THE PRIDE PRESS
Essex Elementary School Newsletter
April 17, 2020
PRINCIPAL NEWS
Dear Essex Elementary School Families,
We are hoping this finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. We are following up on what you can expect after April break, as we move forward with distance learning. You may recall a previous communication from Jackie Tolman, EWSD Director of Learning and Instructional Impact regarding our move from Phase 1 to Phase 2.
What does this mean for your child or children? Phase 2 will look much like Phase 1. We will still be making connections and seeking ways to effectively communicate with you and your child. We will continue to have office hours. Students and families are encouraged to check in with teachers for added support. Additionally, we will now be providing learning opportunities focused on new and essential learning so that your child can continue to grow academically throughout the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. You can expect a teacher recorded lesson or the use of other resources to deliver this new learning. Activities throughout the week will be connected to this new learning.
Our goal is to provide a learning template that articulates what the most essential learning tasks are in reading and math, provide learning activities for all other subject areas, identify extension opportunities, and identify any additional service time with learning specialists and special educators. Families of EES students will be able to access their child’s learning directly from the school’s website at Essex Elementary School. There you will find on the first page, a link to your child’s classroom. Lessons for the week will be uploaded to this page by 9:00 AM on Monday mornings. You will also find additional resources with many ideas for extensions. We are asking teachers to not send additional work out to families and instead encourage families to explore the extension activities, music, art, PE, wellness, and library resources.
We also recognize that each family is dealing with this pandemic in their own way. The last thing we want to do is add further stress to an already stressful time. Your child should expect to be spending 90 minutes per day on school work in the area of literacy and math. This does not include the time they spend with their class for morning meetings. We understand the importance of personalization and that some students are engaged in specialized instruction and band lessons as examples, that require individualization. These plans will be developed in collaboration with families.
How will you provide feedback to us? Your child’s teacher will be asking you to share optional feedback each week on Thursdays. You will receive an email on Thursday from your child’s classroom teacher with the link to the feedback. We want to hear from you regarding what’s working for you and your family, as we navigate distance learning. Teaching teams will identify overall themes in family feedback and consider these themes in their planning for the following week’s lessons. This feedback will take families no more than a few minutes to complete and will guide teachers in future planning. We hope you will provide this important feedback to us, so we can do our very best to adjust our planning, based on overall themes in the feedback.
What is Student and Family Flex Day? On Fridays, students will use this time to complete any assignments that were expected Monday - Thursday. Students and families may wish to also explore extension activities or focus on exercise, personal care, or wellness. You may wish to schedule an appointment with teachers on Fridays as they will not have standing office hours. Teachers will meet virtually with each other, analyze family survey data, develop thoughtful lessons for the following week, and plan for accommodations and modifications of lessons for new learning. They may also participate in professional learning opportunities.
What can you expect for student feedback? Your child’s teacher will focus on providing ongoing feedback via personal messages, video conferencing, exit questions, etc. At the end of the year, you will receive a narrative on how the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year was for your child. This narrative will be placed in their educational records.
What can you expect related to attendance? It is critical that students work to be engaged in their learning and connected with their peers and teachers. Our teachers, specialists, and support staff will provide lessons and opportunities for your child to check-in, ask questions, and provide any additional help when needed. If students do not check in with their classes, we will reach out to families and do our best to offer support that meets your family’s circumstances.
What can you do to support your child’s learning?
How we walk through this together matters. Our students need a strong and supportive home-school team.
Help your child with setting up a routine for doing their schoolwork. Predictable schedules and routines help with your child’s sense of safety and normalcy even during a pandemic.
Remind your child that when they meet with their class, they are “in school,” and should act accordingly. For example, pay attention, ask questions, use appropriate language, etc..
While your child attends a class, this is an opportunity for you to take a break. We recognize that you are being asked to be your child’s teacher and this isn’t easy.
We invite you to support your child in any extension activities you choose to engage in.
Prioritize caring for your family and promoting positive coping skills to increase student resiliency over academic power struggles. Predictable, moderate and controlled stress increases resiliency.
Partner with us and understand that increased stress during this time is normal for our students and supportive adults (home and school) are here to help.
What can you do if you need help? We are here to support you!
Reach out to your child’s teacher.
Reach out to special educators.
Assume the best intentions and ask for accommodations if what is being asked of you is beyond your capacity - no judgment
If your family is seeking a more intense academic pace or additional learning activities explore online free resources like virtual tours, learning a new hobby like chess, or other activities that encourage creativity, curiosity and/or wellness. Resources will be provided on our website.
Reach out to any of our school counselors, Sarah Buhl sbuhl@ewsd.org, Breanne Heaslip bheaslip@ewsd.org or Kimberly Horton khorton@ewsd.org
If you have questions of a medical nature feel free to contact our school nurse, Kimberly Bullock kbullock@ewsd.org
And, as always, reach out to me, Peter Farrell pfarrell@ewsd.org
Sincerely,
Peter Farrell
Principal, Essex Elementary School
SCHOOL COUNSELORS
Dear families,
We know a lot of families are feeling the stress of changing routines, having to do virtual school at home, and possibly needing to also work virtually while supervising your child’s learning. These abrupt changes can bring big, strong feelings as everyone is forced to adapt to the new normal rhythms of life. This can certainly be overwhelming and challenging for both parents and kids, especially for kids. Kids are continuing to learn how to manage anxiety and emotionally regulate when they have big, strong feelings. These strong feelings can manifest in many different ways, as children are adapting to their new norm of learning and playing at home, with the uncertainty of when they will see extended family and friends. Attached are some links to help you better understand your child’s feelings and model and practice self-regulation. Families, be easy on yourselves. We know this is not an easy time and you are also adjusting and figuring things out! Please, feel free to reach out to your school counselors for support. We hope you are all well.
Brea, Kim and Sarah
In my heart , A book of feelings - Jo Witek
The way I feel - Janan Cain
Marcy’s having all the feels - Allison Edwards
A flicker of hope - Julia Cook
Breathe Like a Bear - Kira Willey
Peaceful Piggy Yoga - Kerry McLean
Ruby Finds a Worry - Allison Edwards
Links
Promoting Resilience for our Children & Teens During COVID-19
Joelle van Lent, Psy.D.
What will help our children cope with this time of social distancing and remote learning?
Social connection If you as a parent or caregiver are very busy or distracted, remember that small doses of meaningful connection are powerful. Play is a powerful source of connection and regulation.
Feeling of competence Giving children and teens tasks that are challenging but also well within their reach helps them feel competent, which can boost their spirits and self-confidence during a time of uncertainty. These tasks shift focus from what we cannot control to what we can control.
Sense of purpose Offering children responsibility and jobs is helpful to their sense of purpose each day. It is especially helpful now for kids and teens to see that they can contribute, that people are relying on them, and that they have a role in helping with a greater purpose.
Sense of accomplishment Tasks that can be completed within short bursts of effort will help provide children with a daily experience of starting with a sense of purpose and ending with a sense of accomplishment. “Book ending” each day with these feelings will help them tolerate a prolonged period of stress and uncertainty.
CLASSROOM NEWS
Ms. Badore's Class
Our seeds are sprouting! Once they're big eough, they will be planted in the garden beds at EES!
CHILD NUTRITION
Breakfast and lunch will continue through April Break
HEALTH OFFICE NEWS
April Break
This year's April Break will be different for many of us this year.
I encourage you and your children to get outside as much as possible. Besides being fun, there are many health benefits to being outside. Unstructured outdoor play increases social skills and attention spans in children.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology “getting kids to spend more time outdoors could be a simple strategy to reduce the progression and development of nearsightedness in children.”
Playing outside also decreases stress levels...which we all could use some relief from.
Also, all of us Vermonters could use more vitamin D which provides many health benefits.
So have some fun, get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather that I hope we will be having during the break!
I would love to hear from your children about the fun adventures they had outside. They can email me at kbullock@ewsd.org.
Your EES Nurse,
Kimberly Bullock, BSN, RN
ART
LEARNING CENTER NEWS
Need Books?
Our EES Library has a large collection of electronic books that can be accessed through our library website: www.ewsd.org/eeslibrary Sora is the app through which you can access Overdrive, a large database of audiobooks and ebooks. Students log in with their school username, which is usually their first initial and their last name (but some students have a slightly different username to differentiate from another student in the district). First and second graders might already know theirs (hint: it's not their password, eg. ees123ab). Once logged in, click on the Explore button at the bottom of the page, and use the categories to search for good books to read. If you have any questions, please contact me at cscrimgeour@ewsd.org.
ESSEX ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
We take care of each other
We take care of our school
Email: dsturgess@ewsd.org
Website: https://www.ewsd.org/EES
Location: 1 Bixby Hill Road, Essex Junction, VT, USA
Phone: (802)-878-2584