Week-At-A-Glance
The Weekly Update for NPHS Staff, Mar 30 - Apr 3, 2020
Remote Instruction Mode !
Hello Patriot Staff,
Through all of this, so far, you have been amazing. Thank you for your hard work and forbearance over the past few weeks. So many changes...who would've thought a month ago that "Zoom" would be an integral part of conducting school business? Thank you for "rolling with the punches" (and feel free to choose your favorite metaphor for all of this).
So where are we now (3-28-2020)? You can read the latest mandate from our governor here. It imposes further restrictions, as well as penalties, for not observing those restrictions (like fines and imprisonment). Don't believe me? Check out page four of this document.
What does this mean for North Pole High School as we move toward remote instruction next week?
We will be enlisting the services of ESSA staff in the school building according to a strict schedule: click this link to see the schedule, and be sure to read through ALL the tabs at the bottom of the document.
Critical to Onsite Operations:
• No more than 10 staff total in the school building at any one time AND always maintaining social distancing.
• This means if you are not on the "Onsite School Duty Schedule" for the indicated day, you are not allowed in the school building.
• The building will continue to remain closed to ALL non-staff, including children of staff.
• Students and their parents will not be allowed in the main part of the school building, and any exchange of materials and equipment between staff and the public will be conducted with proper PPE, social distancing, and the received materials/equipment will be placed in isolation for 72 hours.
• If you have not turned in your keys yet, due to extenuating circumstances, make arrangements with Marianna to do that asap.
A reminder to ESSA: If you haven't filled out and signed your electronic DocuSign work contract yet, make sure to do that by Tuesday (if you don't get a contract on your email by then, email me). Also, you are responsible for clocking in/out each day you work on TCP. The link to do that is here.
Below, you will see more information regarding Remote Instruction. As we move into our new roles, communication and staying updated will be important. We will need to work together in ways heretofore not practiced. The time will pass one way or another...but we will not forget how we managed to do our jobs the Spring of 2020. You are talented and resilent...it's time to show off!
John Fink
Interim Principal
This Week: March 30th - April 3rd
How Will Our Weekly Remote Instruction Schedule Work?
Take a look at the "NPHS Remote Instruction Week Schedule" above. This is the staff version. If you want, you can also see the student/parent version of this schedule by clicking this link and going to the bottom tabs.
Looking at the colored chart above, the days of the week (Monday - Friday) are at the top, and times listed at the left. So take a walk with me now through a week of remote instruction...
Our high school grade band times (light blue) for synchronous instruction are from 10:30 am to 12:45 pm (lunch, dark blue, is at 12:45 pm... but you can eat whenever!). Mondays is an office hour day to connect with students (see yellow block). ESSA will also be converting hard copy returned assignments (from the previous Friday) into electronic documents and scanning them to teachers on this day (see pink column). Tuesday - Thursday are hour-long synchronous instruction days with students for periods 1 - 6 (the first period of the day is from 10:30 am - 11:30 am, and the second is from 11:45 am - 12:45 pm, see light blue above). Friday's are synchronous instruction for odd periods, and SSP from 11:45 am - 12:45 pm. On Fridays ESSA staff will be safely distributing and collecting paper packet assignments with students at the front doors (pink column). Teachers, we are asking that you submit any electronic assignments for conversion into paper packets, each Tuesday by the end of the workday (see pink column). Here is the link for you to submit those assignments: Please indicate clearly which student the assignment is for. This will allow ESSA staff two full days to convert those assignments into hardcopies for Friday's student distribution process (and yes, the turn around time for getting these assignments back is around 10 days). Finally, check out the purple and green blocks above. They are meeting times, and we will do our weekly staff zoom on Thursday afternoons beginning at 1:15 pm.
When students are not meeting online with teachers for synchronous instruction, they will be involved in nonsynchronous learning and each teacher will explain to their students what this means for their class. It goes without saying that this new way of doing school will require flexibility and adjustment of expectations.
Resources for students and staff are below:
• Free Wifi Hot Spots: Click here for information.
• Students can check out a Chromebook using Destiny. Nick will be coordinating much of this process. They can click here to download the Chromebook checkout form and find resources to get started.
•This week, and until April 7th, students can pick up stuff from their lockers or check out a Chromebook. They can click here to sign-up to do that. They may only do this by signing up, and if they come, they will not be allowed in the main part of the school building: we will bring their requested items to the front doors when they arrive.
• For paper/pencil assignments we are asking families to "plastic-bag" those assignments and turn them in on Fridays, maintaining social distancing during this transfer. We will then not touch the paper assignment until Monday to allow any bad bugs on surfaces to die out over the weekend.
Questions? Suggestions? Please email those to admin. Thanks!
YOU CAN STILL BUY A 2019-2020 HISTORICAL NPHS YEARBOOK!
NPHS YEARBOOKS: Not the entire year was taken from us! Quarters 1-3 are captured in the 2020 yearbooks, which are still being printed and shipped. As of March 20, they are still expected to arrive in North Pole the first week of May. About 90 remain for sale at yearbookforever.com Click this link to get yours!