Greetings Connect TK-8 Families,
Welcome Back! We are so excited to welcome students back into our virtual spaces this week. As we begin second semester, I (Kaitlin) spent much of my winter break reflecting (in between movie days in bed with bowls of popcorn) and want to share some of my reflections with you here. A few weeks ago I saw the quote
"Everybody needs more than anyone can give right now". Everyone needs more than anyone can give. Phew. That is a big statement. As we continue to navigate a global pandemic, grapple with how to ensure our country is a safe and equitable place for all people, worry about learning loss and the effects of remote learning, and most recently, stand witness to Wednesday's deplorable events at the Capitol (if you're discussing this topic at home
here is a trusted resource), it often feels like too much to carry. And then comes the realization that despite this weight, we are still needed. We need to show up for our families. Our coworkers. Our children. Our community. Each other. How do we come out on the other side? How do we navigate all the things and all the people and all the feelings?
Take. Good. Care. These are the three words that kept rising to the top, and have become my mantra for 2021. I know that there's more care to be distributed than I have to give, but if I just take good care of the things I can, I will be ok. If we can do small things with good care, we will be ok.
This also helps remind me that there's a lot of grace to be given, and plenty to go around. We have asked SO much of our children in the last year. We have asked SO much of parents this year. We have asked SO much of teachers this year. I invite us all to head into 2021 with grace. Throw it around like confetti. Slap it on everything--including the idea of "learning loss" (read more about learning loss
HERE).
Our commitment of facilitating joy and providing students with engaging, meaningful learning experiences was ever-present as our staff engaged in professional development this week. We spent time together exploring best practices for PBL in a remote setting, continued our focus on culturally responsive teaching and learning (Check out our
Equity Accountability questions and feel free to use them at home!), discussed essential skills and student feedback, and curated a toolbox of strategies for student engagement in a virtual environment.
I'd like to ask you to help us by having a conversation with your student about how they participate in virtual learning. Do they keep their cameras off at all times? Respond when called on? Participate in breakout rooms? We never want to force a student to use their camera in such a vulnerable experience. However, we also know there's a difference between a camera off for equity reasons, and cameras off to disengage from learning. Please help your children know the difference and encourage them to show up as active participants in class--if you have questions about this, please reach out to me. I'm happy to talk with you and your student.
Finally, we reflected on first semester's experience, and have made some adjustments that we hope you will find helpful:
We wanted to bring clarity to "asynchronous time", the afternoon time spent after class on school days. At the beginning of the year, we promised families that we would provide learning experiences students could engage in independently for the rest of their "school day" after class ends. We realize that clarity around this offering would be helpful, so each teacher created weekly Menus to provide consistency and clarity in what this looks like. You'll notice mention of them in your weekly e-mail from your teacher as well as in their google classroom. We hope this helps your afternoons run more smoothly!
Also, we have shortened the social hour time to 1:00-1:45pm on T/F. We hope this slight shift invites more students across grade levels to attend, knowing that it's a little less screen time, and the time they're expected to engage doesn't feel so long. We also are exploring opportunities for classes to join forces and offer social time together--you'll hear more from your teacher about their specific plan soon!
Thank you for all that you and your students have given this year (and it's only the first week of 2021!). It's all too much, and we are grateful to be in this with you.
Take Good Care,
Kaitlin and Michelle
