Mt. Bethel Messenger
April 3, 2020
SPRING BREAK - YOU MAY DECLARE FRIDAY AN EARLY RELEASE DAY!
The news about school shutting down for the rest of the year has been devastating. You need to be easy on yourselves and understand that we are all grieving right now. We are grieving our routines, procedures, the inability to be at school, and all that this virus has done to people we love and to our world. Accept and name your emotions. Are you fearful for our medical community? Are you hopeful for the future? Are you angry that this is happening? Name your emotions and deal with them. It is okay and expected for you to be human, and to deal with all the tough stuff right now.
We are also mostly Type-A people who thrive on planning ahead, and we have been stripped of the ability to do so. To have a 30-minute span of time to grab critical items from your classrooms and to leave not knowing when we are going back. NOT OKAY. To try to stay connected when we cannot even have more than 9 people in the building - and we are used to over 1,200 - 1,300 at a time. NOT OKAY. Give yourself time and give yourself grace. And then think back to our last gathering in the gym and how we were able to be TOGETHER! Love you beautiful peeps!
We are all Zooming around and going nowhere!
My big scoop of sanity usually comes from Atty. He is pictured on the right. He had not been allowed screen time prior to this (I bought him a Kindle Fire and my step-mom bought him an iPad for Christmas - both put on a shelf with my sister, Katie, saying, "NO WAY."). She has now said, "Thank you!." He is learning how to reach out digitally - and sends daily ridiculousness - kind of like John and Richard. Makes me realize more than ever that we are going to need to help kids, families and all of us connect when we get back and etiquette, attention span, and engagement will need to be addressed and explicitly taught alongside curriculum.
The smile on his face with silly connections brings me joy. As we move into the world of digital/distance learning through the end of this year, any personal touches, increased opportunities to provide a mini-lesson, or check-ins would be appreciated. You do not need to run school 24/7, but anything you can do to allay parent anxiety will be appreciated.
UNPLUG. IT'S STAY AT HOME SPRING BREAK!
I will be unplugging, as well. I need a moment, as do you. And my inbox is super-saturated with a lot of words!
Love you all and we will have a meeting likely on Tuesday, 4/14 and then again after the Board Meeting on Thursday, 4/16 in case there are any new directives.
Sending tons of love!
-j
GRADING UPDATES
Dear Cobb Schools Community,
The COVID-19 pandemic and closure of all Cobb schools has profoundly impacted the daily lives of all our students, teachers, and families. During this unpredictable time, teaching and learning will obviously look different than it did before. For the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, teaching and learning will be centered on digital support for students’ academic, emotional, and social needs.
With Governor Kemp’s announcement that all Georgia public schools will be closed for the remainder of this school year, the Cobb County School District will:
- o Provide students with access to digital content, which is aligned to Georgia standards. Over 700,000 high-quality digital resources are being provided to teachers through CTLS Teach.
- o Provide students with access to physical content for students who do not have digital access.
- o Continue to partner with the Cobb Schools Foundation to provide devices for students in need.
- o Ensure student grades are not negatively impacted as a result of COVID-19. No students’ grades at the end of the second semester can be lower than the grades received on Friday, March 13, 2020.
- o Give students a choice to accept their grades as of Friday, March 13, 2020 as final grades for 2019-2020 OR continue to earn grades for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year to improve their grade(s).
- o Report grades as pass/fail for all students in all K-8 courses. High school courses will be reported as grades for GPA calculation purposes.
- o Continue to provide academic, emotional, and social support for student needs for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.
- o Allow work submitted after March 13th to be used for grades or to measure what students know. Specific directions will be provided by your principal. Any work submitted will only have a positive impact on a student’s grade(s).
- o Allow any student who was on track to graduate on Friday, March 13, 2020 to receive credit for all courses for which they were enrolled on or before March 13th.
We are actively evaluating all options related to graduation ceremonies. Once graduation ceremony decisions have been finalized, they will be communicated as soon as possible.
THOUGHT Y'ALL MIGHT ENJOY SEVERAL MINUTES OF FUN FROM THE PAST!
FOR THE PRIVATE VIDEO BELOW, PASSWORD = happy
Auto-Reply for Spring Break
Here's an article on how to set it up.
Please turn on your auto-reply with a statement like:
It is Spring Break and we all need to take a break from Digital Learning. We will be available after 9:00 am on Monday, April 13th. Be safe and keep washing those hands!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
April 6th - 10th = Spring Break!
April 9th: Passover begins.
April 10th: Good Friday
DUTY SCHEDULE
TURN ON AUTO-REPLY FOR SPRING BREAK!
Have office hours. Communicate them. Check your email.