Week of November 23, 2020

Happy November 25th Birthday to Sara!

There are only 14 school days until Christmas break! I cannot believe how fast this year is flying by. This week we will start our new story, start learning the long a sound, and do Thanksgiving themed activities. We will also have our class party on Tuesday. Thanks to everyone who donated. I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving. Please know that the entire SKS faculty and staff are always grateful and thankful for your support but this year especially. We could not do this without your help and support! Speaking of that, below you will find everything you need to know regarding Virtual School on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Virtual School Information for Monday 11/30 & 12/1

- Next Monday and Tuesday we will be fully virtual. The kids will be coming home with all of their workbooks and copybooks on Monday and Tuesday. There will not be any worksheets to print.  I will review these tips and rules with the kids in school this week, but it is a great idea for you to review them at home as well. 

A few helpful tips and suggestions are:

        - Please be sure to have your child logged in to google so they will be ready to join the Meet. 

        - Post the Meeting code somewhere visible: mthornton3

        - Look at/print the Virtual Schedule ahead of time.

        - Follow Virtual Learning Schedule: HERE (To make things easier, students will stay logged on during morning break but do not need to be on screen.  They will have to sign off during lunch, and sign back on after lunch at 12:10.)

       - Have materials ready for the week: pencils, workbooks, copybooks, reader, crayons, colored pencils, glue sticks, scissors, headphones, etc.

       - Have a quiet, distraction free place to work. Students should not be laying on beds, be away from your pets, TV, toys, and other family members.  *Headphones would be best for focus!*

       - Wear your required uniform daily (spring uniform is okay). *MONDAY WILL BE A DRESS DOWN FOR OUR CLASS ONLY AS A THANK YOU FOR MY BIRTHDAY GIFTS!*

      - Make sure devices are fully charged and have the charger available if needed.

      - Check your child’s computer volume and practice muting and unmuting.

     - Remind your child that virtual school is like being at school, but from home. The same behavior is expected. They should be respectful of the teacher and classmates.  

      - If they have questions or need help with something, they should ask ME,  just like if we were in school! They may need to seek help from you OCASSIONALLY for finding a page or logging on, but you should not have to sit with your child during each lesson.

    - The kids should stay on mute unless they are called on or have a question. If they have a question, they can raise their hand or pop on and ask if not interrupting a lesson. Please do not use the raise hand button or thumbs up button as it becomes a distraction. Also, they are not allowed to change their backgrounds.

I know this is a lot of information, but it will help everything transition smoothly if they are prepared and ready to go.  The hope is to develop good virtual habits in case we need it for longer periods. Remember, this is a trial run and we can tweak things if we need to.  Feedback is welcomed!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Melissa