PHCS Digital Learning Days Update
Week Two March 30th- April 3rd, 2020
Dear PHCS Families,
We hope our PHCS community is doing well and weathering this "storm" with healthy minds and spirits! We would like to compliment our students on their ability to show flexibility and perseverance during this challenging time. It is hard to believe we have only been at this for one week, as our students seem to be "pros" with digital learning! Excellent work, Panthers!
We are still working through some connectivity issues; however, a large majority of our students are able to access the internet at this time. Please know, Week Two of instruction will follow the same guidelines as our first week. Our staff is committed to presenting review material and mastery opportunities for skills that are meaningful to success with their courses.
We do have some good news! While the building is empty our construction projects are moving along. The contractors are currently focusing on locker room renovations, hallway floors and upgrading our little "blue" gym. In addition, playground work will commence this week! Although our Community Build Event will have to be delayed a bit, workers will move forward with tearing out the old equipment to make way for the new playscape! All very exciting stuff!
During this unexpected school closure, our special education department plans to continue to hold Annual Reviews for IEP and Section 504 students. The district will make use of online tools such as email, ZOOM meetings, IEP Direct and Google calendar to schedule and hold meetings remotely. If your child's meeting happens to be coming up we will contact you as soon as possible and work with you to facilitate your participation in these meetings. Parents who are concerned about ANY special education issues can submit an Assistance Help Desk Form here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hkf2YtFA7_7d6wLc6_wWAuupIn1Hge60GzG61-iShyE
Remember . . . we are here to help and will respond to you as quickly as possible!
We hope you find this communication helpful and will continue to push out pertinent information weekly via our Facebook Page and our District Website. Below you will find additional information for each of our respective building levels.
Our sincere appreciation,
Brooke and Steve
A Note for the Elementary from Ms. Reid
Hello All,
Wow!!!! I am so impressed!
What an amazing week of learning for our students! They have done a great job engaging with the activities their teachers have prepared, accessing resources, and utilizing their devices. They seem to be adjusting to the learning platforms and making good use of their time! A huge thank you to our parents for supporting their little learners!
I wanted to remind parents of our School-Wide Reading Challenge. If your child reads a book please access the Distance Learning Book Challenge Form and let us know! Our goal is to read over 1,000 books during our Digital Learning Days!
This week "Digital Learning Days" Cycle:
Monday - Day 3
Tuesday - Day 4
Wednesday - Day 1
Thursday - Day 2
Friday - Day 3
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND
Each elementary “homeroom” has a Google Classroom. Your child should know how to get to their “classroom” using their Chromebook or a family device. Each classroom has a code that has been shared with your child. If you need this code or have trouble accessing the “classroom” submit an Assistance Helpdesk Form (linked below) or contact your child's teacher.
Here is a link to a brief tutorial on Google Classroom for parents which is about 4 minutes long and very informative: Parents’ Tutorial Video
Teachers will be posting daily assignments to their Google Classroom each day by 9:00 a.m. Teachers will also make themselves available for communication via their Google Classroom or other methods they may share with parents. Special area teachers (art, music, physical education, technology, health, and band) will also post to Google Classrooms based on the cycle day of our regular school calendar.
Our UPK and Kindergarten teachers will be connecting with students and their families via the Classroom Dojo app. Here's a link to information for parents on the use of this resource: Classroom Dojo BASICS for Parents. Packets for instruction will also be sent home to reinforce what has been introduced.
Instruction within the Google Classroom will vary by teacher, but will most likely utilize our school-wide digital resources. These include but are not limited to iReady, Reflex, Zearn, Kahn Academy, Prodigy, and Zoom. Some teachers will continue with Class Dojo, Seesaw or other means for instruction and communication. In addition, many educational platforms are currently offering free services that our teachers may choose to implement. Again, these resources will be linked and assigned within your child(ren)s’ Google Classroom.
Sticking to a schedule that works for your family is a great idea. Adding in time for fresh air, play, rest and fun is essential! There are some schedules floating around on the internet- just remember- what is important is sticking to a routine. Children appreciate and thrive with predictable schedules.
Second Trimester Report Cards will be mailed home soon via the US Postal Service. Please watch for them!
If you have any questions, please know you can communicate with PHCS Administration using the form linked here: PHCS Assistance Helpdesk Form
We are here to help!
Please Stay Well,
Ms. Reid
A Note for the Jr./Sr. High from Mr. Coffin
Dear Jr./Sr. High Parents,
Our "Digital Learning Days" will begin with DAY 3 next week.
As we continue to get used to our different online platforms and Google classrooms, teachers will be trying different strategies and tools to provide individual feedback to students throughout the delivery of digital learning. This feedback will help provide guidance and or progress monitoring of student content proficiency. The individual feedback that students receive can be numerical in nature, take the form of a written response or comment on a document, or even be a virtual token of some sort. Teachers are keeping track of assignments and online engagement as a means to monitor student learning. The district is working with students and families who are struggling to access these materials due to connectivity issues with their devices and/or other adverse conditions. The inability for students to engage online or complete assignments due to device connectivity and/or other adverse conditions will not be punished or reprimanded in any way nor will it affect a student's overall grade.
Marking periods are continuing as normal. The district, however, has not determined at this point how it will produce marking period averages nor how those averages will affect a students’ GPA or final course average. At this time we want students to focus on the individual assignments and teachers to focus on providing individual feedback on those assignments.
Each Jr. Sr. High “class” has a Google Classroom. Your child should know how to get to their “classroom” using their Chromebook or a family device. Each classroom has a code that will be shared with your child. If you need this code or have trouble accessing the “classroom” on-line please use the helpdesk link.
Here is a link to a brief tutorial on Google Classroom for parents which is about 4 minutes long and very informative: Parents’ Tutorial Video
Teachers will be posting daily assignments to their Google Classroom each day by 9:00 a.m. They will make themselves available for communication via the Google Classroom they maintain or other methods they may share with parents. Special area teachers (art, music, physical education, technology, health, and band) will also post to Google Classrooms based on the cycle day of our regular school calendar.
Instruction within the Google Classroom will vary by teacher but will most likely utilize our school-wide digital resources. These include but are not limited to iReady, Kahn Academy, and Zoom. At this time many educational platforms are offering free services that our teachers may choose to implement. Again, these resources will be linked and assigned within your child(ren)s’ Google Classroom.
Report cards will be mailed home as close as possible to the originally scheduled date.
If you have any questions please communicate with PHCS Admin using the form linked here:
Thank you,
Steve
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- How is my child being graded during the school closure? Our first priority is the safety and wellness of our students. To this end, assignment completion allows us to connect with students and that all students are engaged and accounted for. Students we do not hear from or see evidence of engagement in the digital learning environment will be contacted. For further clarification please contact your child's administrator. In addition, Mr. Coffin has provided some helpful information in his letter above.
- How much longer will school be closed? The Department of Education in collaboration with the State Health Department & Governor's Office will make this decision. We will keep you posted.
- Can my child use a cell phone or other home device to do their Remote Learning? Yes, the device just needs to have internet access, the ability to compose writing assignments (typing or voice recognition) and the ability to access their Google classrooms.
- We are confused about the assignment and/or are having technical issues accessing the lessons/assignments - what do we do? Please email the teacher first and give them some time to respond, then access the PHCS Assistance Helpdesk Form and someone will connect with you as soon as possible. PHCS ASSISTANCE HELPDESK FORM
- Will students be marked absent during the closure? No.
- Can all children still be signed up for meal delivery service? Yes! Here is the link for the meal sign-up/survey. Please provide all the information requested. Meal Delivery Sign-Up. Beginning on Monday, March 30th, PHCS meal deliveries will start a Monday-Wednesday-Friday (2-2-1) delivery cycle. Two days' worth of breakfasts and two day's worth of lunches will be delivered on Mondays and Wednesdays. One day's worth of meals will be delivered on Fridays. The fewer the frequency of deliveries, the fewer interactions, the fewer interactions, the fewer the opportunities to contract the Coronavirus. This change does not alter the number of meals delivered per week or the start time of the delivery runs.
Please reach out if you require any assistance!
Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District
The Parishville-Hopkinton Central School community strives to instill in all students the knowledge and skills necessary to become caring, conscientious and creative citizens.
Email: breid@phcsd.org
Website: phcsd.org
Location: 12 County Route 47, Parishville, NY, USA
Phone: (315) 265-4642
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phcsd
Twitter: @PHCS_Panthers