Global Learning Opportunities through Balanced Education GLOBE WEEKLY NEWS

HEY GLOBE COMMUNITY This is the best resource for staying in the know.

Dear GLOBE Community, On December 15th, DeKalb County School District communicated a change to their re-opening plan, updating its metrics to make decisions about face-to-face learning with COVID-19 positivity rates rather than cases per 100,000 residents for 14-days straight. We just received this information and we are trying to gain clarification about whether or not we are bound to the county’s plan. In light of DeKalb’s decision, we are reviewing our plan against DeKalb’s to inform whether we need to make any modifications. Communication with further details will be provided by Friday. If you have not already submitted the GLOBE Parent Return to In-Person Survey, please do fill it out. If our plans change, you will have another chance to complete a new survey.

The COVID Corner

As we prepare guidance to inform a safe return, we will continue to address your questions and concerns in this section. Please see our COVID-19 tracker at www.theglobeacademy.org for today's update. We will provide weekly updates on the pandemic conditions via the graphic with more detailed information about these data by clicking on the image. If you have questions about GLOBE's Return-to-Campus Plan, please submit them here. If you haven’t seen a response to your question yet, stay tuned for upcoming newsletters.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED Question: Does GLOBE have the equipment needed to support physical distancing? Answer: Yes — GLOBE is prepared to be able to maintain physical distancing between students and staff on-campus. Students' workspaces will be spaced 4-6 feet apart. There is variation in the style of furniture in the classrooms (i.e. tables vs. individual desks) — however, since we are limiting class sizes during hybrid instruction, we will have the ability to ensure that students are appropriately distanced from one another. In areas where it is challenging for individuals to remain six feet apart, such as at reception desks, physical barriers such as plexiglass partitions will be installed. Question: In last week's COVID Corner, it was mentioned that in the event there is a COVID case in a classroom, the cohort model will allow only that classroom to close. What about siblings of those potentially exposed students? Answer: If a sibling's class has been asked to quarantine, any other students in the home should quarantine as well.

GENERAL UPDATES Winter MAPs During these unprecedented times, we find ourselves constantly trying to adjust and make decisions that are in the best interest of student learning. We analyzed the Fall administration of MAP and identified two main challenges due to our virtual setting:  Fidelity of scoring  The amount of lost instructional time  For these reasons, we have decided not to administer the Winter MAPs. Teachers will use this time to continue to instruct students. Tech Update Following the close of school on Friday, 12/18, a remote reset will be sent to ALL school Chromebooks. This will force the Chromebooks back to factory settings and will clear all data from the system. This will have NO impact on student accounts or access to data, but WILL increase device functionality. You will know the reset has occurred because your student will be required to reconnect to your home wifi and login in to synch data. UPPER CAMPUS 2nd Semester Materials Distribution Parents of Upper Campus students are encouraged to come to Upper Campus between 9 AM and 2 PM on Thursday, January 7 or Friday, January 8 to pick up teacher-provided materials for the start of second semester. Teachers will notify parents directly if there are materials that need to be picked up. ECP In-Person Virtual Learning Assistance for Kindergarten-5th Grade The ECP Program is offering childcare from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for Kindergarten and First grade, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Second and Third grade, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Fourth and Fifth grade. Read more here  ADMISSIONS Tour Season is here! This year we are hosting virtual tours for both Lower and Upper Campus. Read more here PTCC Looking for handy volunteers!!  We have 4 picnic tables for Lower Campus that need to be assembled. If you are interested in this volunteer opportunity, please reach out to FACPAC at facpac.globeacademy@gmail.com or Jerry Ross at jross@theglobeacademy.net for more information. FUNDRAISING GLOBE Trot Recap Thank you to all our donors and participants, especially the GLOBE Trot Planning Team for helping make the event a success this year:  Meghann Adams (Co-Chair) Cristina Cham Heather Corso (Co-Chair) Meeta Dama Lauren Hise Katrice Mines Jaime Raymond (Co-Chair) Enjoy a short compilation of videos and pictures of our 2020 GLOBE Trotters! (Please send in payments for any outstanding GLOBE Trot pledges by the end of the month.) GLOBE Rocks Postponed Due to restrictions caused by the ongoing pandemic, our annual GLOBE Rocks concert benefiting the music program has been postponed until April 2021. Stay tuned for updates. 2020-2021 Annual Fund This school year, GLOBE is facing significant budget cuts. The Annual Fund helps close this funding gap, which reduces the time we spend fundraising and strengthens our capacity to provide a quality education for our students. Every dollar counts and is much appreciated! GIVE to Annual Fund

YEARBOOK

Celebrations: Many of our GLOBE families participate in all kinds of celebrations around this time of the year. The celebrations may be religious, seasonal, or just for fun. We want to feature these in the yearbook. Please send us high resolution photos of any celebration your GLOBE family has. Please identify the GLOBE students in the photo and include a sentence or two telling us what you are celebrating and its meaning.  Portraits: Thank you to all parents who submitted portraits for the yearbook. The pages for K-5 have been submitted. If you have a Middle Schooler and haven’t submitted their photo, we are still accepting them. Email the full resolution photo to yearbook@theglobeacademy.net.

UPCOMING Below you will find the important dates to remember for the next two weeks. You can also sync the GLOBE calendar to your own digital calendar. December 18, 2020 Last day of 1st semester - 12 PM Dismissal Remote reset of all Chromebooks Dec. 21-31, 2020 Winter Break January 7, 2021 UC Materials pickup, 9:00 - 2:00 January 13, 2021 Last day of 1st semester January 15, 2021 Report Cards sent home

The GLOBE Academy Office Hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

What's on the Menu? The DeKalb County School District has released details on where to pick up lunch for your children Monday, Wednesday and Friday courtesy of DCSD. Click the link below for more details.

Meal Pickups  School Nutrition Services during Distance Learning will be available through the DeKalb County School District. Find out the details about Meal Distributions here.

THE GLOBE ACADEMY www.theglobeacademy.org

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