Parent Peek at the Week
Week of January 3rd, 2022
Happy New Year!
As we head into these next few weeks, we look very much forward to connecting with all our Kawartha Heights families. I know you have many questions and concerns - but please know we're here to help navigate through all that is to come AND make it as easy as possible for everyone!
The format for this week's Parent Peek at the Week is a little different - as this week is a little different. Please read below for the most current information we have to date (as of 9am on Wednesday). We'll continue to communicate any changes and updates as they become available.
Virtual Learning - what does it look like?
As you are aware, the government recently informed us of the following:
- All schools are closed to in person learning until at least January 17th, 2022.
- Elementary and secondary school students will participate in remote learning while the physical building is closed.
So what does this mean?
Between January 5th and 7th, we will be touching base with students that have technology, offering asynchronous work through Google classroom for those that can access it and we'll be working to get technology to families who need it (see below). Learning over the rest of this week will take place in a variety of ways, through previously assigned work or new work, using the classroom teachers’ regular communication platforms including Edsby and Google Classroom, based on students’ age and grade. The main reason for needing to be flexible is that we have LOTS of families requiring technology - we are working to get it out to everyone as quickly as possible, but cannot do full online learning yet while not everyone has access.
Beginning on Monday, January 10th, learning will involve a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities for all students. Synchronous learning refers to real-time teaching when the students and teacher are connected live, while asynchronous education involves online posting of resources that can be completed by the student independently. Teachers will post the daily schedule on Edsby for you to reference, but for the most part you can expect a similar day to what students experience at school. We will start at 9am and go until 3:20pm, with 2 breaks. Breaks run from 10:40am - 11:20am and 1pm - 1:40pm.
Please make sure you log on to Edsby on Monday morning. This is where your child(ren)'s teachers will post information for you and next steps for learning.
All the above being said, this is what would happen in an ideal world, and we know that right now our world is far from ideal. Please stay in touch with your child's educators (and us in the office!), and let us know how you're doing. If you are overwhelmed or experiencing any issues in connecting with us, we want to know! We are very understanding that we are all doing the best we can right now and this might mean we have to support some families in doing things a little differently. Reach out - we're here for you and want to help in any way we can.
Support Staff
Our Support Staff Team will be working over the next few weeks to support classroom teachers and students while learning virtually. The board has referred to their role as "engagement coaches".
Each classroom will be assigned a support staff to work as a team with the classroom teachers. Some of the things they might do include:
- regularly check-in and work with specific students to ensure their program goals are continuing at home
- join in on Google Classroom virtual lessons (where being used)
- following up on classroom lessons as support
- continuing to gather data on achievement toward alternate goals on the IEP
- other areas as they arise (stay tuned!)
If you feel your child could benefit from connecting with our Support Staff Team, please get in touch with your child's teacher.
Technology
Families requiring technology supports for students during this period are asked to complete the form linked here: KPR Technology Request. Requests received by Wednesday, January 5th at 9 pm will be deployed on Friday, January 7th at the student’s home school, with later requests being met the following week. This means that if you get your request in before 9pm on Wednesday, you will be able to pick up a Chromebook for your child between 9:30am and 12:30pm on Friday morning.
Please note: Families will require student OEN numbers to complete their request, which can be found on students’ report cards (Report cards are available in Edsby). You can also contact Mrs. E. or Mrs. Sampson (email is the best!) and we will send it to you.
If you do not have an OEN# or it will not work in the google form, please email kpr_technology@kprdsb.ca with student name, date of birth and home school.
Morning Announcements
These announcements will be posted in Edsby, on Twitter and Instagram and on our school YouTube account. The YouTube link is:
Mrs. Sampson's Excellent Learning Adventures
If your child would like to join the Google Classroom, here is the link: https://classroom.google.com/c/MjUxMzU0MDcyNjk2?cjc=mwlrbht You'll need to ensure your child is logged in on Google with their KPR email in order to access this Google Classroom.
The class code is: MWLRBHT
And if there are any specific requests you have for activities with your child(ren), please just let me know!