The Mustang Minute
April 6, 2020 - Issue 31
News from the Bunker: Remote Learning Plan for CMS
Welcome to week 4!
The only way I am keeping track of time is through the weekly schedules I make for my own children. I don't know about you, but I've lost all sense of time and day since this began.
Today, CMS has launched it's remote learning program for our students. As stated by the Superintendent, remote learning cannot replicate or replace the learning that occurs in the classroom. We are also cognizant that many families cannot follow a school day schedule due to how their family is impacted by this pandemic. Therefore we are using an asynchronous method of instruction that allows for students and families to create a schedule that works for them. Within the structure, our teachers have designated Office Hours (OH) and live Google Chat or Google Meet times to connect. Two major components that are different from the past three weeks are 1. Assignments are required and 2. Teachers will be covering new material. We know that this is a big change and we will be moving very slowly. Please reach out to your teachers, guidance, and administration for help, with questions, or for anything.
The Educational Plan
Your children should be receiving schedules for their teacher's office hours as well as for live "chats" and "meets" via Google. Core subject teachers will be pushing out work via Google Classroom on Mondays and specialists will be pushing out assignments on Tuesday. The general plan for each week is as follows:
- Teacher pushes out an assignment or series of small assignments that are due at the end of the week.
- A pre-recorded lesson or detailed step-by-step instructions are attached to the lesson to facilitate understanding.
- Teachers are available during office hours to answer questions via email.
- Teachers have scheduled Google "chat" or "meet" times to connect with students, answer questions, review lessons as needed. The links for these meetings are posted only in their Google Classrooms for safety purposes (you may have heard of issues with hackers compromising meetings)
- Special educators will be reaching out directly to the families and students they work with to provide additional assistance to students - both academic and social-emotional.
- Additional meets are also set up by guidance counselors and administrators to connect with students in a more social and non-academic manner. Students get links to these meetings via their school email.
Schedules
Later today I will be adding this outline and the grade level and specialist schedules to the CMS Remote Learning Page (linked below). These are master schedules and provided for parents to have an overview of when teachers are readily available. Please know that these are minimum guidelines. As many students and parents have already found out, our teachers are available beyond the hours listed. I do ask that all our CMS families remember that our teachers have families at home with them as well. They are doing infant and toddler care, teaching their own children, running households, and managing life in a pandemic while also providing your children with educational resources. I have instructed all of my staff to make sure they have "off hours" during this time as well. Maintaining everyone's mental and physical health is important!
Participation Rubric
While I am confident in our students' ability to become independent learners, I am also mindful that this is a process and a skill that develops over time. To the end, we have developed a school wide Effort and Participation Rubric, outlining what we expect from students. Four categories are teacher assessed and three are student assessed. A large part of being an independent learner is being able to reflect honestly about yourself. Teachers will be taking this rubric and adapting it to their subject areas. It is also linked on the Remote Learning page.
Talk to Us!
This is the most important part of our Remote Learning Plan - communication! Each family is in a different place. Some of us are able to set up a schedule and help children manage it, others are working outside the home, others are caring for the sick or elderly, others have found themselves out of work. We are NOT here to add more stress to your family. If you find that what is being asked is too much - reach out. Email your child's teachers, guidance counselor, or me and we will help you. If we aren't providing enough for your child - reach out! We have created a Classroom full of additional experiences for our students, we are happy to highlight a few that your child might find engaging.
We are all in uncharted waters, we don't know where this will take us or what we will each have to overcome to get to the otherside. We just ask that you join with us as we navigate together!
Your Xbox can be a learning device!
1. Home menu
2. My games and apps
3. Scroll down to apps
4. Go to the Edge application
5. Go to classroom.google.com and sign in
Need to Contact the School?
Mindfulness Moment - The Smile Challenge
Smile! Laugh! …...It’s good for your health!
Our challenge for this week is to do something that makes you smile or laugh each day.
Here are a few health benefits of smiling:
Improved Mood
Smiling releases endorphins, which helps a person feel happier and more positive. A Scientific American study found that facial expressions, such as smiling, can improve one’s mood and increase positive thoughts. So, the next time you’re feeling a little blue, try smiling – it might make you feel better!
Stress Reliever
That’s right, smiling or laughing activates and relieves your stress response. Studies where individuals had to face stressful situations while smiling were found to have lower heart rates compared to those who weren’t smiling.
For a more detailed list of health benefits of smiling, click below:
Grade 8 Families! Take the AP Capstone Class at NHS!
Rather than teaching subject-specific content, these courses develop students’ skills in research, analysis, evidence-based arguments, collaboration, writing, and presenting. Students who complete the two-year program can earn one of two different AP Capstone awards, which are valued by colleges across the United States and around the world.
Students can earn the AP Capstone Diploma™ or the AP Seminar and Research Certificate™.
Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing receive the AP Capstone Diploma™.
Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research but not on four additional AP Exams receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate™.
AP Capstone is an application-based program. Students who are interested should contact their NHS Guidance Counselor for further information. This program is capped at 20 students for the 2019-2020 school year. Applications will be reviewed by the Academic Credentials Committee.
AP Seminar (Grade 9, Embedded in World History Honors)
This course will equip students with the skills to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy and precision in order to craft and communicate evidence-based arguments. Students will have the opportunity to explore real-world issues from multiple perspectives and consider varied points of view to develop deep understanding of complex issues and topics in order to make connections between these issues and everyday life. Students will gain a rich appreciation and understanding of issues by reading articles, listening to speeches or broadcasts, and experiencing artistic and literary works.
The primary goals of the AP Seminar course are to help students understand how to study an issue from multiple perspectives, evaluate source information, and then develop and communicate effectively a logical, evidence-based point of view. Students will practice and apply these skills through the exploration of the complex topics and by examining a variety of and often divergent or competing perspectives.
This course will be taught within the students Modern World History experience in Grade 9. Students who successfully complete AP Seminar will move on to AP Research in Grade 10 and will be eligible for an AP Capstone designation on their transcript and also eligible to pursue an AP Diploma (successful completion of AP Capstone and 4 Additional AP Courses).
CMS Google Classrooms
Cradles to Crayons Drive
Clothing Size: Baby - Adult medium
Shoe Size: Baby - Adult 11
Winter Gear: All sizes! (Hats, gloves, scarves, coats, boots, etc.)
Yankee Candle Fundraising!
Grab & Go Lunch Options
During the school shut down due to COVID-19, The Norwood Public Schools will be providing Grab & Go lunches at all 5 elementary schools. These meals will be provided to all teens and children, 18 years of age and younger without charge and are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals will be provided at the following sites and times as follows:
Lunch will be served from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Meals will be bagged and ready for Grab & Go service. All teens and children 18 years of age and younger are eligible to get a free meal from the listed sites and take it with them for off-site consumption.
Please note that there will NOT be lunches served on Good Friday (April 10th) or Patriot's Day (April 20th) but lunch WILL be served during April Vacation.
Need Chromebook Help?
Need to Contact your Guidance Counselor?
Grade 6: Ashley McCaffrey amccaffrey@norwood.k12.ma.us
Grade 7: Meghan Mba mmba@norwood.k12.ma.us
Grade 8: Ally King acking@norwood.k12.ma.us
School Adjustment Counselors
Amy Riley ariley@norwood.k12.ma.us
Deana Norton dnorton@norwood.k12.ma.us
Raina Keenan rkeenan@norwood.k12.ma.us
Need Aspen or Access Help?
For any students and families that have any issues regarding the Aspen family or student portal, please continue to use the NPS Aspen support email at: npsaspensupport@norwood.k12.ma.us
For any students and families that have questions about accounts or accessing educational resources that their teachers send them, please contact Joe Kidd at: jkidd@norwood.k12.ma.us
PTO Corner
The PTO typically meets the third Wednesday of each month (at times our day varies due to conflicts) to hear an update from the principal and discuss planning related to enrichment, fundraising, activities and other topics of interest. You can also stay up to date with the CMS PTO by following us on Facebook. You can contact the PTO at coakleypto@gmail.com.
We are looking for people to be on the PTO board as Vice-President and Secretary to finish out the year. If you are interested, please email the PTO!
Meeting Dates (all meetings start at 6:00 pm)
March 18 - Presentation on Social Media
April 15
May 13
June 17
Dr. Margo Fraczek
Email: mfraczek@norwood.k12.ma.us
Website: https://sites.google.com/norwood.k12.ma.us/cms-principal/home
Phone: 781-762-7880
Twitter: @mfraczek