Personal Best Parent Update
...by Donald F. Gately Ed.D.
Spring 2020 "COVID-19" Edition
Parent Updates
Parent Update # 15: PTSA Meeting, Final Grades,
June 4, 2020
Dear parents,
Hope you’re maintaining your sanity and health as we are clearly in the home stretch of this ridiculous school year.
You can keep up with daily birthdays and other announcements by following my YouTube page. Chad and I, along with many special guests, make daily announcements. I’ve also been updating my blog regularly, sharing thoughts about the quarantine https://dfgately.com/
Some updates as the school year comes to a close:
Final PTSA Zoom Meeting of the Year
Next Thursday, June 11, 9:30 AM. We will have installation of our new PTA executive board. Also, a panel of middle school students to talk about their experiences in 2019-20.
Here’s the link: https://zoom.us/j/98610284923?pwd=b05LWks1S3lrT3hDUnM0TEVzWG9wdz09
Final grades for middle school courses:
Final grades for middle school courses will be: “P” or “ND” (Pass or Not Demonstrated)
Report card grades for the first and second marking periods remain the same. The third and fourth marking period grades were P/ND.
Note about 8th Grade World Language Grades: Because grade 8 World Language is a high school credit-bearing course, third, marking period grades had to be recalculated using the same process as a high school. You will note that grades for eighth grade World Language have been changed in Power School from P/ND to a conventional letter grade.
Last Week of School
Our official last day will be June 19. Classes the week of June 15 will be half days.
Please see your email for the schedule of classes.
Special Events for 8th Grade Students:
All of our kids have been through a lot. I’ve never been so grateful that, when our eighth graders leave here, they’re only going down the hall to the high school. We will still get to see them all the time and watch them as they grow and develop into amazing young adults. We’re sorry that they missed out on some of their end of year rituals but we’ve planned some of the following to mark their Moving-Up! :
8th Grade Pickup Day - Wed - June 17: A schedule will be created for our eighth graders to come to school to pick up their yearbook, a T-shirt, and a commemorative PES Jayhawk Mask. All staff are invited to campus to participate in a “Reverse Parade” to cheer and wish our eighth graders well as they move on to the high school. Organizational details to follow.
Moving-up Ceremony Watch Party. June 18. 10am: We are creating a video Moving Up Ceremony. We will premiere the video on June 18 at 10 AM. We’ll send you a link that will we can all watch together and comment during the ceremony!
I regret that we were not able to have the End of Year Eighth Grade Party. We have some ideas about a JMS Homecoming Event for eighth-graders to come back and mingle with the staff when we return to school.
Next Year
A district-level committee is being formed to include all of our community stakeholders to plan for September 2020. Of course, there are many question marks and we are waiting for further direction from local, state, and federal governments. The middle school staff has been discussing factors that will need to be considered under various scenarios. Whatever happens, our commitment and love for your kids are unwavering. We will do our Personal Best to ensure that they are safe, healthy, and they continue to thrive.
I may have left some things out, please attend the PTA meeting next week to hear more and ask questions. I’ll be in touch again before the end of the year. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, concerns, or ideas.
Miss the kids and our families. Thank you so much for your kindness and support!
Stay well,
Don
Parent Update #14 - May 11, 2020 - Grading for High School Classes at Middle School
Here's important info about grading for courses taken by some middle school students that result in high school credits: 8th Grade World Language, Algebra, Earth Science, Geometry, and Living Environment.
Grading for these courses will follow the same procedures as high school classes:
Quarter 4 final grades will be as follow:
P+/P/NC for Q4 grades:
P+ Student proficiently engaged in all 4th quarter objectives
P Student proficiently engaged in at least 65% of 4th quarter objectives
NC Student proficiently engaged in fewer than 65% of 4th quarter objectives
Final Grade will be determined by:
Baseline = average of Q1, Q2 and Q3
P+ for Q4 - Baseline + one grade level = Final Grade (B becomes B+, B+ becomes A-, A- becomes A, etc)
P for Q4 - Baseline = Final Grade
NC for Q4 - Baseline - one grade level = Final Grade (A+ becomes A, A becomes A-, A- becomes B+, etc)
IMPORTANT: Please remember that when checking for assignments grades on the parent portal, grade app or canvas only takes note of the letter grade. Disregard any numerical grades included in quarter 4.
Thank you again for your collaboration and constant support of our teachers and staff. Once again, in the event that you have any questions regarding our grading process for quarter 4; do not hesitate to contact one of us.
Parent Update #13 - May 8, 2020 - Remote Instruction
Hi everybody,
We hope that everyone is healthy and well. It was a tremendously uplifting to see all the smiley faces during the Honk and Wave Parade this week. Reconnecting with kids and families “face-to-face” was truly inspiring. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support and spirit during this difficult time. The staff is deeply grateful for your kindness, love, and generosity. Stay well.
With “Remote School” continuing through the end of the year, I want to make you aware of some changes that will take place commencing next week:
In order to accommodate students working from home and perhaps later wake-up times, periods ONE and TWO at the middle school will be moved to periods 10 and 11, 2:03 pm and 2:47 pm.
We know that this has been a huge adjustment for families but please make sure that children participate in the remote learning process to the best of their abilities. Our teachers have continued to provide highly enriching learning experiences and interactions virtually.
Please read the following policy on remote learning in place through the conclusion of the 19-20 school year:
1- Teachers will provide live instruction twice per week for each class. This instruction will take place during the normal class period time. Please ensure that your child follows the normal school schedule and attends live sessions.
2- The live instruction period represents the regular class period, therefore, attendance, participation, and completion of work are expected as if your child was in school. It is critical that your child checks Canvas each day for each class in order to stay current with the class’s expectations.
3- Teachers are going to let each class period know in advance via Canvas as to when each live session is taking place during the week. However, please allow for some flexibility as unforeseen events can occur.
4. Students or parents should let the teacher know if for some reason they cannot attend a live session.
Once again thank you so much for your collaboration and assistance. Please reach out if there is ANYTHING we can do to help at this difficult time.
Regards,
Don
Parent Update #12 April 30, 2020
It seems whenever I call somebody on the phone and ask them, “How are you doing?”, the answer is the same, “Same as you.” It’s true, we are all going through the same thing together. I hope you continue to stay well. Our sincerest thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been directly and tragically affected by this coronavirus crisis.
We are towards the end of week seven of the quarantine. Wanted to give you an update on a few items:
Honk and Wave Parade
Due to the weather forecast, postponed to next Tue, May 5. Same time, 10am. Tomorrow, May 1 remains a Wellness Day!
Student assembly: Essential workers
I’m planning a virtual assembly for students to feature a panel discussion with essential workers. I’m looking for parents who might volunteer to participate in a virtual panel. Please email me if you are interested. It would be great for us students to understand firsthand the challenges faced by those individuals who are on the front lines of this crisis.
School Closing
Still working on the governor’s timeline, closed until May 15. Governor Cuomo said he would give direction about the rest of the school year this week. Perhaps he will get on TV when I hit send for this email. Stay tuned.
Student belongings
I want to take this opportunity to thank our clerical and custodial team for keeping our essential school business going and for maintaining the school building. We appreciate their work so very much!
At this time, the middle school / high building will open for essential business only. There will be opportunities for parents of students to retrieve necessary items. These are items such as musical instruments, eyeglasses, an essential personal item or a specific item needed for completing remote learning assignments etc. If you plan to retrieve an item from school, please follow these specific guidelines:
MS / HS is open from 11-12 each day.
All visitors must enter the building through the main entrance.
Anyone who enters the school building must wear a mask or face covering and must wear gloves.
Please email me (dgately@jerichoschools.org) or Chad (cgleason@jerichoschools.org) to let us know if you are planning to come to the building and what items you’re picking up. Providing us with advance notice will help expedite your visit and ensure social distancing.
Grades
Middle school courses will be graded Pass / Not Demonstrated (ND) for the 4th Marking Period. Middle school students taking courses that would have ended in a regents exam will be graded using high school grading. I will forward that info in another message soon.
Advice for Parents
Read my post with some practical advice for parents of teenagers.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. Stay well.
All the best,
Don
Parent Update #11 April 22, 2020
Hi everybody,
Hope everyone is staying well, that’s the main thing. I created a post with tips for parents of middle school and high school kids:
https://dfgately.com/2020/04/22/my-covid-19-diary-advice-for-parents-of-teenagers/
I hope you find it helpful.
We’re planning a Middle School / High School Staff Honk and Wave Parade of May 1. Hold the date. We will send details shortly.
Best wishes for those families who will begin observing Ramadan this Thursday. Please know that the staff will extend any consideration to students who need it during this time because of this observance. Just let teachers know. Ramadan Mubarak!
As of now “in person” school is closed until May 15 following the directions of Governor Cuomo.
Check out this cool video created by our social worker, Aisha Breland. Great tips for self-care at this challenging time. How to "de-stress" ..... watch here:
https://twitter.com/BrelandMs/status/1252674246486228992?s=20
Josie the Therapy Dog will be online tomorrow with students at 2 PM. Tell kids to check middle school announcements on Canvas for
details.
https://twitter.com/msmignone/status/1253029164069859334?s=20
One of our high school students Amanda Swickle is putting together videos for ARDC (Alzheimers Resource Disease Center). Here's the details:
Calling all Singers!
ARDC (Alzheimers Resource Disease Center) is looking for ways to entertain the senior communities on Long Island. They are all looking for meaningful and enjoyable ways to engage the people they serve. There are hundreds of these communities on long island- we are hoping to reach them all.
The seniors are having a hard time dealing with the pandemic. They can’t see their families, they can’t have any visitors, they’re lonely and struggling during this time of social distancing. Let’s come together with our talents and passions to help uplift their spirits! They love to hear us sing! Jericho students are joining in a virtual concert of songs that will be shared with all the local nursing homes and assisted living centers on Long Island. To be included…Please submit a video of yourself singing any song of hope to Amandaswickle@gmail.com and feel free to email Amanda with any questions! Please submit by April 30th. Thank you so much for your participation!
Jeannie O’Brien and Gina Welsch are looking for contributions of stories for the newspaper. See below for details.
Stay well, we miss all of you and we miss the kids so much. Give them a hug and tell them how much we love them!
If there’s anything we can do to help, if you have ideas or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
All the best,
Don
JMS School Newspaper Project
Check out this amazing opportunity to make history:
Dear Parents,
Has your child wanted to be a part of the JMS school newspaper but never had the time? They are in luck! The JMS online school newspaper, The Jayhawk, is accepting articles from the entire student body to add to our Spring 2020 edition.
Yes, we are going through a complicated time right now; however, we are all in this together and we have so much to share. Have you been binge watching a great show or read any great books - why not write a review? Have you been baking or cooking any fantastic recipes? We would love to post some on the Food page! Have you been playing a lot of sports outside, or have you learned a new way to exercise and stay healthy? We would love to read about it! We also would love to post creative activities that can keep us busy on the Fun Page. Be creative!
Students are encouraged to submit articles that fall into the following categories:
School News
World News
Reviews
Fun Page
Food
Editorials (opinions)
Nonfiction Knowledge
Poems
Fiction
Sports
Guidelines
All articles must be written in google docs.
All articles must include a title, byline (your name), and picture.
All content must be appropriate for a school newspaper.
Please submit articles to Gina Welsh (gwelsh@jerichoapps.org)
Click on the link to view our current newspaper for ideas. http://jayhawknewswinter20.weebly.com/
If you have any questions, contact Jeanne O'Brien (jobrien@jerichoapps.org) or Gina Welsh (gwelsh@jerichoapps.org).
We look forward to hearing from you!
Jeanne
Parent Update #10 - April 15, 2020
Hi everybody,
I hope you are all well, staying healthy, and coping during this unprecedented time. Along with our guidance department, Chad and I have been reaching out to families just to check-in. I’m impressed with the positivity of everyone in the middle school family. Also, I’m struck by how much this health crisis has directly impacted so many of us either because someone in the household has been ill or because so many individuals within our community are frontline health and other essential workers.
We want you to know that we’re deeply appreciative of all of your efforts and you remain in our sincere thoughts and prayers.
I want to give you updates on a couple of topics:
School openings
We continue to follow the timelines set by local and state governments. Governor Cuomo seems to be taking it two weeks at a time so we will keep you apprised of any changes. As of now, we are officially closed until April 29.
Grades
The third marking period was extended and concludes this Friday, April 20. All middle school courses will be graded Pass / Not Demonstrated. High school courses taken at the middle school for which students would have taken a Regents exam will receive a grade according to the same procedures as high school classes. Eighth grade world language classes will be graded P/ND. I included Hank’s email to parents about grading below.
Illness
If your child is sick, please don’t feel obliged to keep up with remote learning if this isn’t possible. Just email your child’s student team advisor or one of his/her core teachers and let them know.
Remote learning/communication protocol
This is week 4 of remote learning. While we are still making adjustments, students should expect to have regular interactions with their teachers every day as well as live sessions including extra help every week. If your child’s teacher posts a live session, please have kids make every effort to participate. If you have any questions about this, kindly direct your questions first to your child’s teacher via email. If a concern or question is not resolved, please contact the appropriate curriculum associate. Here is a link to the communication protocol: http://ms.jerichoschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_5888388/Image/Contact%20Us/18-19/Chain%20of%20Comm.%202018-2019.pdf
Clubs
Some clubs are running virtually. Students should follow the announcements on Canvas for the class “Middle School All Students 19-20”.
Double acceleration
Decisions about the program and selection of students for double acceleration in math and science in Grade 6 and science in Grade 7 remain under consideration. No decisions have been made and students have not been selected for participation. We will email all parents with updates when these determinations are made.
Resources
Please continue to reference the district website which has copious materials regarding coronavirus: http://jerichoschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=5887816&pageId=48421271
OK... let me know if I've left anything out. Reach out if there’s anything we can do to help or if you have any questions or ideas.
Hope you and your family are well and coping as well as possible during the quarantine.
All the best,
Warmest regards,
Don
Hank’s email of April 3:
Dear Middle School and High School Parents:
There has been a great deal of discussion with regard to grading for high school and middle school courses since we moved to online instruction. Please be aware that all of our decisions are made with an understanding of our current unique situation and an acknowledgment of our goal to maintain meaningful online learning while supporting our students emotionally and socially. We have asked our teachers to be flexible with regard to assignments and to ensure that students have contact with them on a regular basis. While we want to maintain continuity of instruction, we don’t want to add additional stress for our students and families in a situation that is brimming with pressure already. As always, I firmly believe that our students must be at the heart of all of our decisions including grading for the 3rd quarter, 4th quarter and final grades.
In line with these thoughts, regular 3rd quarter grades will be provided for all high school courses. Middle school courses will be graded on a Pass/Fail basis. All work, projects and assessments that were completed prior to March 18th, our first day of remote instruction, will be considered. Assignments that have been completed since that day may be considered only in so far as they benefit student grades, keeping with the philosophy of "do no harm".
The third quarter will be extended to April 17th, with grades being submitted by teachers during the week of April 20th, and publication of quarter grades on April 30th. Decisions regarding fourth quarter grades will be made later in the school year.
Thank you for your care and understanding.
Stay well! Hank Grishman Superintendent of Schools
JMS Library Resources
Dear Students and Parents,
As the news about our school year changes each day, I want you to know that I am thinking about you at home, and I hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy.
We will be renewing all Jericho Middle School Library books until the end of April and I will readjust that date as necessary. During this difficult time we wanted to provide a way for you to connect with our library and staff. Please join our JMS Virtual Library in Google Classroom by entering code- z3pxbsd to stay connected. We will be adding book suggestions, read alouds, virtual office hours, lunch with a librarian and other fun resources available exclusively to JMS students.
I hope that you have found a comfortable place to read at home. Remember, we also have eBooks and audiobooks available through Destiny and our Sora app and digital magazines available through Flipster (username jerichoms, password #jayhawks1). Access everything either through the app or the homepage of the Jericho Middle School Library website: library.jerichoschools.org -> select Middle School and then log in the upper right corner with the student’s ID number as both username and password.
Please take care, and feel free to contact me. I will be checking my school email throughout the day.
Mrs. Valerie Mignone-Conklin
Library Media Specialist
Jericho Middle School
Aisha (JMS Social Worker) shares some great strategies for creating a routine
Virtual Spirit Week Next Week!
Parent Update #9
JMS Parent Update # 9 March 25, 2020
Hi all,
Hoping you are well and staying safe during this very difficult time. I wanted to check in and give you some updates:
Grading:
One level of concern that exists for many students, even during the best of times, is grade anxiety. During this time, we want students focused on their learning, and not experiencing stress over how “distance learning” may impact their grades. Therefore, the high school and middle school will be utilizing “Pass / ND” (not demonstrated) [Pass/Fail (P/F) for high school credit courses] in all classes for the 3rd quarter. Please note that we have not yet determined the grading formats for the 4th quarter and final grades.
Remote Learning / Student Attendance :
We are still evolving in our process for this, trying to settle on an approach that is best to facilitate learning. We’d like parents to understand that one of the purposes of attendance is so that we can be in compliance with NYSED requirements. One thing I want to clarify for parents and students:
In order for students to be considered “present” for a particular class, they merely must check in with the teacher; NOT COMPLETE AN ASSIGNMENT. If your child is having any difficulty with assignments or cannot join a particular teacher if they are doing a live class, they should simply email the teacher at the Jericho apps account, or in any other way, and just ask that they be marked present. That’s all that is needed.
As I have interacted with students myself through Google Hangouts, I have definitely gotten the impression that many students are fairly busy during the day with schoolwork. I’m not sure this is a bad thing but the last thing we want is for students to feel frustrated because of the lack of face-to-face interactions with their teachers. We understand that students learn in different ways and it is more difficult to differentiate in these online environments. Again, these are unprecedented circumstances, please don’t worry about anything! I mean it!
Morning announcements:
Chad and I have been doing the morning announcements every day at 9 AM. You can catch the live stream here: https://stream.meet.google.com/stream/a74a3163-b99f-4e54-97ea-a80ee77376ca
If any students wish to join they can email us, we’d love to have them join. The morning announcements are also recorded and you can catch them at my YouTube channel.
Continue to reference the district website which has various materials regarding coronavirus: http://jerichoschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=5887816&pageId=48421271 Please don’t hesitate to reach out via email, social media direct messaging, or any other way you wish. I have gotten great feedback from parents that has helped us to shape the program as we’ve preceded.
Stay well!
Don
Morning Announcements
My COVID-19 Diary
Hope you'll check in here to read my reflections...
Resources
From HS Social Worker Ray Velez
So many ways to follow #JerichoMS
Jericho Middle School
Email: dgately@jerichoschools.org
Website: Jerichoschools.org
Location: 99 Old Cedar Swamp Road, Jericho, NY, United States
Phone: (516) 203-2600
Twitter: @JerichoMS