Jag E-News
Sartartia MS -- Exemplary Education Every Day -- 8.11.20
JAGS ARE ON THE MOVE!
Jag Families,
We are less than one week away from the launch of an online school year, and your children's teachers are deep into the professional learning required to shift our classrooms into a virtual space in the most impactful and meaningful way possible. Simultaneously, there are other processes coming together to help get the year launched successfully. This newsletter has some important updates for you and your family to know and understand, and at least one of them is an action item on your part, and that has to do with the new resource launched last week called 1Link. Please be sure to read the item below related to 1Link, and practice using it this week, and ensure that your child's school login works. 1Link is the connection to how your child will arrive in his/her first class at 9:00 AM on Monday, August 17.
Help us to decorate the neighborhood at our 2nd Annual Chalk the Walk. Join us in writing positive and encouraging messages on your driveways and sidewalks as we welcome back our students for the 2020-21 school year.
Items in this newsletter include:
- Sixth Grade and New Student Welcome Parade - August 14 at 3:00-3:45 PM
- 2nd Annual Chalk the Walk - August 16 (in the comfort of your own home)
- How to log in to 1Link --> TEAMS --> to synchronous classes
- 1Link Information -- ACTION ITEM FOR ALL STUDENTS!!!
- Online Class Schedule -- First Week Schedule & Week 2 and beyond
- Online Learning for Parents Information and Dates
- At-Home Learning Kits
- Ren360 Assessment
- School Supplies
- Grade Level and Other Important Contact Information
- Immunizations (everyone, even online, must have current shot records!)
- Links to helpful pages on the district and campus websites
Please continue to monitor your email, and visit the Fort Bend ISD and Sartartia MS websites and social media channels, such as Twitter (@FortBendISD and @SMS_Jaguars) for additional updates. And remember, it is vital that parents keep their contact information (email, phone numbers, etc.) current with the district so that the lines of communication may remain open.
Be assured that we are hard at work to ensure we are well prepared for August 17. In the meantime, our staff is available to assist you and your child. Feel free to call our main line at (281) 634-6310. If you missed our Jag Camp (New Student Orientation), please click here to access it.
With Jag Pride,
Cholly Oglesby
Principal
Sartartia Middle School
Online Learning
- The first day of school will be Monday, August 17th.
- Student schedules will be available in Skyward on Thursday, August 13, 2020.
- We will start school 100% online for at least four weeks and until local health authorities advise it is safe for students and staff to congregate
- A staged implementation process will occur once we resume face-to-face classes
- Teachers will be working in a safe, no contact work environment for instructional delivery. As long as Fort Bend County remains on red alert for COVID-19, teachers and staff do have the ability to work remotely and teach from home if desired.
- To improve the online learning experience, we will have scheduled live instruction via video conferencing, daily scheduled asynchronous learning experiences, and streamline technology tools to support engagement.
- Progress monitoring and daily/consistent feedback with numerical grading
Instructional Delivery and Expectations
Week 1 Schedule
Week 2 Schedule & Beyond
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous
I want to make sure you are aware of the difference between synchronous and asynchronous instruction:
- Online instruction weekly breakdown: synchronous instruction-67%, asynchronous instruction-16%, breaks/transitions-18%
- We will have standardized technology tools to support consistency
- Microsoft Teams for live instruction
- Schoology-our learning management system
- (new) Respondus Lockdown Browser-to facilitate integrity of assessments
- (new) ClassLink Student Portal-single sign on and data analytics
1LINK IS HERE! SINGLE SIGN-ON TOOL
Online learning can open a world of new possibilities; however, it can also come with its fair share of challenges. Easy access should not be one of those challenges. This Fall, Fort Bend ISD is proud to introduce 1Link (Powered by ClassLink).
1Link is a single sign-on platform that allows students, teachers and staff to utilize one username and password to access their digital resources and tools including Schoology, Clever and Microsoft Teams. Single sign-on is an essential tool for productive remote learning. 1Link is web-based and available from the classroom or at home and can be accessed from a computer or mobile device.
All actively enrolled FBISD students can access 1Link using their district email (Ex. john.d1@student.fortbendisd.com) and network password. New student enrollees will be granted access upon completion of the enrollment process. Parents must log in to Skyward Family Access to retrieve password credentials for their student(s), which can be found in the Online Forms section of Skyward Family Access. Instructions for the retrieval of student password information can be found on the Fort Bend ISD website.
For more information about 1Link, please visit www.fortbendisd.com/1link.
Access 1Link at 1link.fortbendisd.com. Feel free to download the helpful one-page how-to document below.
We are here to support all of the SMS Jag Family- students AND parents. Look at the time options, and select one of the sessions to attend if you need more help understanding online learning in the areas of “Instructional Expectations,” “Teams and 1 Link,” and “Schoology and Skyward.” Click here at the date/time of the training needed and be directed to the course.
At-Home Learning Kits
As we gear up to begin the 2020-2021 school year online, we are creating an opportunity for you to request an at-home learning kit for your student. The at-home learning kit will provide resources and materials that will help eliminate the need for students/parents to print commonly used resources or tools for online lessons. At-home learning kits will be available for students to pick up from campus during the week of August 17 (schedule is to be determined). All families will have the opportunity to pick up at-home learning kits for their students, but it is not required. The resources that are being provided to students in the at-home learning kit are also available in an online format. Here is a list of the items that will be included in the kit:
- 2020-2021 SMS Student Planner (not available online)
- Math consumable textbook
- Science consumable textbook
- ELA consumable textbook
- Social Studies Textbook (checked out by request only)
- Grade-level specific resources provided by core content teachers
Please use this link to complete the form regarding your request for an at-home learning kit. Please complete one form for each student that attends Sartartia Middle School.
Ren 360
As you may already know, our school uses Renaissance Star 360 Assessments to help teachers understand what students know and what they are ready to learn next. Typically, these assessments are given throughout the school year to monitor student progress and are administered in the school setting. Part of our normal testing plan includes a fall, beginning of the year assessment. After careful consideration, knowing the value of this data to make informed instructional decisions for your child, we will be administering the assessment remotely.
In order to support your child on this assessment, you will need to:
- Use the Parent/Guardian Ren 360 Checklist (see attached)
- Have your student follow the Student Login Instructions in the box to the right
- Complete the required assessments listed in the box below between August 17th and August 31st.
- If at any time the program prompts your child to enter a monitor password to continue the assessment, please enter FBISD in all capitals
Special Education and 504 Service Delivery
- ARDs/amendments to the ARD/504 meetings will begin the week of July 27th
- Students with disabilities will receive instruction similar to their non-disabled peers
- Accommodations and modified/alternative curriculum, and/or related services will continue for students as determined by their ARD committees
- Students who receive in-class support, co-teach, and supplemental supports will continue to receive those supports in virtual environments per the ARD committee
- Parents, keep your eye out for more communication from the District SPED Department on how we will support the specific needs of our students for the upcoming year.
- The FBISD Special Education Department recently sent an informational video out with Frequently Asked Questions to all parents of students who receive Special Education services. You can access that video here.
Technology Device Distribution Information
Our Campus will have a technology lending library.
- SMS Lending Library Devices will be district owned equipment loaned to students from our campus.
- Lending Fees have been waived.
- The Lending Library will loan HP 360 Laptops will be provided for every student in need.
- We are also a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) campus, so student owned devices can be utilized for online learning (cell phones do not qualify as an acceptable device).
- Hotspots are available in limited quantities.
- Campus distribution information will come at a later date.
- The FBISD Technology Department recently posted answers to Frequently Asked Questions to help you know more about the plan for all students to have access to technology for the 2020-21 school year. You can access the FAQs here.
Immunizations For 2020-2021 School Year
For the 2020-2021 school year, please remember to comply with the Texas minimum vaccine requirements for school entry. Immunization requirements for the 2020-2021 school year are similar to the previous school year. The only change is that the two-dose hepatitis A vaccine requirement now applies to Kindergarten through 11th-grade students.
Blackboard Connect – FBISD’s mass notification system!
Assistant Principals & Counselors
Paul Wells-Assistant Principal
281.634.6331
Kat Friedel-Counselor
katherine.friedel@fortbendisd.com
281.634.6320
7th grade
Courtney Border-Assistant Principal
courtney.border@fortbendisd.com
281.634.6314
Brandi Goodly-Counselor
281.634.6318
8th grade
Dr. Sunday Johnson-Associate Principal
sunday.johnson@fortbendisd.com
281.634.6316
Rachel McCune-Lead Counselor
281.634.6319
Another great resource for getting information about our campus is through our FBISD campus website and by following our school on Twitter. In addition, you can find important updates about FBISD Reimagined by clicking here.
Even amidst all of the changes, the SMS team is excited to get this school year underway. The entire staff believes that your children deserve a quality learning experience, whether on campus or at home. We have much to accomplish and major mountains to climb, but I know my fantastic staff and my awesome students… no one will do it better than Sartartia Middle School!
Sartartia Middle School
Help us grow our fan base! Follow us on:
Twitter @sms_jaguars
Email: cholly.oglesby@fortbendisd.com
Website: www.fortbendisd.com/sms
Location: 8125 Homeward Way, Sugar Land, TX, USA
Phone: 281-634-6310
Twitter: @sms_jaguars