Audubon Updates December News
December 2020
Thanks from the Principal's Desk
This year continues to challenge us both in school and all throughout our community. We have been thrust into different situations, sometimes weekly, that test our resolve in every area of our lives. Even though the challenges continue to mount up we see so many amazing stories about perseverance and making it through these tough times. This is not to say that it has been easy or that everything has worked out the way we had hoped, but we continue to fight through it.
It is with great sincerity that I say thank you to each and every member of the Audubon community for everything that you do to support our school, our students, our staff and each other. This week was a perfect example of how we support each other other in our community. We had donations from our staff and community that helped us provide 14 Audubon families with much needed support heading into Thanksgiving break. This is just one of the amazing things that our community has done to help each other during these tough times.
This is an amazing community and I could not be happier to be the principal of our school with so many wonderful people willing to help each other. You are simply amazing. As you get ready to head into Thanksgiving week I hope you take some time to unplug from school, spend time doing things that help fill your bucket and share moments with those closest to you.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we look forward to welcoming everyone back, virtually of course on November 30th.
Wishing you health and wellness,
Aaron Ford
Remote Learning in December
We will continue with our remote learning schedules that we have been using the past two weeks during the month of December (with the exception of Monday's - more information below).
During remote learning we will continue to have students engage in the learning process through a variety of ways - live WebEx sessions, Schoology, Seesaw and other non-computer based work. Teachers have their schedules posted on Schoology for students and parents to see when live instruction will be happening and when independent work time should happen.
Our superintendent, Dr. Thomas, has said that he will continue to monitor our numbers in El Paso County and work with local health officials to determine what school openings will look like in January. As more information becomes available we will share it with our families.
Asynchronous Monday Schedule - Begins November 30
Each Monday will begin for all students with a Morning Meeting/Check-in at 8:00 in their teachers WebEx room. The students will get some direction on the day while the teacher also uses this time to take attendance. Students will work on different assignments and/or programs during the day such as Amplify Reading, Schoology Assignments, Moby Max or other programming. All students will still have an asynchronous specials lesson that they can participate in to start the week as well. We hope to have some live, synchronous, lessons around digital literacy with Mr. Watson as well as some of our Random Acts of Kindness lessons on these asynchronous Mondays. Each afternoon students will again check-in with their teacher so that questions can be answered and some additional guidance will be given.
Some additional live time may be needed for some of our students in specific intervention groups or with specific learning plans. This will be communicated to families from their teacher or the person offering those learning opportunities.
The full plan of how asynchronous Monday's will work for the remainder of this school year is being developed at the district and here at the school level. A more defined schedule that students and parents can follow will be available when we return from Thanksgiving break.
What students need to know for Monday, November 30th is to log-in at 8:00 like they normally would and their teachers will give them their directions for the day at that point. Parents, please know that there will be less live "contact" time on these days between teachers and students.
Winter Benchmark Assessments
So that students can do their best we would ask that they take these assessments in a place that is calm and distraction free so that they can focus to the best of their ability. Also, since these are assessments to accurately measure student learning we would ask that parents and siblings do not help with the assessment. We will have multiple staff available remotely to help answer questions and provide guidance as necessary.
As it is planned right now we plan to administer the "Universal Screener" on Monday, December 7th and Tuesday, December 8th. Detailed instructions and information will be emailed and sent home the week we return from Thanksgiving break. Thank you parents for your support in allowing us to measure where your child currently is academically.
Meal Options
As a reminder, the meals that are provided are for all children ages 0-18. This is a free meal program that will continue to run through the end of May 2021.
Box Tops for Education
Technology Support
- Phone: 719-328-2624
- Email: robert.watson@d11.org
- Tech Support Link - Click Here
Mr. Watson is ready and willing to support in any way that he can.
Thank you to everyone. We will get through this together!
Audubon Elementary
Email: aaron.ford@d11.org
Website: www.d11.org/audubon
Location: 2400 East Van Buren Street, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Phone: 719-328-2600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AudubonElementary
Twitter: @Audubon_D11