VPS Home-School Connection
A Resource for Families, Week of April 13th
Dear Families,
As the weeks go on, we are missing your children more and more! We created a video to let them know how we are feeling about the closure and connect with them through our pictures. You can access the video by clicking HERE.
Creating Connections - Beginning this week, all classroom teachers will be providing an opportunity for children to connect live through Zoom or Google Hangouts Meet at least one time each week. Teachers will send home the meeting information through email to each child's parent or guardian.
Please know that managing a call that has a large number of children on it is new for many of us and it is not easy :). It will take a little time to get used to it but we believe re-connecting with children face-to-face is important.
Please remind your child of the following guidelines for being on a virtual call:
- Keep your device on "mute" unless it is your turn to talk.
- Stay in one place. Moving around and walking around can be distracting.
- Show respect for the person who is talking, just like you do in the classroom. Keep your eyes on the screen and listen carefully to what the speaker is saying.
If you are not comfortable with your child being part of a video call, just let your child's teacher know and do not have your child join the virtual meeting. Because of privacy laws, these meetings will not be recorded.
Distance Learning - Week 5 and Beyond - As we enter our fifth week of distance learning, you will notice some changes to the Daily Smores that I want to highlight for you.
New Instruction - In weeks 1-4, we focused our content on review concepts. While we will continue to incorporate review concepts because this is important in the learning process, we will also be introducing some new content, particularly in the areas of math, science, social studies, and writing. New concepts will be introduced through online videos and pre-recorded videos with our teachers. We will only be providing pre-recorded video as this allows children to view them at a time that is most convenient to them, especially when family members are sharing devices, and allows children to re-watch videos if they need to.
Integration - To continue to keep children engaged in distance learning, we have identified a high-interest science or social studies topic each week and worked to bring this topic into the reading, writing, vocabulary, morning messages, and read alouds each day. There is also a new weekly landing page for the topic and ELA work each week. On this landing page, children will learn how to read and write about the topic using a Google Slide Show. They will use this Google Slide Show to record their learning and can share it with their teacher. While children can choose to do their ELA writing and recording on paper, we are encouraging them to try using Google Slides so their teachers can see their work.
If your child has a particular interest about a topic that is not the topic identified for the week, he or she can use this self-selected topic for their reading and writing for the week.
Special Area Classes - Each of our special area class departments (art, music, physical education) now have their own websites. Instead of putting activities for each area on the daily Smores, there are now links to each of their websites. Your child can choose what special area lesson to do each day and go to that website to find the lesson/activity.
No Packets, No Printing Needed - Beginning this week, there are no packets being sent home. All of the work can be done on the computer or on blank paper your child has at home. With the math pages, children can view the problems on the computer and then solve on paper. We hope this adjustment is helpful in eliminating the need for printing moving forward.
Accessing the Smore - If you want to get this Smore to a child's device, all of VCSD's distance learning links are on the main page at victorschools.org for your convenience. Just go there, open the link, and bookmark it on the device your child is using.
New This Week: Updated Resources - Many resources have been added on some of the connection buttons. Be sure to look at what is new on the Reading Support button, Math Support button, Speech Therapy button, and Counseling button.
You will also notice buttons below that have a resource about COVID-19 for children that was created by a VPS parent and a button with a lesson for children about wearing masks. Be sure to check them out!
New This Week: Bedtime Read Aloud - Beginning this Wednesday, Mr. Schmidt will be reading a chapter from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe every evening at 7:00 p.m. until the book is finished. These will be live on Youtube and then recorded so children can view them later if they choose. You can view the first one by clicking HERE.
New York State of Health - If you or your family face the loss of health insurance due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19, please click HERE to read about options for health insurance through New York State of Health.
We think about you and your children all the time and hope you are healthy and doing well. Please continue to reach out with any questions you may have along the way.
With Great Appreciation,
Jen Check
Principal, Victor Primary School