters!
- Check out the Smithsonian online without heading to Washington, DC- your living room can become your classroom as you learn about history, science, technology, engineering and art.
New MACS Resource- Spanish Hotline
Mount Airy City Schools has opened its Spanish hotline for families. This voicemail will be in Spanish and families can leave a message in Spanish. Someone will find out the answer to your question and call you back in Spanish. Please share with others who would benefit from this service.
Mount Airy City Schools ha abierto su línea directa en español para familias. Este mensaje de voz estará en español y las familias pueden dejar un mensaje en español. Alguien encontrará la respuesta a su pregunta y le devolverá la llamada en español. Comparta con otras personas que se beneficiarían de este servicio.
Story Walk on the Greenway
We are grateful for our Extended Learning and Integrated Student Supports (ELISS) grant, which allowed our district to strengthen our existing partnership with Mount Airy Parks and Recreation and the Reeves Community Center Foundation. This grant allowed us to develop the new Story Walk on the Greenway. We invite all families to use this resource and check out the stories, which are changed every 2-3 weeks. This week's stories include
How to Catch an Elf by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton and
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff.
Both of these stories can be accessed on the greenway, families can begin at Tharrington Park and walk left towards Mount Airy Middle School. After reaching the end of the first book at Mount Airy Middle School, families can turn around and read the other holiday story.
Resources from Imagine Learning
Parents and families: Student access to Imagine Learning will continue through the holiday season. Imagine Learning is a great resource to access to support increased literacy and math skills. If your child does not know how to access their Imagine Learning from home, please reach out to their teacher.
Our district provides the following resources within the online Imagine Learning platform:
- Kindergarten through 5th grade- All students have access to Imagine Math and Imagine Language and Literacy, as well as Imagine Math Facts for fluency
- 6th-8th grade- All students have access to Imagine Math
Click here to read more about Imagine Learning at home.
Supporting Your Family's Physical and Social Emotional Well-Being
MACS Teaching and Learning
Dr. Phillip Brown, Chief of Academics and Human Resources
Penny Willard, Director of Innovative Programming and Federal Programs
Scott Dollyhite, Director of Exceptional Children and Student Services
Olivia Sikes, Director of Career and Technical Education and Student Accountability
Polly Long, Workforce Initiatives Coordinator
Kini Brindle, Social & Emotional Learning and Exceptional Children Compliance Coordinator
Jodi Cox, Family Liaison
Brittany Branch, Digital Learning Coach
