Dear Falcon families,

We are getting into a good routine at Alexander Elementary and enjoying getting to know your scholars. All have been digging into reading, math, and science and continuing to build community in our morning meetings.

We are excited to share that the District will transition into a hybrid learning model beginning Monday, September 28, 2020. This transition only applies to students who opted for standard enrollment during registration. This does not apply to students who have enrolled in the ICCSD PK-12 Online Learning Program. Families who opted for standard enrollment received notification on ‘A’ group and ‘B’ group designations several weeks ago. We will follow the hybrid calendar, beginning with the ‘A’ group on-site Monday (9/28) and Tuesday (9/29) and the ‘B’ group on-site Wednesday (9/30), Thursday (10/1), and Friday (10/2). The schedule will then rotate each week as detailed in the calendar. We encourage you to visit the District’s hybrid web page for full details on the teaching and learning schedule within this learning model.

A couple reminders for this week:
1.Please continue to have all scholars logged on and ready to go every day at 8:00 am AND at all the small group times.

2. Please call the school if your scholar will be absent for any health or appointment reasons.

3. Our next academic materials distribution day is on Tuesday, Sept. 22 from 8:00 am-6:00 pm. THIS WILL BE FOR ICCSD ONLINE LEARNING PROGRAM students only. We will be handing out more materials for reading, math, science, and music on this day.

As always, thank you so much for your ongoing support. This continues to be challenging and we appreciate all our families are doing each day!

Chris Gibson, Principal

Below are 2 ways we can strengthen our ability to communicate using Zoom. We are hearing and experiencing challenges where we are experiencing sound and connectivity issues.

1) Click on this link: Delete unnecessary extensions

2) Updating Chromebooks:

Updating is important - FOLLOW THESE STEPS - on a Chromebook:

-Turn on your Chromebook and sign in like you normally would.

-At the bottom right, select the time.

-Select Settings.

-At the bottom of the left panel, select About Chrome OS.

-Select Check for updates.

-If your Chromebook finds a software update, it will start to download automatically.

-Restart when it's done. It will let you know.

Thank you for your flexibility as we work through the intricacies of online teaching. We will be making a slight adjustment to when students will see activities posted in Seesaw. In an effort to reduce the number of activities that a student sees at one time, teachers will be posting Seesaw activities on a daily basis, rather than a full week at a time. Teachers will have them posted by 6:00 pm each night so that students can begin to work on them the next day. Students will have at least until Sunday at 6:00 pm to complete the work for the week. Students will still receive a weekly schedule on Friday that includes the zoom links and times for all synchronous meetings for the week.

Click on the link to register your child for the NCJH Full Day Program that will begin next week and continue while we are in 100% Online.

In the event that a student is having trouble with a school-issued computer, or if a device is in need of repair or replacement, please contact the ICCSD Technology Help Desk. The Help Desk can be reached by phone at (319) 688-1950, by email at helpdesk@iowacityschools.org, or by using the chat option available during business hours in the bottom right corner of the Technology & Innovation Blog (https://innovation.iowacityschools.org). For detailed technology support information, visit our technology support page.

Mark your calendar and #gethungryforeducation! The fall Dine Out for Education is on Thursday, September 24, 2020. Plan to Dine Out or Take Out at one or more of our 40 participating restaurants and businesses on September 24 and they will donate 10% of their daily sales in support of our schools. Take-out and delivery count! For more information, visit the ICCSD Foundation website at www.iccsdfoundation.org/dine-out-for-education/ or take a look at partner restaurants’ online menus.

#gethungryforeducation on September 24 and support our schools by dining at one of our 40 participating restaurants https://iccsdfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020FALL_Restaurant_Listing-2.pdf

Iowa City Community School District will have meals available for students in the hybrid and online learning models during fall 2020. All meals, regardless of model, will be free through December 2020.

Meals are free and available Monday through Friday to children age 1 – 18. These free Grab & Go meals are available at each site from 11:30 – 1:00 pm. **Note the NEW SITES!**

Grab & Go Meal Sites beginning June 1, 2020:

• City High School
• Hills Elementary School
• Liberty High School
• Northwest Junior High School
• North Central Junior High School
• South East Junior High School
• West High School

Additional resources for food assistance can be found through the United Way of Johnson County.

September 22 Material Distribution for Online Learning Program only 8:00 am-6:00pm

September 24 Dine Out for Education

October 9 NO SCHOOL

November 3 NO SCHOOL

November 25-27 NO SCHOOL'

December 2 Parent Teacher Conferences

December 7 NO SCHOOL, Parent Teacher Conferences

December 21 WINTER BREAK

January 4 School resumes