Team Meadow Update
July 29, 2020
Dear Team Meadow,
Flash Draft Timeline for August 3-6
Monday, August 3
- 8:00-12:30 Welcome back, procedures/protocols game; teacher resilience
- 12:30-1:15 Lunch provided (Which Wich) Use the link below to order ASAP!)
- 1:30-3:30; Cultural Understandings with Devereaux/Squier; HDA
Tuesday, August 4
- 8:00-11:30 Parking lot items and breakout sessions
- 11:30- 12:30 Lunch (on your own)
- 12:30-3:30 - TBA
Wednesday, August 5
- Team work time, tech support, IEP/504 reviews and scheduled & differentiated support/meetings (Teachers receiving math subject skip students, please hold 10-11:00 to meet with Kyle/tech)
Thursday, August 6
- Teacher work day in rooms - No Scheduled Meetings
- 3:00-6:30 Meet and Greet!
Friday, August 7
- No Teachers or Students - non-contract day!
Classoom Set Up
- Feel free to visit a few other classrooms that have begun the process. Sarpa, Bennett, Lamaster, Schermerhorn, Welch, and Bleakman all come to mind as they are all in process of set up.
- Creative use of countertops, bookcases, cubbies w/ stools also assist in creating more seat spots for individual students.
- Small rectangular tables (often found outside of classroom doors, planning rooms, or classrooms) are excellent single tables for students w/ a chair.
- If needed, a skinny cafe table will provide a few more spots in your room. We can get you one if you need.
- Furniture can be borrowed from rooms of remote teachers. (Important note: Please don't just take without checking with the teacher. Be in communication with those teachers - More info in questions below)
- We are scrounging up what other furniture is available.
Also note:
- We have no storage. We are extremely tight on space for now across the building. Check with Lauren or me if you need help to problem-solve.
- Please do not set unwanted furniture (including chairs and ottoman cushions) in the hallways or planning rooms. They need to remain in the assigned classroom for now. (Again more info below)
- Consider how to mark spaces in room to encourage distancing when possible. For example: how might you use sit spots to mark an appropriate waiting space for if a student needs to wait to wash hands. (I have as ton of Sit Spots on their way)
Teacher Assignments and Class Lists
Now that the dust has settled (a bit) with final numbers, we are still working on class lists. Between various meetings and the occasional interruption, Lauren and I hope to finish them today (Wed 7/29) for both remote and in-person teachers and students. Then, we can take a deep breath and start moving forward! Beth and Barb will then begin uploading class lists into Powerschool. (Note** they are TENTATIVE and remain fairly fluid until the start of school.)
Please reach out to me with any questions.
Common Questions:
Most of these answers can be found in the Eagle Start Staff Guide or our upcoming Boone Meadow Start Guide (I have started and will share soon). I've synthesized a variety of questions received from many of you.
Sorry, guys. We have no desks to get to you. A couple items to consider:
- Teachers of remote learning will not need all of their furniture, so their tables (especially the small curved tables, small rectangle tables, stools, etc...) can be repurposed to another room. The office team does not have the bandwidth at current to manage this for everyone.
- If you need to borrow furniture from a remote teacher's classroom please show mutual respect by communicating with them (Orbaugh, Mattingly, Graham, & McGuire). Keep a list of what will need to be returned when the day comes that we would be live/in-person for all.
- Please do not swap out rectangular tables for smaller tables out of your rooms. This is logistically complicated and we have no other places to maintain at this point.
- At current, please also keep extra chairs in your rooms and do not yet push any "extra items" to the hallways. Again, we are tight and have no storage. (We will need to consider the needs for planning rooms this year as well. SpEd might need to use the spaces for small group as needed, as well as teachers needing a room for breaks during the day.
Can students meet in small groups together or with a teacher? Yes! Please refer to the ZCS Eagle Start Staff Guide (pg. 41)
Questions about lunch/arrival/dismissal. These specifics to BME will be addressed at our back to school meetings and in our Boone Meadow Start Guide (new updates and format).
What about cleaning supplies? Each classroom has a spray bottle of disinfectant and a gallon of hand sanitizer. We will replenish these as they run low. Some students will also be bring Clorox wipes as part of their students supplies.
Did we purchase any new technology? We do have some new Chromebooks heading our way, but they are delayed due to back orders. Our goal is to drastically reduce/eliminate the need for any sharing of devices at any point. We do not have any new programs for in person teachers at this point.
When my classroom is being used for related arts, what are my options? You are welcome to stay in the room to work or eat knowing that another adult will be in charge of the supervision at that time. You are also welcome to leave and relocate in the conference room (when not in use), the art room, music room, STEM room, staff lunchroom, or a planning room if available.
What about sick students? We have processes in place in collaboration with Amy/St Vs. We will address more specifics when we gather next week. It is worthy to note that all students/staff will need to use the daily screening tool.
What about face shield and plexi glass dividers? Face shield can be worn IN ADDITION to face masks. They are not a replacement. We do have some plexi glass dividers for specific small groups situations that are coming from ESC.
Do students have to be in alphabetical order like middle school? No, we are already cohorting within our classroom. You will design your seating charts according to optimal classroom management. More details forthcoming.
What are we doing about common math time? (re:Math subject-skip/AC students) - We are in process of exploring synchronous learning opportunities for students to "ZOOM" their math teacher in another room. Kyle has said this is a viable option of which we will explore. Stay tuned for more...
Upcoming Events
August 3-6- Teacher Professional Development Days (at Boone Meadow)
August 6- Meet the Teacher Night (3:00-6:30) - Timeline to be sent to families
August 10- First Day of School
Year at a Glance - Curriculum Overviews
As you may already know, this year will require alignment with instruction across the district. As students could potentially move in or out of remote learning, it is imperative that students receive an equitable opportunity to learn. Anticipated need for many students to receive remote instruction from teachers of different ZCS campuses requires that students receive content instruction along a similar timeline. With the help of teachers and administrators across the district, we developed a curriculum overview assist all K-4 teachers with content pacing throughout the district.
I’ve attached the entire K-4 map for all certified staff, as it may assist supporting teachers (Related Arts, SpEd, etc…) the opportunity to see what students are learning in order to make connections and integrate.
A note for teachers of advanced curriculum:
Under the first “other” category you can see that we added advanced curriculum for language arts grades 1-4. These are spaced in where the curriculum can and should be adapted. We have many students who have chosen the remote learning option who also receive advanced curriculum in all grade levels so we will stick on a similar schedule, even with advanced students, this school year. This allows students to move back and forth between buildings and not have holes. Our hope is that these still have a lot of flexibility throughout the quarter so that you can be responsive to the students in your class. These are just place holders for now until we meet in August/Sept. as grade level Advanced Curriculum teams to talk more and plan together. We added the units with help from our Advanced Curriculum Coaches where our HA curriculum maps had them that made sense for the Units of Study, but we can always move them when we meet. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Chris Squier if you have any questions.
Opportunity - 101 Tech Training @ Eagle Elementary
Are you feeling like you would like a little "brush up" or would welcome the opportunity to expand your understanding and fluidity with Office 365, Newsela, or other tech tools? Here is an opportunity for all staff and teachers on Wednesday, July 29th from 1-3pm on to meet with Kyle and Carly
.
Here is a list of items on the agenda:
- Canvas Expectations – tips and tricks for ease of use with Canvas
- BrainPop K-4
- Newsela 3-4
- Raz-kids K-2
- Office 365 tools
If you are planning to attend, please respond by completing the RSVP.
Grant Opportunity
Apply for a FORUM Foundation Educator Grant for the 2020–2021 school year.
- Awarded over $150,000 with 101 projects funded since 2014.
- Teachers are eligible to apply for unrestricted grants in amounts up to $2,500.
- Quick and easy online application!
- Learn more and apply at forumcu.com/foundation