SCHOOL NEWS AND VIEWS
Friday, March 20, 2020
This week's update: End of Week 1 of Covid-19 Shut-down
Hello Holy Cross Family,
These are very difficult times for all of us.
Students, Parents and Teachers are adjusting to a new way of learning and a new way of life.
I am proud of the way that my teachers have stepped up and responded and adapted to online instruction with virtually no time to plan and to learn.
Parents, you are doing great! Do not become overwhelmed or feel alone. We are here to help you as you work with your children on their school work and learning during these strange and difficult times. We are all figuring this out together.
We lent 40 chromebooks to students who did not have a device at home since Monday. We purchased more chromebooks and they have arrived and will be available to be signed out after spring break. If your child who is in 2nd grade and up is still in need of a device to borrow, please email Mrs. Mackey.
The key to this time of school closure being successful for all of us is COMMUNICATION and ROUTINE . Parents, it is essential that you read all communication from school and from teachers.
Beginning Monday, March 30th, all of our teachers will have regular "office hours" when they will be open for phone calls if necessary. They will communicate to you what their office hours are based on their circumstances. There will be windows of time that students or parents will be able to call and speak to a teacher. Outside of this window of time, you can email or message a teacher thru google classroom or the classroom app that they are using when you need to, and get a response during regular school hours.
Beginning Monday, March 30th, all students/parents must check in with the teacher via google classroom (2nd and up) Class Dojo (K5 and 1st) Remind (K4) ClassApp (PK). We have got to document "attendance" and this is how we will do it. Teachers must somehow make contact with the students in their homeroom each day to input their attendance.
During each school day there must be some time of contact (such as a message or submitted assignment) between student and teacher. Teachers will send out a reminder at the beginning of each day to their homeroom and during that day there must be some type of response.
If you are having trouble getting in touch with teachers or have any questions, you can email me and I will assist you. I will also provide you with a phone number to call me at in the event of an urgent situation.
It is very important that you establish some type of regular schedule for your children during this time. Since everyone's situation is different, your schedules will look different. However, students do need a dedicated time each day for school work and they need a quiet and organized space to work in. They need supervision while they do their school work. This is something brand new to all of us and we just can't expect kids to jump in and handle it on their own. They need time for exercise, reading, chores, creative work, relaxation and family time as well. I will provide links to you below for extra sites that you can have your children work on to stay busy if you feel that they need more.
Parents of younger children (3rd grade and down)...try your hardest to not be overwhelmed and do the best that you can, however you can. 4th and 5th grade students should be reasonably comfortable with this technology and middle school students should really not be having any difficulty with this at all.
When spring break is over, we will again be providing lunch to our students from 11:30AM until 1PM. We will serve lunch to any child 18 years of age and younger, so please share this info with your friends and family. They DO NOT need to be Holy Cross students. Children must be accompanied by an adult to pick up this take out lunch.
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Until we all gather again, please be safe and healthy and do your part to stay home and help flatten the curve on this horrible illness.
In Christian Service,
Mrs. Mackey
Video tutorial on google classroom by Mr. Harden
Are your children watching our evening storytime?
Additional materials for you to look at to keep kids busy
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
https://www.playbill.com/article/15-broadway-plays-and-musicals-you-can-watch-on-stage-from-home
https://characterstrong.lpages.co/educator-resources/
https://www.weareteachers.com/things-to-do-during-covid/?
utm_source=WAT_MDR&utm_medium=Enews&utm_campaign=WAT_CVEnews03182020
https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours
COMCAST IS OFFERING FREE WIFI
To assist in Internet connectivity, Comcast continues to offer free WiFi via Xfinity hotspots where Xfinity service is available for 60 days. This is in addition to the Internet Essentials Program, normally $9.95 per month, that will provide an in-home modem and 60 days of free service for eligible low-income M-DCPS families.
Online Church
What's coming up?
Sorry Parents, this is all that I have at this time
March 21-29: Spring Break
March 30: School resumes ONLINE
April 15: This is the date that has been suggested by the Governor as a return to school date but this may be changed. Stay tuned.
Are you following our Social Media
Facebook: @holycrossnorthmiami
Instagram @holycrossnmiami
Twitter - @holycrosslsnm
When posting photos, please hashtag #holycrossnmiami
How to Contact Us:
650 NE 135th St.
North Miami, Fl. 33161
School 305 893 0851
Church 305 893 0371
Office emails:
Sherri Mackey smackey@holycross-nm.org
Marluys Sejba msejba@holycross-nm.org
Natalia Escobar nescobar@holycross-nm.org
Soraya Trujillo strujillo@holycross-nm.org
Roslyn Noel rnoel@holycross-nm.org
Lisette Rogers lrogers@holycross-nm.org
Marie Innocent minnocent@holycross-nm.org
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Background check authorization
If you completed a background check last year, DO NOT complete this again UNTIL you receive an email stating that it is expiring.
http://www.holycrossnorthmiami.org/schools-background-check-authorization