Pence Press
September 2020
We are excited for a new year!
We cannot wait to get started with our school year! Our faculty and staff have been working tremendously hard to prepare to bring your students the best possible education that they can given given the guidelines set before us. All students will receive new instructions mainly through the Zoom and Schoology platforms as the launching points for instruction. Students will be graded based upon their ability to demonstrate understanding of the material and there will be an attendance requirement for participation in their education. There will certainly be some growing pains along the way and we ask that everyone extends some grace and understanding. Of course, the education of our students is most effective when there is a partnership between home and school. We ask that you provide encouragement and support for your student throughout this process. Please feel free to contact the school at any time for questions or support.
Sincerely-
John Childs, Candice Ray, & Teresa Shank
Pence Administration
Go Knights!
Zoom Practice Day
On Tuesday, September 8th, your student's first semester teachers will be sending a link to a Zoom session for each of their first semester classes. They will receive this link in their gmail account and through Schoology. Teachers will be "admitting" students into their Zoom classes at the beginning time for each of their normally scheduled classes as if they would be following the virtual school day as being presented this year. Once logged on, the teacher will take 5 minutes to welcome their students and provide some quick information for the school year. Please encourage your students to log into their Zoom classes following the scheduled times below:
9:00 AM - First Block (Class 1.1 on your schedule)
10:00 AM - Second Block (Class 1.2 on your schedule)
11:00 AM - Third Block (Class 1.3 on your schedule)
12:30 PM - Fourth Block (Class 1.4 on your schedule)
If you are taking "Quarter" classes or the 6th Grade Exploratory Rotation, you will only be joing the first class listed on your schedule for that period/block.
We sincerely hope that you take the opportunity to utilize these opportunities to help prepare and transition your students into this school year.
Using Zoom Resource Guides
Take advantage of these great tutorials!
Zoom Video For Chromebook Users
Back to school night slide show!
Pics From Chromebook Deployment: We Can See Your Smiling Eyes!
DISTANCE LEARNING TIPS
The guidance below can help us all make the best of new and unfamiliar distance learning environments. It can help you be ready for some of the more practical aspects of learning from home.
1. Establish routines and expectations
It is important to develop good habits from the start. Help students get up, get dressed, and ready to learn before the start of class time. Set routines and chores that help foster focus and routines. Keep normal bedtime routines, including normal rules for digital devices.
2. Choose a good place to learn
Your family’s regular learning space for occasional homework might not work for extended periods. Set up a physical location that’s dedicated to school-focused activities. Make sure it is quiet, free from distractions, and has a good internet connection. Make sure an adult monitors online learning. Keep doors open, and practice good digital safety. Our teachers, administrators, and staff teams will do the same.
3. Stay in touch
Teachers will mainly be communicating regularly through our online platforms and virtual learning environments. Make sure everyone knows how to find the help they need to be successful. Stay in contact with classroom teachers, and administration but understand it may take a some time for us to respond. Teachers will be communicating their office hours and their workday during this time of distnace learning will be from 8 am until 3 pm. If you have concerns, let someone know.
4. Help students ‘own’ their learning
No one expects parents to be full-time teachers or to be educational and content matter experts. Provide support and encouragement, and expect your children to do their part. Struggling is allowed and encouraged! Don’t help too much. Becoming independent takes lots of practice. While on campus, your child usually engages with other students and any number of adults hundreds of times each day. Many of these social interactions will continue from a distance, but they will be different. You cannot replace them all, and that’s OK.
5. Begin and end the day by checking-in
In the morning, you might ask:
• What classes/subjects do you have today?
• Do you have any assessments?
• How will you spend your time?
• What resources do you need?
• What can I do to help?
At the end of the day you might ask:
• How far did you get in your learning tasks today?
• What did you discover? What was hard?
• What could we do to make tomorrow better?
These brief conversations matter. Checking in with your child helps them to process instructions they received from their teachers, and it helps them organize themselves and set priorities – older students too. Not all students thrive in distance learning; some struggle with too much independence or lack of structure. These check-in routines can help avoid later challenges and disappointments. They help students develop self-management and executive functioning that are essential skills for life. Parents are good life coaches.
Chromebook Help!
Students/families can request remote tech help using this Google Form. It is linked at technology.rockingham.k12.va.us. Tech staff will reach out to families via email or phone and try to troubleshoot remotely. If tech staff deems that a replacement charger or device is needed, then they will direct families to call the school's main office to arrange a device and/or charger pick up.
USDA Extends The Free Meals Program
RCPS Reopening Plan: Includes Attendance Policy, Health Plan, & Much More!
Keep Informed About RCPS Plans and Policies
Link to the Middle School Daily Schedule
Daily Read Aloud Coming Soon!
The middle school reading specialists, librarians from across the county and Kim Tate will be offering a read-aloud time for all students each instructional day - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday beginning at 8:30. Starting date is: Monday, September 14th. Stay tuned for more details!
Thank you!
Counselors Corner
Basic phone texting Who kids are talking to. Texting is mostly limited to people kids know in real life, but anyone with your kid's number can call, text, and even video-chat with them. What a spot check reveals. A lot (unless kids delete their call logs). Phones log every call and text and may add the sender to your kid's contact list automatically. What to watch out for. Group texting is huge with kids who have their own devices. It also opens them up to being contactable by anyone on the chain—and some people may be strangers. Contacts can be hidden and texts can be deleted, so looking at your kid's phone may not show you everyone they're talking to. Also, watch out for spam bots—texts that look like they're from real people but are actually ads; if kids don't recognize the number, they shouldn't respond. Useful settings. iPhones allow you to manage kids' contacts (go to Settings/Screen Time/Communication Limits). Both iPhones and Android phones allow you to restrict third-party apps from automatically adding all of your contacts, which helps kids keep their circle smaller.
Social media Who kids are talking to. Kids usually chat or send pics back and forth with only friends, as well as friends of friends, but they can pretty much chat with anyone they want. For example, on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, unless kids enable privacy settings to prevent contact with strangers, they can direct-message (DM) anyone who follows them and anyone they follow. The platforms also make it super easy to extend your network by recommending new accounts to follow, allowing you to sync all your social media contacts, and offering QR codes that let you add people with your camera. What a spot check reveals. You should be able to see all of your kids' contacts from their account profile page. On Instagram and TikTok, you can read chats by tapping on a contact name and viewing the history. You can also follow your kids on those platforms to see what they post publicly. But Snapchat automatically deletes chats and public posts (stories) after they're viewed. What to watch out for. Cyberbullying, drama, and time spent are all hazards of social media chatting. Unwanted contact, such as predatory behavior or inappropriate requests, is a risk—and it can come from strangers or kids they know. Useful settings. Most platforms offer privacy settings that allow kids to keep their accounts private, prevent contact from strangers, and limit comments. Some apps go further: Instagram offers an array of settings for kids to manage their circle of friends, and TikTok offers a small suite of parental controls, including the ability to disable direct messaging.
Conversations with Common Sense Join us for today's webinar, Building Skills in Young Kids. Ellen Galinsky, chief science officer at the Bezos Family Foundation, will share concrete ideas on how to use tantrums and social isolation anxiety as opportunities to build life skills in children. Check out our COVID-19 series to register for more upcoming talks. Register today
Games Who kids are talking to. Kids play with friends they know in real life, but competing against new people is a huge part of the fun. So most gamers have lots of casual online pals they've made just from playing certain games or playing on a certain platform, such as Steam or Roblox. What a spot check reveals. It depends. In most games, you can see a list of your kids' contacts, and you might be able to read your kids' chats and private message history. But some game chat is done by voice—so you might be able to only hear what your kid is saying when they're gaming, which is possible if you keep their console or computer in a family room instead of a bedroom. What to watch out for. Game chat—whether voice, video, or written—can run the gamut from edgy (with really graphic language) to cruel (including hate speech and homophobic slurs) to kind (since gamers can forge friendships through gaming). Game chat can be totally off topic, too. Be aware that not all game chat occurs on the platform kids play on. Some gamers prefer to use the chat app Discord to talk with their teammates, so you'll want to find out whether your kid uses it (it has the same visibility as other social media). Useful settings. Games usually offer privacy settings that allow players to keep a tightly curated list of contacts. You'll want to go through the game settings to enable the protections you're comfortable with, from limiting all contact to just friends to moderated chat, which is available on some platforms.
Keep the conversation going If you've relaxed a bit about your kid meeting up with friends online, it's a good time to check in. Review your rules about who they can talk to on different platforms. Are you comfortable with text chat in Roblox but not OK with DMs in TikTok? You can ask what differences they've noticed between face-to-face interactions and online conversations. Will they keep up with the video chatting when they can finally see their friends again? What have they learned about themselves during this experience? Also: Don't forget to tune in to our new podcast Parent Trapped, available May 6 on iTunes and wherever you get your podcasts. —Caroline
On our radar
- Rapper Travis Scott slays on Fortnite. In-game live events like Scott's record-setting concert kick the blues and connect the world in uncertain times. Yes, there'll be more
- Major Messenger Kids update. Facebook now lets parents opt in to expanded, kid-controlled connections. Get the deets
- Parks and Rec reunion! Tune in Thursday night for a special, timely episode featuring old faves and guest spots. Proceeds go to Feeding America
- Celebrate National Teacher Day. Coming next Tuesday, this day is now more important than ever (since you know how much they really work). Get appreciation ideas
Counseling Hotline Number
Many of us may be struggling more with our mood during this time. A wonderful resource became available this week that allows people to call counselors in the Shenandoah Valley anonymously. The information is included below:
Counselors in the Shenandoah Area have created a hotline to help support those of us who are struggling with our mood and emotions. Calls can be made anonymously. The hotline is open on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 7 p.m., until 10 p.m., and from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. for Spanish speakers.
Hotline Number: 540-820-5762
At-Home Activites Guide For Students!
Get ready for next year with some new Pence Gear!
About Us
Wilbur Pence Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1j84fxh9NC/?igshid=1ugnqkq1hn27l
WSPMS WEBSITE including "Parent Resources" & "Student Resources"
http://wspms.rockingham.k12.va.us/
Email: jchilds@rockingham.k12.va.us
Website: http://wspms.rockingham.k12.va.us/
Location: 375 Bowman Road, Dayton, VA, USA
Phone: 540-879-2535
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/penceknights/