Mustang Round Up
Be Safe ~ Be Respectful ~ Be Responsible ~ Be a Mustang
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A Message From Mr. Shenk
Dear Mustang Families,
I hope this note finds you in good health. I am writing this with a heavy heart and missing all of you. Knowing that we will not see the smiling, happy faces of your children here on campus for the remainder of the year is heart wrenching. I have some thoughts to share and want you to know that we will be doing our best to make our new life as positive as possible.
I would like to start by saying that I am so very proud of our District and especially the TES staff for their efforts to adjust to the new reality we are all facing. It is incredibly challenging to meet the needs of all our students while in the building. Doing that from a distance multiplies the challenge significantly and has a tremendous impact on parents and households. We have, and will continue to be here to serve and support all of you as much as possible. Our goal is to listen to our families, understand their circumstances, and do our best to meet everyone’s needs.
What we are experiencing at his time is that families have a wide range of needs and abilities. Some families are stressed to the max with the technology and online schoolwork and feeling it is too much to handle. At the same time, other families are begging for more structure to their days, and some parents are struggling with working from home and the need to keep their children occupied while doing so. It is our hope and our intention to support each of you in the way that best fits your individual family situation.
All this is to say that teachers may be sending home a lot of work because that is what some families need and want. Other families may choose to spend the minimum amount of time and energy on schoolwork and that is OK, too! Please know that we fully support you in making modifications in order for this to work for your family. We understand the varying range of abilities, attention spans, pacing, and all of the extenuating circumstances coming at all of us at this time.
Our request is that you prioritize the iReady reading and math as that is the only way we will receive consistent feedback about your child's progress at this time. We understand this may not be the preferred modality for some families, but this is necessary in order to provide evidence that students are making progress towards meeting their grade-level benchmarks. The recommended (please note it is a recommendation) time per week on these programs is 90 minutes per subject, given the current learning situation. Teachers will be available to support any needs you have with meeting this time request.
One of the most difficult shifts about the current reality is that the rhythms of our days and weeks have been removed and many of us are struggling with the lack of structure and routine. Again, this is something each family is going to need to develop for themselves but we strongly encourage you to work towards putting in place a routine to give shape to your days. Teachers have been asked to send out sample daily schedules to provide you with ideas on what this might look like. I hope that you find these useful and can create a daily schedule that works for your family.
We understand this is hard on everyone. Remembering and accepting that we all are doing the best we can do and being gentle with ourselves and with each other, will allow us to look back on this time as an experience that built us up as a community. Please continue to reach out to us with any issues that come up and we will continue to check in about how things are going. We are going to learn together and be a supportive encouraging community from a distance, as we were when we were together.
That's all for now...stay safe
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Grab & Go Meals at the school M-F 10:00-11:30
Thank you bus drivers for the meal deliveries!
Mr. Shenk helped in handing out student's belongings.
Talent Elementary School
Email: curt.shenk@phoenix.k12.or.us
Website: www.phoenix.k12.or.us/tes
Location: 307 Wagner Creek Road, Talent, OR, USA
Phone: 541.535.1531