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2019-2020 School Year: Volume 30: Week of April 12, 2020
Be the Best YOU at Grandview!!!
Our Students don't just need a device
Dear Families,
This week, Mr. Shepich, Superintendent of the Clarenceville School District, will be sharing our district Continuity of Learning Plan 2.0 to students and parents. This is the plan that our teachers are committed to following to ensure that quality instruction can still continue despite these unprecedented time.
This issue is another attempt to continue to provide the Grandview community with the resources that they need and how to support your child during this time.
As my last issue stated, learning is still happening. Grandview teachers will be teaching new content, as well as, they will encourage, motivate, challenge, and support the students the best they are able to virtually. They will do their best to create a virtual environment where students can learn. Grandview teachers also want to continue to prepare our students for the future, but they cannot do it alone because we know that it is not the same as face-to-face instruction.
We are launching this distance learning to be virtual. We want 100% of our families connected on a device with Internet. If you are not connected by now, this week we need to make it happen for your child.
While it is true that learning can occur online, students need more than a device. Students need caring adults in their lives and in their home who know them, try to understand them, and care deeply for them.
Our kids don't just need a device. They need adults. The teachers will try virtually, but we need to ensure they have an adult at home that can support them too. Some parents are contacting me and saying that their children are giving them, "a hard time" when they are asked to do their learning. My answer to the parent is to put in place a schedule that has learning coming first in their day before video games, TikTok, cartoons, YouTube, anything. Learning comes first. That is the message that needs to come into our homes. Learning first, but we are going to provide fun and engaging activities so that the students want to be a part of their learning. So please set time for this.
Teachers will be assessing your children and giving feedback during this time too. They are responsible to teach ALL students at this time. So please help to make this happen. Though we are also not asking for a full day of learning as we know that there are other added stresses happening right now because of this pandemic. So therefore, if you put learning first, there will be more time to devote towards family, which is so essential right now, just like learning.
In the end, spend them time enjoying being together as a family and enjoying each other and staying healthy, but remember we also want time each day set aside for learning. Be that adult to help to make that happen for their child!!! We Miss You!!!
Your Proud Principal,
Melissa Carruth, Ed.S
WE MISS YOU!!
2020-2021 Latchkey and Preschool Registration
To locate this registration, please visit the Clarenceville web site. Select Grandview. Then select either Preschool or Latchkey and right under Ms. Jackie's picture, on the right-hand column, is the pre-registration form. It is a google form so Ms. Jackie will receive the pre-registration forms during this closure. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT!! Both programs fill up quickly and will have a waiting list. These programs are licensed and needs to follow the guidelines of teacher-student ratio. So do not wait!!!
2020-2021 Friends of Grandview (FOG) Board Elections
The positions that are available are:
- President
- Co-Vice President
- Treasurer
If you are interested in any of these positions, please email Mrs. Carruth expressing your interest and which position you are interested in serving.
We hope you will join this rewarding and super important organization!
Clarenceville Continuity of Learning 2.0 Plan
The Clarenceville School District has put together a Continuity of Learning plan to ensure that learning continues for our students. The plan aligns with the 17 page executive order that the Governor stated ensuring that all orders will be carried out for our students.
This week, Mr. Shepich will be sharing the plan with families. He will provide a time for all of you to ask questions in connection to the plan.
In the end, the plan asks for 100% of our students to be connected with a device and Internet. Again, we have resources to make this happen for every student, but we can't make it happen, unless you let us know that you need help.
This plan will be carried out with fidelity for our Grandview students, but the plan will only be as successful as the support is at home. We know that you all are parents and guardians, not teachers. Just know that we recognize that and the best thing you can do is support the plan. We will do the teaching with the teachers. We need parents and guardians to be the supporters and cheerleaders for our students.
Continue to check into Google Classroom and Seesaw daily to see the activities that are being posted for your children to enjoy and to keep the brain thinking, the body moving and the students learning.
Still need a Computer or Internet
If you still need a Chromebook, we still have some to sign out, but you need to let myself or the classroom teacher know. There will be a distribution this week. We have enough to accommodate lots of students. Please do not think your request is taking away from someone else.
Please let us know if you need help getting connected. We want ALL of our Grandview students connected and learning digitally! Our continuous learning plan is for ALL students to be connected virtually.
How Can I Support My Children??
Dr. Stephanie Grant, Director of Infant Mental Health & Trauma Informed Communities, has put some wonderful resources to help families to support our children through COVID-19.
A very informative and thoughtful video created to support parents (and teachers) with practical information and strategies during social isolation. A resource sheet is included.
How Can I Teach My Children??
1. Start slow:
Parents can identify subjects or areas their children are interested in and explore from there. Patrick, of the Aurora Institute, said parents can easily get involved in their child's day-to-day remote learning by setting goals, looking for curated educational material on a district's website or coming up with reading and writing tasks, including keeping a journal of the current unusual circumstances as a reflective exercise.
"Start by doing something basic," she said. "Take one step at a time."
2. Set a schedule:
A remote educational environment will require students of all ages to take much more ownership of their learning. That autonomy can bring challenges, so the need for parents to establish a daily routine at home is key.
"We're still getting up at the same time every day for school, and getting dressed and having breakfast. We're keeping a regimen," said Rebecca Dwenger, a parent of two school-aged children and an instructional technology consultant for Hamilton County Educational Services Center in Ohio. "If my kids had it their way, they'd sleep till noon and then get to work. That's not happening."
Some flexibility should also be built into that schedule: "If a student doesn't want to work on math right now, then let them work on reading, or have them work on something that's less intellectually challenging but more hands on like an art project," said Wick of the NAESP. "Find something that gets other parts of their brain working."
3. Set up a workspace:
Parents can help normalize the experience for a student by providing a consistent place at home to work, whether it be for reading or video conferencing a lesson.
"Find a place where the student is going to have materials they need and can work without being interrupted by other things happening in the house," said Bruce Friend, chief operating officer at the Aurora Institute.
4. Stay upbeat and positive:
Students are impressionable, and if a parent gets frustrated that's likely to rub off. Parents should maintain an open mind and a lot of patience.
"We're all trying to work through this together," said Francesca Ragonese, a technology instructional coach at Chester School District in New Jersey. "If parents can keep body language calm and collected, the student is going to respond to that as well."
5. Resist the urge to do too much:
An important thing for parents to understand: it's OK if your child struggles at some point. It's equally important to let them try to work through an issue on their own. That's part of the learning process. Parents want to be hands-on but also resist the urge to solve every problem a student encounters. There's a fine line between helping too much and not helping enough, said Friend, the COO of the Aurora Institute.
"For the overbearing parent, you have to support your child, but don't insert yourself as the problem solver in every situation," he said.
6. Communicate with teachers:
School officials have a message for parents during these times: over communicate, if necessary.
"Teachers are ready and willing to respond to any question parents have," said Ragonese, the technology instructional coach at Chester School District in New Jersey. "They need to make sure they keep any and all questions coming."
7. Plan for 'brain breaks':
Too much screen time or staying buried in a book too long without a break for physical exertion can be a bad recipe. Parents should allow for exercise time, or at least some time away from lessons during the day.
"Four hours of sitting for a third grader is too much, so we encourage brain breaks," said Wick of the NAESP. "Parents can go out and exercise and play with their children."
8. Group support:
Parents can also reach out to other parents. One of the best ways to do that is through online groups. Wenger, the instructional technology consultant for Hamilton County Educational Services, said an online parent group for her daughter's high school graduation class has proven to be a valuable way to share tips and learn more about what's going on.
"Parents are using those groups now to talk this out," she said. "If a parent is feeling lost, they should find a group to talk it through with."
To read more, check it out. It is a quick, but informative read, filled with great resources, click here.
How Do I Engage My Children?
Here are a list of creative ways to engage with children. Here is a list of Clever activities that parents can give to families wanting to stay connected at home and in the community.
Food distribution Schedule
Please remember that the food is for ALL of the Grandview students. We fed your children two meals during the school year and want to continue. If you need help getting to the school or the bus route to pick up the food, please let me know. I have wonderful parents who are delivering food, just please let me know!!
Mr. Shepich Survey
If you have not filled out the survey, please do. We only want one response per family. The survey can be found on the front page of the Clarenceville Website.
Looking for other areas for food?!?!
IEP and 504 Meetings
New IEP's or 504 meetings will not meet during this shutdown. These will be occur and conversations will resume in the fall.
Again, if you have a concern, please reach out. We are here to help you!!
Yearbooks
Getting supplies from the classrooms
Missing Grandview Students
Classroom Code is.....3s2rma3
No M-STEP this year
Additionally, the Read By Grade 3 law will go into effect for the 2020-2021 school year, not this year.
To read more information, please see the article below.....
Report Cards
Additionally, teachers will report on the fourth marking period based on participation and engagement. There will not be formal marks, but instead, teachers will make a comment on each student's report card about the level of participation and engagement during this time. Again, we want all students on-line learning and want to report on this accordingly.
Distribution of the report cards have yet to be finalized.
Kindergarten Round-Up
Looking for new Kindergarteners or Junior Kindergarteners for this fall! You can STILL enroll online.
If you have a child who will be five years old by December 1, 2020, he/she may be eligible for Kindergarten or Junior Kindergarten next fall. Please complete the Round Up Registration form online by visiting this link https://forms.gle/cTJPR8cuwUFmsxPR7. Please pass this link along to friends and neighbors who have a future Kindergarten student but do not have siblings at Grandview or Botsford.
For Questions, contact the Grandview Office: 248-919-0404
Tuesday Night Night and Every Evening Night Night
If you cannot view Live, no worries, it is published to the Grandview Facebook Page so that families can view it at their earliest convenience for your children and their evening schedule. The point of this activity is to foster the importance of 10-20 minutes of reading each night. Remember it is super easy to view.....just visit the Grandview Facebook Homepage. I will be taking suggestions for books, so post away in our site so that I know what my Grandview readers want to hear at night. Can't wait to do what I love most....reading to students!!!
Parent Walk-Up
If you child walks home, they may, but they will not be dismissed by adults.
Please do not express your displeasure by just picking your child up at 3:15. That misses excessive learning time. We are doing this for safety. Please support us.
Grandview Sports
All sports have been cancelled for the remainder of the school year. Therefore there will not be any Softball this year. We look forward to having sports to resume next school year.
Stacey Wittscheck, Grandview Sports Director, has a Grandview Sports website that has the documents linked. All of the information from schedules, rules, code of conduct, sign-up, forms, etc. will all be housed in one location. Check out this great communication piece for our families!!
Questions, reach out to Stacey at her email at GVSportsDirector@gmail.com.
Also be sure to follow the Grandview Sports Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/GrandviewSports/
School Store Fundraiser
This fundraiser is still open as you shop through this crisis. The teachers received some gift cards this past week at the mid-way point in this fundraiser and were so excited with what they received. Remember, this is a Win-Win fundraiser as the school earns money, as well as, the classroom teacher. This fundraiser helped to purchase the clay that is used for art, this spring's assembly, as well as, the supplies for March is Reading Month.
School Store is an online shopping mall with over 400 nationally-known merchants including Sears, Target, Oriental Trading Co., Office Depot, Toys"R"Us, Family Book Store and many more. When your family and friends make everyday purchases from their favorite merchants through SchoolStore.com, your school, and classroom teacher earns money.
All you need to do is going to www.schoolstore.net and enter Grandview Elementary School's code (0000009438) and then shop away.
Box Tops for Education
Please remember that Box Tops are moving away from clipping paper box tops and moving to scanning qualifying receipts to earn school money.
Last year, Grandview earned $757.50 with Box Tops and we do not want to lose that revenue.
There is a Grandview parent that is already earning box tops via apps. Please download the app and log in, it is easy. Questions, stop in the office!!!
The Importance of Sleep
Kroger and Grandview
Kroger and Grandview
We get money from Kroger if you add Grandview to your profile. Thank you to all of you who have already added Grandview to your account. Though know that it is never too late to sign-up and join!!! So shop away, Grandview is benefitting from your grocery shopping!
Simply encourage your participants to visit http://www.kroger.com. Once logged into their Kroger account they can search for Friends of Grandview either by name or TH003 and then click Enroll. New users will need to create an account which requires some basic information, a valid email address and a rewards card.
*Customers must have a registered Kroger rewards card account to link to your organization.
*If a member does not yet have a Kroger rewards card, please let them know they are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger
REMEMBER, purchases will not count for your organization until after your participants register their rewards card.
Participants must swipe their registered Kroger rewards card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger rewards card when shopping for each purchase to count.
Volunteering at School
iChats are also needed to be filled out if you wish to be a WatchDOG dad or chaperone a field trip.
Job Opportunity
Important Dates and Upcoming Dates
All events have been cancelled. A refunding process will occur once we know when the Shelter in Place band has been lifted.