River Bluff Middle School
Campus E-News - August 28, 2020
Dates to Remember
September 1: First Day of School, Classes begin @ 8:00 am
September 2: Sixth Grade Virtual Student Orientation, 1:00 pm
September 7: Labor Day, no school
Student Schedules: How to Access for Live Virtual Instruction
Thank you for your patience as we put the finishing touches on student schedules this week. Here are some tips to help understand this new process:
1. Student log into their Chromebooks and visit the SASD Student Page. Here is a link to that page.
2. Student click on the Google Calendar Icon and their schedule will appear (Note: be sure to go to September 1st, or the schedule may appear blank.)
3. The students will see their classes with the name of the course and teacher's name. A sample of what it should look like is shared below.
4. Students open the Blue Zoom Link on that day and time to access their teacher's live classrooms. Feel free to have your student watch this video for support.
Please note:
Physical Education classes, Physical Conditioning and Wellness and the Exploratory Wheel are not live. These classes will be provided just like this spring as asyncronous. Teachers will be emailing students about how to access this course content.
While I understand accessing schedules this new way is not ideal, we had to problem solve how to get around using Infinite Campus. That program would only allow us to enter our traditional brick and mortar seven period day. If we only used Infinite Campus, students would have the high school schedule with every other day 25-minute classes. We strongly felt that our students need math and literacy instruction daily, and in longer chunks of time to ensure rigor and academic acheivement for all students. Additionally, our students need time during these live classes to work on assignment and seek assistance live from their teachers. High school students can work much more independently than middle school students. Also, our sixth grade students have not yet had training in Schoology, our content management system.
Here are the classes student should see in their schedules:
1. Math- Daily
2. Literacy- Daily (This is ELA and Integrated Studies combined)
3. Either Science or Social Studies each day on a rotation
4. Afternoon elective classes and in 7th grade either Careers or Health
5. After hearing concern about the amount of time students have at the middle school compared to the high school, we are sending out homeroom links in the near future.
Please feel free to reach out to me or your child's teachers to answer any questions you may have about back to school. We can't wait to see all of our students live on Tuesday, September 1st at 8:00 am.
Sincerely,
Trish Gates
Sample View of Student Schedule in Google Calendar
How to Use Google Calendar for Classes on September 1, 2020
Live, synchronous instruction opt-out
Dear Parents and Guardians,
In light of the District starting the year with remote instruction, our District will be communicating electronically with parents and using electronic means and virtual/online platforms to facilitate the provision of educational services. To manage learning, students will use the following platforms:
Grades K-2 Seesaw
Grades 3-5 Google Classroom
Grades 6-12 Schoology
To that end, your child’s teacher will provide virtual lessons and/or discussions via Zoom. Teachers will use Zoom to hold synchronous live instruction with students, including both full classroom, small group, and (potentially) 1:1 meetings. Teachers will directly invite students to a password-protected video conference through a district-managed application. Students will accept the invite through their district-managed Google account. This is a direct connection and no additional log-in is required if students are already logged into their accounts. The video classroom is for school managed activities only.
It will be the responsibility of the teacher to disconnect the video session once the lesson or check-in has been completed. Students should be located in a quiet environment that is free from distractions or items which may not conform to school rules and guidelines. Students must also wear clothing that conforms to the District’s dress code, and comply with all other aspects of the District’s Code of Conduct. To promote confidentiality of student information, your student should not include other children or adults in your household in the lesson or meeting.
One change from last year is that synchronous live learning will be recorded, and posted to your student(s) learning management system. Recording lessons will help keep students engaged in their class work, and allow for students to review previous lessons at a later time. All recorded lessons will be stored in district approved applications and learning management systems (SeeSaw, Google Classroom, or Schoology, depending on grade level) and will require a student account to access.
If you do not consent for your child to participate in recorded, synchronous live instruction, and/or you do not give permission for your child to participate in possible live, small group instruction that is not recorded, please let us know by filling out this electronic form linked here.
In Partnership,
The SASD Administrative Team
Reminders and Helpful Links
Missed the River Bluff Material Pick-up? Contact the River Bluff office at 608-877-5502.
Click here to sign up for door-to-door meal delivery
Click here for tech support
Click here to request a hotspot
Family Slide Deck (We published this last week, and recently updated it to reflect the Dane County Emergency order #9)
A Day in the Life of a Virtual Middle School Student
During the morning sessions students have math and literacy daily, and science and social studies on a rotating basis. Following the morning's core instruction students will meet with a teacher during the homeroom period, addressing things like organization, technical problems, and socio-emotional wellbeing. All related arts electives are scheduled in the afternoon, just when student need the opportunity to engage in areas they love. Also in the afternoon are small student acdemic and socio-emotional wellbeing groups by invitation from teachers or our pupil services team.
We also know that students need time away from their Chromebooks to recharge and take a brain break. These periods are spread across the school day, and also allow students to engage in their physical education class when it works best for them.
Please check to see your student's individual schedule via the Google Calendar Link on the Student Webpage. We're looking forward to a great year of learning and fun!
6th Grade Student (Virtual) Orientation
With school starting on September 1st, this event will occur on the second day of school. Our 6th grade staff will be reminding the students during the first two days of classes and sharing the Zoom link.
Originally, 6th grade orientation was to be held as an in-person event prior to school starting. Due to the unique circumstances this year, we have moved this to Wednesday, September 2nd. Thank you so much for your support as we continue to move forward.
River Bluff Yearbook
Interested in purchasing a yearbook this year? Click on the link, type in 'River Bluff' on the school name, then click on our school in Stoughton. Yearbooks will arrive in late May, early June 2021.
Information/Quick Links
- 2020-21 School Supply Lists
- Having Chromebook problems? Contact SASD Family Tech Support Request Form
- Make sure your contact information is up-to-date in Infinite Campus
- 2020-21 District Calendar
- Replacement Chromebook Cords
- Family Resources
- Purchase a 20-21 Yearbook. Cost is $16.00
- RBMS Athletics
River Bluff Contact Information
Trish Gates, Principal - 608-877-5501
Dan Holzhuter, Assistant Principal - 877-5503
Email: trish.gates@stoughton.k12.wi.us
Website: https://www.stoughton.k12.wi.us/river-bluff-middle-school
Location: 235 North Forrest Street, Stoughton, WI, United States
Phone: (608)877-5500