Chatham Elementary School
Where We Are Proud To Be SHARKS
Monomoy Regional School District: Our Home Away From Home...Where Everyone has a Voice at the Table
March 19, 2020
Elementary Distance Learning and Extended Closure
The school will be open this Friday, March 20, from 12:00pm - 6:00pm for caregivers to come in to retrieve students' personal belongings that may have been left behind last Friday. Necessary Items may include coats, lunchboxes, instruments, etc. Families are not to collect any school supplies or other academic materials from classrooms.
Please do not bring children into the school.
The front door to the school will be propped open. Please follow the social distancing protocol in the illustration below. Please understand that this is not a time for socializing, please enter and exit the building and grounds quickly. There will be staff in the office if you have any questions. The school will be closed to the public at 6:00 pm. If you have any questions or need support after Friday, please call the school office at 508-945-5135 or email Robin Millen, rmillen@monomoy.edu.
Letter from the Superintendent (3/17/2020):
Dear Monomoy Parents and Students,
I couldn’t be more proud of our Monomoy teachers and administrators, who even before our official closure had been working hard on how to transition to distance learning when and if COVID-19 reached the Cape. It’s now time to put this planning into action, and on Monday, March 23, the Monomoy Regional School District community will embark on a new distance learning adventure together. Our goal is to provide the best continuity we can, given the circumstances, by leveraging the strength of our connections to each other.
I anticipate that this will be an extended period of time where students are not in their classrooms with teachers. Our teachers will be juggling their roles as parents and caregivers, while doing their best to remain connected with their students, developing lessons, and providing feedback.
We go into this knowing that distance learning will not be as good as what happens in our classrooms -- if it was, we’d always be delivering instruction remotely. While we will all be learning and growing, I will guarantee one thing: the next several weeks will not be perfect. Things will at times get messy, but we will learn together. We will adapt and come out of this stronger than we were before.
We will be providing an asynchronous learning platform for students, meaning that they do not need to access lessons at a particular time. This means that one student may opt to work on a teacher’s English lesson at 8 a.m. by themselves, while another student opts for 10 a.m., when one of their friends is available, and the two work on the material collaboratively using technology. There will be a deliverable with each lesson that students will be sending to their teachers -- this is how we will know if your student is “attending” our asynchronous distance learning platform. If your student isn’t taking advantage of this learning opportunity and turning in assignments, you may be getting a phone call from our staff to understand and resolve this issue.
Monomoy is a district that prides itself on our connections to others, so on top of these asynchronous daily lessons, teachers will be checking in with students each day, using online video conferencing. In our elementary classrooms, the day’s learning starts with a Morning Meeting, and we will be leveraging technology so that each child can participate in this Morning Meeting with their peers every school day. For our students in grades 5-12, there will be a window of time each day where students can video conference with each of their teachers. The daily lessons are asynchronous, and can be completed at any time without student participation in the daily video conference, but for logistical reasons, the daily video conference needs to happen in a fixed window of time. To not overwhelm everyone with the details, we will send out the schedule for these video conferences in a separate email in the upcoming days.
The essential technology tools that we will be using throughout this pivot to distance learning are Google Classroom for all assignments and feedback on student work, Google Meet for live video conferencing and student check-ins, Loom for screencasting demonstrations or tutorials, and Camscanner for scanning and submitting handwritten assignments or artwork. Don’t worry -- we will be providing tech support to parents, students, and our staff throughout this distance learning adventure.
Our students in kindergarten through Grade 4 will need a computer at home with a network connection to access the daily lesson and morning meetings. For many of our K-4 students, using Google Classroom will be a new thing. A sheet with directions for logging into Google Classroom will be mailed home to each elementary student this week -- these directions will contain needed password information. K-4 students will not have the bulk of their learning happening at a keyboard and in front of a screen, so one family computer available for online learning K-4 should be sufficient. If your family does not have an available computer with internet connection, please contact your elementary principal. We will provide your family with a loaner computer and help in securing internet connectivity.
Our students at the middle school and high school should have experience using Google Classroom. Our high school students already have a school-issued Chromebook and charger -- both will need to be home with your students for the duration. Our middle school students each have a school Chromebook that they use daily in class. Middle school families will need to come to the middle school to pick up these devices (following the schedule below) -- and middle school students will pick up any personal belongings in their classrooms or lockers at these times too.
- Friday, March 20, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. - Grade 5 (if you also have children in Grades 6 and/or Grade 7, please bring them too.)
- Saturday, March 21, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Grade 6 (if you also have children in Grade 7, please bring them too.)
- Saturday, March 21, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. - Grade 7 only
For students at Chatham Elementary School, Harwich Elementary School, or Monomoy Regional High School, personal belongings in classrooms or lockers (including gym lockers) may be picked up at each of those buildings on Friday, March 20, from noon to 6 p.m.
While picking up items in our buildings, please continue to practice social distancing by staying 6 feet apart and washing hands before and after the visits. For the safety of all, we do not want anyone but essential personnel in any of our school buildings after the student belongings and Chromebooks have been picked up.
We have sent out information about the free grab-and-go meals available to all students -- if you missed that, click here to learn more. And while we prepare for distance learning to begin next week, check our website for some educational sites to keep our students engaged in learning in the meantime.
Our last day of school is now going to be Tuesday, June 22. How effective we are as a society at practicing social distancing will determine if we are back in our regular classrooms before the end of our school year. We need to work together to make this happen. I need parents to set firm expectations that their children will take advantage of this new means of learning. How actively your children take advantage of this digital learning experience over the next several weeks will likely determine how often they are nagging you about being bored during this period of social distancing. Bored kids are more likely to breach social distancing norms and inadvertently spread this virus. Keeping our children actively engaged in learning will also make their transition back into classroom learning and our curricular progression much easier.
Stay tuned for additional information as we all embark on this exciting learning experience -- be sure to check your email often as that will be a primary means of distance learning communication. Together we can make this work, and as a fellow parent, I look forward to learning through this process with you.
Scott
Dr. Scott Carpenter, Superintendent
Monomoy Regional School District
Superintendent's Update - March 14, 2020
Superintendent's Update - March 13, 2020
Weekly Briefing on COVID-19 - March 13, 2020
Important Dates: March 23rd-Distance Learning Starts!
We look forward to seeing you all online soon!
Other notices about upcoming dates:
Due to the school closure, report cards will be sent home to families in the mail on April 1, 2020. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher during their scheduled "office hours" with any questions or concerns. Report cards will reflect learning up until the day of our closing.All other school functions and district functions are postponed at this time. We will update you weekly with new information.
GOOGLE CLASSROOM LOG IN INSTRUCTIONS -- MAILED THROUGH THE US POST OFFICE
Instructions for logging into Google Classroom were mailed on Wednesday, March 18, to all CES students.! Google log in credentials are student specific, so when you receive this information in the mail, please use it to log into each of your child's individual classrooms. If you do not receive this mailing by Saturday's mail delivery or if you misplace this password over the next couple of weeks, your child's teacher and Principal Millen will have this information-email (rmillen@monomoy.edu) or feel free to call the school from 7am-3pm.
WHEN DO WE LOG INTO GOOGLE CLASSROOM?
Grade levels will post your child's daily learning plan by 6:00 am each school day. All learning will be asynchronous, which means that students can work on the assignments and activities at time that suits your family that day. The exception to this is the Morning Meeting. Our goal of this meeting is to maintain both teacher-student connections and perhaps more importantly, student-student connections. The time and the link for the Morning Meeting will be noted in the Daily Learning Plan, along with the time for the next day's Morning Meeting so that families can plan ahead. Eventually, a regular schedule will be posted.
Helpful resources:
Special Education Services During Closure
How to Talk to Children about the Coronavirus:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-talk-to-children-about-the-coronavirus-2020030719111
Talking to Teen/Tweens about Coronavirus:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/02/well/family/coronavirus-teenagers-anxiety.html
**Here is a pamphlet from the article: https://www.hemot.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Pamphlet_HEMOT_english.pdf
A Comic created from NPR based on interviews with experts:
The NASP released a resource for parents:
Kindness Counts! A request for some letters of gratitude from the Smith Family.
One of our Chatham Elementary School 3rd grader’s mom is the Assistant Manager of Harwich Star Market and his dad is the Manager of Stop and Shop.
Their staff, including a lot of senior citizens, are working extra hard right now to keep up with the grocery demand at this time.
The parents/managers have asked our Cub Scout troop to make “Thank You” cards for the employees of both stores, but I thought the school may like to know about this too.
Our family has been working on some today.
Just a nice idea if families were looking for a project to do with your kids.
Please feel free to share this idea with other Monomoy students!
Best Regards,
Virginia Smith
Cape Cod Tree and Landscape, Inc.
Kindness Counts! Bedtime Read Aloud By SRO Sgt. Massey #KeepCapeCodKind
Police departments step up to help keep kids busy while school is out due to coronavirus pandemic
By Amanda Jackson, CNN
(CNN)Several police departments across the nation are using social media to bring activities to kids who are stuck at home after school closures amid the coronavirus pandemic.
From giving kids art projects to reading them books, here's a look at how some officers are stepping up to help kids in their communities.
#KeepThemBusy
The O'Fallon Police Department in Missouri is hoping kids will channel their inner Pablo Picasso in an art project.
Using Facebook, the department asked kids in the community to submit police-theme drawings, which the department then shares online.
"I could see parents posting on Facebook about needing to balance working from home, and the need to 'home school' their kids," Officer Tony Michalka told CNN. "There seemed to be a sense of anxiety among the posts, so I just imagined a way that the O'Fallon Police Department could help provide an outlet for both the kids and parents; even if it was just twenty minutes a day to sit down and draw a picture."
Kids have all ages have submitted art pieces so far, Michalka said. Their drawings range from police cars to portraits of officers. Some even include notes of gratitude -- such as "yay police" -- alongside the art.
The department is accepting the drawings through Facebook messenger, asking people to use the hashtag #KeepThemBusy.
"We are fortunate to have a supportive community, so anything we can do to help in this stressful time lets us give back to our residents," Michalka said. "Of course, most of us are just big kids at heart, so the officers are enjoying the pictures too."
Let's read
With most abiding by health officials recommendations to exercise social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, in-person storytime at local libraries are likely out of the question.
To help continue bringing stories to life, a handful of police departments nationwide are hosting virtual reading time on their social media accounts.
The Chatham Police Department in Massachusetts hosts nightly story time readings, led by Sgt. Bill Massey, the department's School Resource Officer. (Chatham Police Facebook page)
"Our aim is to keep kids connected to their SRO and the police department in a positive way with positive community messages and community engagement," Massey told CNN.
The officers are also planning on making other videos to give kids a virtual tour of the department and a look inside a police cruiser.
Across the country, Elk Grove Police Department in California has also launched a reading series, called "Books and Badges." Police officers read a new book, every weekday at 11 a.m. PT.
"We will still be providing our regular services, but since the kids are out of school, we wanted to add to our reading series, so that together we can pause for a few minutes and enjoy a book," the department posted on Facebook.
Click below for video and article:
Weekly Article: "Ask Me About..." We Need Your Help!
Here are some pictures, shares, and caregiver reactions that I have collected from friends and my own family (many are also educators) over this past week. Some silly, some inspiring, and it amazes me to see how my friends and family are sharing their talents and knowledge in this learning adventure~ #deeplearning at its most authentic!
However, it also seems, my teacher "friends and family" are having the most difficult time teaching their own children! This is a learning curve and a new adventure for us all! Please do not hesitate to reach out if you need support, we are here for you. ~Robin
Ask Me About...From the "W" Family (West Roxbury)
Ask Me About...From the "P" Family (Boston):
Ask Me About...From "K"-grade 4 (Wareham)
Ask Me About...From the "R" Family (Connecticut):
I want to go to my real school. Not my mom school. She doesn't do it like Ms. B. She does it wrong.
A's Mom (who is a kindergarten teacher in CT): Same A. Same. Time for recess.
SHARK Shout Out
A SHARK Shout Out to Mr. Coughlin, Ms. Mentzer, and Ms. Malone for connecting us and helping us support the continued needs of our families. Your willingness to fill our pantry shelves shows the amazing humanity and generosity that we are seeing across our community!
SHARK Shout Out
A SHARK Shout Out to all the staff for distance training (see picture below) on distance learning!
A SHARK Shout Out to Mr. Coughlin and Ms. Mentzer (Wayside Inn) for helping us keep our community pantry shelves stocked and ready to serve our families. If you are in need of food or supplies, please give us a call at the school office (508945-5135) or email rmillen@monomoy.edu or jmalinowski@monomoy.edu
SHARK Shout Out
A SHARK Shout Out to the Children's Fund, Ms. Malone, and Ms. Vreeland for connecting us and our family to all of these resources (see the list in the community section of this newsletter). And for coming to the rescue with pencil sharpeners and dare I say it, toilet paper, for our pantry!
Quote of the Issue: "Online learning is not the next big thing, it is the now big thing.” - Donna J. Abernathy
Please Visit the Mini-Libraries at Lake Street Terrace Apartments, out front of CES, and now at the Chatham Community Center!
Bring one, leave one or take a few and simply enjoy! Extra books at home? Our libraries love fresh titles.
Community News:
Our Community Food Pantry is Operational Again! Please call the school office or email rmillen@monomoy.edu or jmalinowski@monomoy.edu if you need support.
Interested in taking classes while your children are learning? Here are 450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free! Thank you Sgt. Massey for sharing!
Fishing Partnership Support Services Navigators Chatham [Serving the Cape & Islands] Morgan Eldredge and Shannon Eldredge (508) 237-9402
Chatham Food Pantry at St.Christopher's Church NEW HOURS Wednesday, March 25th
Chatham Elementary School
Website: www.monomoy.edu
Location: 147 Depot Road, Chatham, MA, USA
Phone: 508-945-5135
Twitter: @ChathamElemMRSD