Tiger Times
Week 30: March 30-April 3
You Are Enough
"You Are Enough"
My sister-in-law said those words to me as we stood and cooked dinner together one summer evening on a beach vacation. The sea breeze coming off the water could have knocked me over in that moment. That thought, that I might be "enough"-enough mom, enough daughter, enough friend, enough teacher-had never occurred to me, and it had certainly never been said to me, but it felt like a literal weight was lifted off my shoulders.
I cannot imagine a field of work that pushes one to their limits more-so than education. Regardless of the role you play here each and everyday, you have a hard job. It is easy, at times I think it comes naturally, for us to feel like we are not enough-not enough lesson planner, not enough therapist, not enough listener, not enough server, not enough instructor..... It's a slippery slope, one that poisons us and weights us down and leaves us feeling exhausted.
Now, as days and roles are ever-evolving, as we wade through all the "new," I imagine those words, "not enough" slip in for you on occasion-maybe even more often than not. You, my friends, are doing unbelievable things. You are accessing and vetting resources; You are designing remote learning with minimal feedback regarding how it is going for your kiddos; You are communicating with families; You are teaching and recording lessons; You are reading books to your Tigers; You are jumping in wherever you see a need; You are supporting one another; You are jumping in for those who cannot be here; You are frustrated and yet you persevere; On top of that, you are STILL parenting...supporting a partner...maintaining a household...You. Are. Enough. Take a breath and rest in that, ya'll. It is hard to feel it sometimes, but please know-I see you and you are enough.
My challenge to you this week is to focus on all the things that make you amazing. You are enough. You are enough to your family. You are enough to your students. You are enough to your friends. Meet yourself where you are and give yourself permission to rest in the fact that you truly are enough.
Instruction
- The 2nd packet pick-up will be mailed April 7th. This distribution will include 3 weeks worth of work, as well as the 3rd quarter report card.
- Students who have confirmed access to functional internet resources may be provided with blended learning, as opposed to strictly paper/pencil.
- Due to the mailing of instructional packets, we will not be sending leveled readers, HMH workbooks, manipulatives, or other supplies.
- All items must fit in the provided 9x12 manila folder.
- Focus will continue to be on Reading, Math, Social Studies, and Science.
- Please keep in mind, parent abilities and other resources have the potential to dramatically affect student understanding with these materials.
- Continue to use pacing guides for planning instruction, but also consider talking with the teachers in the grade level above you regarding how they might prioritize the instruction for students, since this is likely all they will get before moving on to that grade level.
- Continue to focus on ways that will minimize frustration as directions for learning change when teachers are not in the room with students.
- Please continue to reference the RCSS Remote Learning Guide found at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IP7NB8EzKoJpR6TmIUnZrJJxp3r3M4Vq/view?pli=1
Grading
- Remember per RCSS guidelines, no student should receive a failing grade for the 3rd quarter.
- I expect we will receive additional guidance for 4th quarter grading, but at this time our best practice is going to be to maintain a focus on "standards mastery" rather than letter grades and numerical averages. This is a more natural place for K-2 since report cards in these grades already reflect this type of information. Think: What CAN they do? What do they need to advance to the next concept?
PowerSchool
- With the change in 3rd to 4th quarter dates, please be aware that any assignment in your gradebook after March 13th will post in the 4th quarter. To fix this, you will need to go into the assignment and edit the due date to March 13th or earlier.
- Comment Verification is due Wednesday, April 1st to Lorrie.
Communication
- Please continue communicating with parents a minimum of one time per week and document this communication.
- We are in uncertain times and everyone, parents especially, are struggling with finding their balance. Please keep your conversations positive and supportive.
- IMPORTANT: If, during the course of a communication with parents, mental health or safety concerns arise, please call 911.
- Focus on the "cans" and the "next steps."
- Please hold off on instigating retention conversations at this time. If a parent brings it up to you, you may talk through some things you are seeing, but there are too many unknowns about the remainder of this year.
Resources
Digital Instruction
- Please see Lynn Routh's 3/26/20 email regarding read aloud permissions. The link referenced is here: https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=publishers-adapt-policies-to-help-educators-coronavirus-covid19
- RCSS Remote Learning Resource Page: https://www.randolph.k12.nc.us/remotelearningresources
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Please read the advice below from Cat Berry:
It is my recommendation that teachers follow the guidelines setup by publishers during this time to read books aloud, video, and post/stream online. Here is a sheet of publishers who are allowing teachers to read aloud that we are posting on the Remote Resources for Teachers Site that we are getting ready to Publish https://docs.google.com/document/d/18-QOvUJpAjbvc8wPIyZWF6iDoYwajF2uwapHdAMzSxQ/edit . All of the publishers request you post on a closed platform, if at all possible, we do have a closed platform available so I recommend teachers post to Canvas, Class Dojo, or even upload to Google Drive and then share a link to the video.
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Please read the following information from DPI regarding reading to students online:
Can I record myself reading a book aloud and post it on my social media page? Storytelling/reading books aloud in classrooms favors fair use because it's instructional, non-profit, involves commentary, is confined to students in the class, etc. However, you change the scenario by videotaping it and posting it online where it is accessible to those outside of your classroom. Reading a book aloud (esp. in its entirety) and posting that online may be considered public performance and/or distribution which may infringe on copyright. Consider conducting a fair use analysis to determine if you are confident with a fair use argument. If you are not confident that your planned use is fair, get permission from the copyright holder or use books in the public domain and/or books licensed for your planned use.