Dear Mesa Families,

First of all, from our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!!! We are so thankful for our amazingly supportive families. We know that this has been a challenging year for everyone in our community. Please know that our staff is working extremely hard to support all students with learning the grade level content, but also in supporting them with the social and emotional piece during this challenging time. Please take a look at the Counseling Corner section of this newsletter to see some of the supports that are being provided by our school counselors.

For remote learning AFTER THANKSGIVING BREAK starting on 11/30 (this has been shared previously in an email and voicemail), we will be running what is called a ‘block schedule’. This is a schedule in which we have our odd numbered class periods on Monday and Wednesday with our even numbered class periods on Tuesday and Thursday. This will mean 4 classes for students each day plus ME time/Study Hall (Mesa Enrichment). Our Friday schedule will remain similar to what it has been all year in which students attend each of their classes on Friday morning. This schedule is being implemented based on the feedback we have received from students, parents, and teachers. We believe this schedule will support student engagement and help to reduce the challenges that families have dealt with regarding previous remote models.

Students will access their learning through their Google Accounts and join the teacher and classmates in a live session using Google Meets. Students will have virtual, real-time, contact with a teacher every class period.

Although the class periods are 85 minutes (the first class is 90 minutes due to morning announcements), we want to be aware of the amount of time students spend in front of a screen. Students will be expected to log in at the start of each class period. Once logged in, students will be in that class for around 30 minutes for instruction and direct interaction with their teacher and fellow students. For the remainder of the period, students will be completing work related to the first 30 minutes of the class. Students will not be online for the entire period of 85 minutes. Please understand, there will be days where they may be with the teacher for longer or shorter than the 30 minute time period.

Typical Class

An 85 minute block class (the first class is 90 minutes for announcements):

• First 30 minutes (live, synchronous class with students and teacher):

• Attendance taken

• Instruction of class

• Interaction with peers in class

• Classroom discussion

• Assignment given and opportunity to ask clarifying questions

• Remainder of class may include:

• Student work time on assignments and activities

• Students interacting with each other for small group work

• Teacher working with students in small groups or individually

• Teacher will remain in the Google Meet to answer questions and provide support/feedback

• Possible closure to the lesson

This structure allows students to gain direct instruction and interaction with their teacher and it allows work time for assignments and projects. It also gives consistent times for students to be online and join a class while giving students autonomy within other parts of the class and their day.

It is important for everyone to know that we will continue to have attendance, grading, and behavior expectations as we do when we are in school. Attendance for each class period will be taken at the start of each class just like during school. Teachers will also be giving assignments and grading them as usual. Please know that students will not have cohorts during remote learning.

We want parents to know the new schedule and daily expectations. Consistency will be important for students and families to be successful.

Block Schedule: Monday - Thursday

A block schedule is designed to have students attend fewer classes per day for a longer period of time. Below are the time frames and periods for your child using the block schedule. This plan should help students stay organized without worrying about logging into 8 different classes per day.

The Friday schedule will be similar to what it has been all year. Students attend each of their classes for 27 minutes on Friday morning. Students will attend all their classes from 7:30 am to 12:00 pm. The link for the Friday schedule and the remote learning schedule can be found here: LINK.

Teachers spent time before break during class reviewing how remote learning will look for students between November 30th through January 4th. All students will have the necessary codes to access the learning and they will be able to use a schedule guide that we have created to help them navigate remote learning. The guide can be found here: LINK. Again teachers reviewed this document and worked with students to fill it out. Please note that December 18th is a furlough day for teachers. Teachers will not be grading or responding to phone calls and emails on this day.

MMS staff are extremely proud of students and we so appreciate the support from our community as we work this most challenging year. Remember we are here to support all students and families. If there is anything you need during this time, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

On behalf of the entire staff at Mesa Middle School,

Tony Jackowski

Principal

The school counselors at Mesa are working hard to adjust to the new reality of remote learning. Remember we are here to support you and your students during this transition!! If a student would like to meet with his/her counselor, please have them use this LINK. Currently, counselors are running a few different small groups that cover topics such as friendships/connection, anti-anxiety/stress management, executive functioning, etc. If you have any questions regarding groups, or believe your student would benefit, please reach out!

Counselors are also putting together a few parent events. We know these times are stressful, and we want to offer resources for parents as well. Be on the lookout for flyers and updates coming soon to your inbox!

On November 10th, during Wellness class, Mesa students were offered the unique opportunity to visit with the Denver Broncos virtually. Through the support of Mile High United Way and Everfi, students were able to hang out with the Broncos for a conversation on character in the time of COVID-19. The Broncos shared with the students their stories of the journey to the NFL, what has made the difference in their lives, and how they are making the best of challenging times. Mesa students learned from the Broncos how character, good choices and hard work has put them on the path to success.

Congratulations to Isabel Cohn, Isabelle Corkill, and Sophia Hummel for winning a book of your choice. These students participated in our Fall reading challenge and completed their reading bingo cards.

Mesa is a meal bag pickup site for families during remote learning. Meal bag pickups will be Tuesdays from 1-2 pm (3 days worth of meals) and Fridays 1-2 pm (4 days worth of meals). These pickup sites are open to ALL kids 1-18 yrs regardless of enrollment and kids do not need to be present for someone to pick up their meals. This is a great way for kids to continue getting fed 7 breakfast meals and 7 lunch meals during remote learning.

Atlas – Kaitlin Zukowski, Matthew Hedges

Polar – Payton Ruehl, Declan Byers

Glacier – Bailey Ragan , Braeden Backer

Kodiak – Olivia Henderson, Asher Schembri

Grizzly – Shae Koplitz, Reighven Zerlin

Sun - Paige Gibson, Logan Walker

Panda - Shea Branson, James Sinnot

Sky- Danica Buck, Tucker Thornton

This year Mesa was able to work with a local organization to give away 30 Thanksgiving Day meals to families in need. In addition at Mesa, we are able to provide weekly food bags to families who need them. If you are a family that would benefit from receiving a weekly food bag, please reach out to a school counselor or administrator (the picture in this article was taken from the internet and is not an actual image of the boxes we gave out).