Colt Connection
Sunday, August 9, 2020
Mrs. Hladun's Tidings
Although this year will be different than all the others, we are committed to ensuring learning, friendships and fun!
This Week's MOST Important Thing...
It is essential that we get updated emergency cards for all students prior to the first day of school. This helps us reach out to you at the best email/phone number, and includes a number of authorizations/permissions that we need from families. As a reminder, EVERY family must review and update their child's information, even if there are no changes.
To update your child/ren's Emergency Card and Required Student Waivers online simply click HERE to visit the PowerSchool Parent Portal; it will guide you through the process. If you have questions, click this link - there are FAQs on page 2.
You will need a Parent Portal account. If you do not have an account, click here for instructions to set one up; if you need support (i.e. your Access ID/Password) - check your email for correspondence from our district; if you didn't get it, please call our school office for support (8am-4pm; 916 434 5292)
***Please note that failure to update your child’s emergency information and electronically sign the Student Waiver Forms may restrict them from participation in extracurricular activities, class field trips and use of technology during non-class time once in-person instruction resumes.***
Access to update your Emergency Contact and required Student Waivers will close on August 17, 2020 at 5pm.
For additional information, please visit our website: http://www.wpusd.org/Parent-Resources/PowerSchool-Parent-Portal/index.html
For technical support please email Helpdesk@wpusd.org for assistance.
Thank you for your support! Contact us with any questions!
Initial Chromebook Pickup
Social distancing and masks are required. We request that you do NOT bring your child. Devices will only be checked out the parent/guardian of the child.
If your child needs a chromebook on day one or if you are concerned about internet bandwidth/access, please let us know via this survey. If you do not complete the survey, we will assume you have what you need for technology and internet access at home.
Pre-Ordered Box of Supplies Orders
Masks & social distancing are required. We ask that you do not bring your child. You can have a friend or neighbor pick up your box if that's easier.
Digital Learning Materials Pick Up
School Supplies
You can find information about our supply list here. When school starts, your students will need some basic items (pencils, crayons, markers, paper, etc...) from these lists. It is up to you if you want to purchase all of the items now, or wait until school starts to confirm supply needs with your child's teacher.
STAR Enrollment
We have a wonderful on site care program called STAR. They will be open on our campus from 7:00am-5:30pm and enrollment is open now!
STAR will assist students with logging into their synchronous learning time and completing their asynchronous work as well. Please see our list of FAQ's for more information https://main.starsacramento.org/galaxy-faq/
Click here to enroll. Please direct any questions to STAR directly - there is a contact form in their FAQ linked above.
Top Ten Frequently Asked Questions
Items with a * have updated information...there is lots of new info now that we've committed to 100% online learning through October.
*1. What is interCONNECT?
InterCONNECT is not particularly relevant at this time because our entire district will be learning online 100% of the time through October 30. As we get closer to our potential reopening, we will re-survey families to see they plan to engage in in-person learning or interCONNECT (online learning) in the fall/winter term.
*2. What does a day in interCONNECT look like v. in-person instruction?
See #1
*3. What will school hours be next year?
Most live digital instruction will take place between 8am-12:30pm. There may be some limited in person instruction after 12:30pm (for example, small group instruction or Special Education instruction), but your teacher will coordinate that with you. Our goal is to model the 'in person' schedule as much as possible so that when (fingers crossed), we make that transition to in person learning, it will be relatively seamless.
Many families have expressed concern about instruction and screen time. Per the state's guidelines,
Students in TK and K can expect to spend about 180 minutes/day engaging in class work (with a combination on online and offline activities),
Students in grades 1-3 can expect to spend about 230 minutes/day engaging in class work (with a combination on online and offline activities),
Students in grades 4-5 (and actually through 12th grade) can expect to spend about 240 minutes/day engaging in class work (with a combination on online and offline activities)
Our teachers are very concerned and aware of the impact of screen time on children (especially our younger Colts), and will build their instructional programs to provide balance and options for families. We do, however, expect that all students will spend time on digital platforms daily - so please count on that.
*4. What about technology?
Our district has secured thousands of new chromebooks and has thousands currently on hand. It is our hope that we will be 1:1 by mid-September - every child will have a chromebook to use at home and/or in the classroom. Chromebooks will be checked out like a textbook and will be the child's/family's responsibility to keep in good repair. This is a silver lining of this situation - I for one am THRILLED that we will be able to offer this digital tool to all families! Our district has also put together a 'spec list' in case you want to purchase your own device to have at home so your child can leave their school issued device at home. Click here to access the spec list.
We learned a lot about online access in the spring. If your family does not have adequate internet capacity, stay tuned for options to increase your online bandwidth. We will also be working to spread out online meetings in order to make them easier for students to engage in.
Please take a minute to complete our survey about tech needs - click here to access it.
*5. Will my child's teacher be from LCES?
In short, YES, your child's teacher will be the same whether we are 100% distance learning or in a combination of in person/digital learning (interCONNECT).
We plan to share with you who your child's teacher is on Wednesday, 8/12 at 4 pm. Be watching for an email with instructions about how to view your child's teacher's name.
6. Will my child come home and have to continue more school work online after the 12:30pm release if we chose in person instruction?
I don't think this would likely be the case. Perhaps your child would finish work that was incomplete at school, or do silent reading at home, but at this point, I'm not expecting lots of homework. We are going to focus on using the 4ish hours of in person instructional time to the max...focusing on essential standards. We won't have lots of interruptions during the day (for better or worse), so it's our hope that we can get it all done during the school day. If you are finding that your child has a lot of homework after the 12:30 release, I encourage you to talk with your child's teacher. There might be exceptions to this guideline, so please be patient as we finalize our plans. There may also be additional engagement opportunities for students after 12:30, and we’ll share more information about that as we work out the details.
*7. Will there be overlap between in person and interCONNECT instruction?
We will revisit this once we are into the year, and are reconsidering the differences/similarities between in person and interCONNECT learning.
*8. How does recess work? PE?
Your teachers will build movement breaks into their days and will encourage participation in PE, music and science weekly. Watch for more information from your teacher(s).
*9. How many students will be in the classroom?
Our 100% digital classrooms will have anywhere from 20-30ish students (depending on the grade level). When we resume to in-person/interCONNECT learning, the class sizes won't change, but the number of in-person learners is likely to be lower because of families choosing to continue online learning.
.
10. Where do I get more information?
View the District's Roadmap to Reopening here...there is LOTS of good information in here related to protocols and safety measures!
View older and future emails from Mr. Leaman here
Be watching for Welcome Back and Back to School Night presentations coming the week of 8/17 with more details from our specific site and your child's teacher!
Stay in Touch!
- Check our our website and our community calendar of activities; access PeachJar (our flier hub) directly here!
- Download our free app and get notifications on your phone
- Follow us on Social Media (links above), including Instagram at @lcescolts
Email: lces@wpusd.org
Website: lces.wpusd.org
Location: 635 Groveland Lane, Lincoln, CA, USA
Phone: 916 434-5292
Facebook: facebook.com/LincolnCrossingElementary/
Twitter: @lcescolts