March 27, 2020 Good evening Polson students and parents/guardians,
The Polson team is ready to launch our distance learning program! It is strange being in the building without the energy and enthusiasm that staff and students bring each day. Although the distance learning can never replace the face-to-face-lessons your child has been receiving from our highly skilled educators, we are confident that your child will continue to be engaged in meaningful learning experiences. I am incredibly impressed with how much the teachers have accomplished in the past 2 weeks and I know they are looking forward to connecting with students again. The teachers at Polson have been working extremely hard to make sure that all students continue to grow and we are relying on our students to partner in this unique challenge. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we take on this endeavor together.
Here are a few reminders/directions starting Monday:
Schedule The online/distance learning will begin on Monday, March 30, 2020. Students should be checking their school email on a daily basis as this is the primary means of communication from teachers. We will follow a specific schedule each day to reduce the possibility of scheduling conflicts between students and their teachers. Teachers will schedule live instruction, office hours, and student meetings based on this time schedule, but a recorded version will be available at any time. Attendance If your child is ill and unable to participate in online lessons/assignments, please contact the school's attendance line at 203-245-6485. Please leave a message stating your child's name and the reason for their absence. This information should be reported to the main office by 9:00 a.m. each school day. Staff Attendance If a teacher is ill and unable to work on a specific day, either they or I will email parents. Special education or intervention services If your child was receiving special education or reading/math intervention services while school was in session, this instruction will continue with distance learning. In addition to the core classes and related arts, your child will also receive a class code from the special education teachers or interventionist. Please reach out to me if you have any questions about these special services. Lockers We encouraged students to take anything they need from their locker on March 13. We realize many students still have things in their locker. If something is needed for instruction such as a band folder or science notebook, please contact me directly. Report Cards for Trimester 2 In addition to working on Distance Learning Modules, teachers have been completing Trimester 2 Report Cards. We plan to mail the Report Cards home the week of April 6th. Guidance for Distance Learning On the Madison website there are helpful materials on how to deal with working from home and learning from home. We hope this is a valuable resource for families. Google Classroom Codes You may have already received an email from the team leader that shared a list of all the classroom codes for each grade level. I know many of the students have already logged in but they still may need to log into Related Arts classes – especially for a class that started in trimester 3. The related arts wheel is designed such that a student has a different course each trimester. Students should look for the next class in the rotation held at the same time as they currently have related arts. For example, if they had health ACE period 6 in trimester 2, they look to join computers ACE period 6. Health in T2 is now Computers in T3 Netiquette: It is important that students understand their responsibility as learners to engage in their classrooms each day. In addition, they are responsible for the same expectations as listed in their building Code of Conduct. This includes appropriate online behavior within the Learning Platform.
As we begin Distant Learning on Monday, please know we are all here to help. You can contact teachers via email and me either through email or calling Polson 203-245-6480. Finally, please know we all miss your children. We are able to support in various ways, so please reach out to us as needed.
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