Colts Chronicle
A Cimarron Middle School Newsletter
A Message From the Principal
Thank you for everything you have done so far to help your child with their education. This is not an easy task for parents and educators during this time. As you know, the hybrid model puts a lot of independence on students to accomplish the learning.
Teachers are working hard to meet the needs of students that are learning in school and for students that are learning at home. With these struggles, we would like to offer some tips and tricks for you as a parent. Please also have conversations with other parents and teachers to collaborate for extra support. It takes a community of support to make Cimarron Strong!
Chris Zimmerman
Principal
How Can You Help Your Student Succeed During Hybrid Learning?
Scheduling
Make a school schedule.
Most kids are used to having a schedule for the school day, recreating something similar at home can ease the transition to a different learning environment. Create a spot in your house that is dedicated to school work.
A suggestion would be to have your student set alerts on their phone to indicate when it's time to transition to another class or take a break. This is very beneficial on the Friday schedule.
Accountability
Create a checklist for your student the night before they have an independent day. When you get home on independent days, have your student lay out their work and checklist so you can see that they accomplished the learning tasks for the day. Please make sure students are turning in their work.
Check infinite campus at the end of the week to make sure they are accomplishing their learning tasks. If not, please have your student email their teachers to increase communication.
Attendance:
Independent Days: please make sure your student or a parent checks in to class for the day in Infinite Campus. Please see attached letter for instructions.
Fridays: schedule doctor, dentist, and orthodontist appointments for before or after school hours whenever possible. Students will need to check in to classes and teachers will be marking attendance on Fridays. If students are sick on a Friday and cannot participate, make sure to call their absence into the attendance line.
Build in breaks.
Traditional school programs incorporate some sort of recess or outdoor time, and a work from home schedule should be no different. Outside time and fresh air has huge physical and mental health benefits.
Downtime is your friend.
Downtime, or time for kids to work on projects quietly and independently, is just as important as active time outside. Kids need time to "disconnect" every day — from each other, from parents, from technology and from the outside world.
Stick to a sleep schedule.
While it might be tempting for your older children to stay up late every night and sleep late every morning, maintaining healthy sleep habits is essential to their physical and mental health. Middle school students need at least 9 hours of sleep per night.
Communication
Stay Connected.
If your student does not understand something, encourage them to email their teacher or talk to them the next day. It is hard for students to communicate to teachers at this age and it is good practice as they get older.
Please be aware that during at home days, teachers will not be able to respond their emails right away because they are teaching classes. Have students look through their resources in Google Classroom and calendars. We recommend that students try to reach out to classmates to try to get their questions answered.
Help your child solve problems.
Most online classes aren't a virtual meeting. There are lists of assignments, discussion boards, forums, and projects that are accomplished at the student's own pace. Your child is not in the same room as the teacher. Don't think you must be in the same room as your child to help. Encourage problem solving strategies to help support and encourage their growth.
Give kids an outlet to discuss emotions.
Writing in a journal is a good way for adolescents to process their feelings in this uncertain time. You can also set aside a time to talk as a family about how everyone is feeling and coping with the outbreak.
Have an adventure mindset.
Help your child understand that every moment in life offers opportunities to learn, create and grow.