MONDAY MORNING MUSTANG
May 4- May 8, 2020
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
This week we want to virtually honor our teachers! We have some daily challenges for our students to honor our teachers as well as some other surprises in the works. We also will announce our Teacher of the Year on Friday during our staff meeting at 8:00 am! Stay tuned!!
Mustang Schedule This Week:
MONDAY -May 4
English Block: 9:00 - 10:30 am
Social Science Block: 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Elective Block: 1:00 - 2:30 pm
TUESDAY - May 5
Math Block: 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Science Block: 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
PE/Performing Arts/Athletics/CTE/ROP/Directed Studies Block: 1:00 - 2:30 pm
WEDNESDAY - May 6
Social Science Block: 9:00 - 10:30 am
English Block: 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Elective Block: 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Kevin Wendland Tech Q & A: 2:30 - 3:30 pm (Must be a part of WHS Staff Google Classroom to access)
THURSDAY -May 7
Science Block: 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Math Block: 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
PE/Performing Arts/Athletics/CTE/ROP/Directed Studies Block: 1:00 - 2:30 pm
FRIDAY - May 8
- Staff Meeting: 8:00 - 9:00 am
- Office Hours / Tutorial: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
- Department Collaboration: 1:00 - 2:30 pm
- Kevin Wendland Tech Q&A: 2:00 - 3:00 pm (Must be a part of WHS Staff Google Classroom to access)
IMPORTANT INFO
Join us for a Staff Meeting on Friday at 8:00 am!
- District Updates
- Graduation Update
- Athletics Update
- Senior Grade Checks
- Teacher of the Year Announcement
A Student's Perspective
Good evening [TEACHER],
I hope your doing well, I miss having your class four times a week. I just wanted to reach out to you to express something that I think speaks for what a lot of us students feel. It’s not meant to be rude or to attack anyone we’re just trying to handle a whole lot of change. I understand that distant learning is new to all of us, and it’s just as difficult for the teachers as it is for us. We all greatly appreciate the effort you are putting in to help us grow in our education. At the same time all the work is piling up and becoming extremely stressful. Many of my teachers at least seem to be giving out more work now compared to when we were at school. Last week was bearable and a good amount, but what —— gave us is a lot to handle with all the other assignments we’ve received. I can't speak for everyone, but I know for myself, quarantine hasn’t been healthy for me or my mental health. Being inside and not talking to friends really takes a toll on a person. If I’m experiencing this I know plenty other people as well are struggling to stay positive through this situation. Many of us do all the work, despite our lack of sleep and mental health, because we push for a better grade. Not only that but there are students stuck in homes that don’t have the best family environment or situation. The school tries their best to comfort us during this tough time, which I’m forever grateful for, but I hope to put everything into perspective. I’m sorry it’s just so much to handle and all the work just causes stress to add up. Like I said last week was a good amount but this week is overwhelming. I know this isn’t going to change anything, I’ll still manage to get it done somehow. I just needed to voice that to get the steam out and an only adult on campus I feel comfortable opening up to. Thank you for everything you’ve done for all of us!!
Sincerely,
[STUDENT]
Join the Walnut High School Google Classroom
The Google classroom code to join is: c3jgixn. A video below is to show you how to join a class.
The Google Classroom is set up to help you in the following:
Q&A: We created discussion posts on different topics under "Stream" where you can ask questions during the week and the staff can help answer questions for you. The topics are the following:
- Google Classroom
- Google Meet
- Google Chat
- General Question
- Share Out - Cool Things You are Doing or Ideas
Staff Resources: Kevin linked staff resources and tutorial videos under "Classwork" for anything you may need to help with distance learning.
Weekly Assignment: We will have a staff challenge every week under "Classwork" to post and have fun. It will even show you what it looks like as a student submitting an assignment.
Classified Employee of the Year 2020 : Recognizing Walnut's Finest School Support Staff
All nominations are due by May 11th.
Email mestrada@wvusd.k12.ca.us if you have any questions.
Concordia University Irvine’s Information Meeting
DISTANCE LEARNING GUIDELINES
Below is the attachment describing our Distance Learning Guidelines. Some key points include:
- Provide a weekly student learning plan that may include learning objectives, assignments, lessons, activities, enrichment, resources, etc.
- At a minimum, teachers connect with their classroom and/or individual students 2-3 times weekly via email, Google Classroom, etc.
- Communicate with and provide timely feedback to students, as appropriate.
- At a minimum, reply to parent and/or student emails within 2 business days.
- Recommended that staff remove out of the office auto-replies beginning April 20
KEVIN WENDLAND TECH Q & A: WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY
Department Support Crew
WENDLAND TECH UPDATES
Tech Q&A Recap from Friday
Thanks to everyone who showed up Friday afternoon. We had a really good Q&A session with some rapid fire questions at the end. Some of the highlights from the video above:;
- Went over how to create another profile in Chrome. I went ahead and made a video for that HERE
- Talked about approving YouTube videos for your students. If students have chromebooks (about 300) they can't watch YouTube videos until you approve them. You need to be logged into your school account to have the option. You will see this box . You must click Approve for students to view.
- Went over creating Rubrics in Google Classroom as we talked about different types of assessments
- Discussed the differences between creating a Meet link in Calendar vs Classroom. If you create in Calendar, students can enter without you and the link is always live and open. Students can't mute you or kick you out since you created the event. If you use the Classroom link, students can't enter without you first being there and once the last person leaves the link dies in 1-2 minutes, usually a little over a minute.
- You can also create a code for all your classes by going to Meet.google.com and creating a room with a Name/Code. That has the same effect as using the code in each Google Classroom.
- Talked about how students say they can't get into Meets. Could be a) they are showing up before the teacher or b) they aren't using their WVUSD accounts.
- Went through EdPuzzle and how to link a Google Classroom, how to assign to multiple classes directly, how to search for content, and how to change the settings. We also showed the EdPuzzle extension which allows you to click a button from most sites that takes that video directly into your EdPuzzle account and starts the editing process. Extension, HERE.
- Used my son's account to show the student side for Meet, Classroom, and EdPuzzle.
- Discussed Google Chat and how it is possible to create Rooms for your classes, but as of now you have to enter everyone's name into the room. Showed how to use Google Chat to communicate with students or staff. Highly recommend Google Chat.
- In Google Classroom, you can only schedule assignments for one class at a time. Sara had a workaround of using the "re-use" post in other classes. Peralta noticed that sometimes the "Make a copy for each student" option isn't there and sometimes it is, Drew confirmed this.
- Showed how to Import Google Classroom grades into Aeries. Remember you must Return the assignment before Aeries will take the scores.
- Went over import image function on Google Jamboard
Phase 2 Announcements
Just a couple announcements as we get ready to roll into Phase 2:
- aeries.wvusd.org is live. I sent directions this morning on how to access it, here is a screenshot of the directions
- The district flipped a switch that took away the students' ability to make a Google Meet.
- This means they can't go into the room without you starting it first. So you can just use the code generated by Google Classroom for your Meet room. Post the link before the Meeting or just tell them the time to be there. The link stays live for about 1-2 minutes after everyone has left. I tested it multiple times and it was usually right around a minute and change. I made a video showing the changes, HERE.
- If you signed up for Screencastify using the promo code, access has now been extended until May 31st.
- We also have Pro account status for EdPuzzle. Use this link to activate it, HERE. EdPuzzle is a site that allows you to post videos and embed questions during the videos. There is more information about EdPuzzle on the Distance Learning Site. Thanks to Sara Bilton for getting the school registered!
Thanks again for all your hard work. Once again the Distance Resource Site is HERE. If you have any questions, message me on Google Chat.
Distance Learning Resource Site
Kevin went ahead and put together a quick resource site for you to look at during this time before we fully transition to distance learning.
The page is broken down into some categories:
- Video/Screencasting
- Online Assessments
- Interactive Lessons
- Google Classroom
- Other sites to use
Try not to be overwhelmed during this time. Take a few minutes, read a description and then watch a few videos. When we have the Q&As next week, you can ask questions about some of the things you saw. We are still working on a webinar schedule as well that will focus on each of the topics. We'll get through this together!
Distance Learning Resource Site - HERE.
Once again, I recommend using Google Chat for messaging teams during this time instead of email or texting. It is through your Google account and can be accessed online or through an app on your phone. Information for Google Chat is HERE.
Google File Stream
MUSTANG MARVELS
mar·vel
noun
a wonderful or astonishing person or thing.
Shoutout to our Mustangs going above and beyond!
Marisol Rios Helping out the SPED Team!
PLTW Earns National Recognition!
We are excited and privileged to announce that Walnut High School was recognized as a 2019-2020 Project Lead the Way Distinguished School. Walnut High School is one of 143 schools selected across the country to receive this recognition.
Our PLTW BioMedical Science students take on real-world challenges working with the same tools used by medical professionals in hospitals and labs.
Congrats to our students and the following staff members for this prestigious recognition:
-Chiara Morgan
-Barbie Cole
-Bryn Schultz
-Ellie Blanchard
-Trisha Shah
First Ever ZOOM Interviews to hire a Coach!
Google Classroom Staff Challenge
Thibeault's cat has seen enough!
Ellie Blanchard trying to get work done, but her secretary has other plans.
Dr. Shelton with the professional Zoom/Meet video background.
Borihane and Takahashi miss their classroom!
MUSTANG MAY BIRTHDAYS
5/1 Maisha Shepherd
5/2 Sara Bilton
5/2 Olivia Madrid
5/8 Andrew Chavez
5/10 Chris Belcher
5/11 Duy Tran
5/13 Aaron Cornell
5/13 Winnie Lee
5/17 Don Lindsay
5/18 Monique Estrada
5/19 Candice Marsano
5/20 Michael Moore
5/25 Jessie Chen
5/26 Tamar Landin
5/27 Michael Yamashiro
5/29 Nelson Chen
5/31 Saul Huerta
5/31 Maureen Lacey-Pope
A WORTHY READ
The Goldilocks Dilemma
About Us
Website: walnuths.net
Phone: (909) 594-1333
Facebook: facebook.com/walnuthighschool