PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Hi everyone! We are so excited to kick off the 2020-21 school year tomorrow. We wanted to send out a quick Q&A document to provide you with a few answers as we start the year. As is always the case, feel free to reach out to us in the office with any questions you might have. We realize that this list is not exhaustive, but we hope it will help you and your child feel prepared for the days to come. Here are a number of answers for you…
Q - What can my student expect for the first day of school?
A - The first official day of school is tomorrow, Thursday, September 3rd. However, our first priority is to make absolutely sure that students are set up for success this fall. Starting tomorrow, teachers will be reaching out to students and their families to make sure everyone is connected with school and ready to go. This will include emails and phone calls throughout the day.
Q - What’s happening on Friday of this week (9/4)?
A - On Friday of this week, students will be meeting with their Family teachers for an interactive lesson from the hours of 9:30am to around noon. During this time, there will be a number of different aspects to the day including video clips from staff members, tutorials of how to navigate Google Suite, and a variety of other important things.
Q - What can I expect for the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend (9/8)?
A - The normal schedule then kicks in on that Tuesday, which has periods 1, 2, and 3 on Tuesdays and Thursday, and periods 4, 5, and 6 on Wednesdays and Fridays. Teachers will certainly start getting into the content of their classes while also working to build the relationships that will help us navigate learning this year, whether remote, hybrid or otherwise.
Q - We haven’t had a distribution day for materials yet. Are we going to have one?
A - Yes! We are still working on the final details, but we have purposefully taken this process slowly. First of all, we want to make sure your child has what he or she needs to be successful this fall. For example, students in Algebra and Geometry are going to be provided with math notebooks to use for the next few months, regardless of whether we are learning remotely or in-person. We also want to minimize the amount of running around you have to do. So, we will be sure to communicate when in September we will be facilitating this process. Stay tuned!!!
Q - What is “Family” and why is it listed on the schedule for Mondays?
A - Students have been assigned to a Family teacher as a zero-hour class similar to a homeroom/advisory that will meet every week on Mondays. It is a requirement and attendance will be taken. This Family class will serve as an initial point of contact for the school. For most students, the Family teacher is the same as their first period class. During these Monday lessons, we will be doing anything from Social-Emotional Learning (CharacterStrong) to helping students explore college and careers as they create their High School and Beyond Plan. It will be really important that each student make it a point to participate in these Family time zoom sessions each Monday at 10:30am.
Q - Will assignments be graded and used this fall?
A - Yes. Assignments and assessments for classes will be part of this fall’s learning. This will help build a gradebook in Skyward which will in turn appear on the student’s report card and transcript.
Q - Will attendance be taken?
A - Yes. Each day and each period. Teachers will be using Skyward to track attendance for the periods assigned to a given day. For example, a teacher will be taking attendance during zoom and throughout the school day to monitor which students are engaging with their schoolwork. If your child is unable to attend their classes on a given day, students will be marked absent. Parents are encouraged to reach out to Mrs. March in the main office to provide information regarding any absence. Students are encouraged to communicate with their teachers as well to find out what they missed.
Q - Does my student need to attend their Zoom class periods?
A - Yes. A daily schedule has been created so that students can attend virtual instruction during appointed times. If a student is unable to attend for some reason, it is crucial that your child communicate with their teacher and engage with their schoolwork. For many, this means checking email and accessing each class’ Google Classroom. However, as is the case with a normal year, there is no good substitute for being at school. Students who are absent from virtual instruction may struggle to keep up with their classwork, and so it is our recommendation that you sit down with your child and map out how to make these times work.
Q - What are the times between virtual class periods for?
A - As you may have seen on the weekly schedule, there is time for students to work on assignments from various classes, as well as office hour windows so that students can seek out help from their teachers. We encourage students to use these times for their needs, including working with peers on Zoom, reaching out to their teachers for help, submitting work in Google Classroom, or whatever they may need.
Q - How can I best support my child during remote learning?
A - We recognize that these are not normal times, and that remote learning from home is completely different than what everyone is used to. That said, we have a number of suggestions in case they might help…
Help your child organize their week
Try to provide a location for them to work
Ask them to give you a tour of their Google Classrooms on their Chromebook
Talk through how to best manage their schoolwork throughout the week
Post teacher’s office hour windows somewhere visible
Help your child advocate for him/herself by emailing teachers directly
Make sure you know how to use Family Access (the parent-side) of Skyward
Q - What does my child need to be able to access and use well?
A - Zoom, Google Classroom, and Skyward!!! Can’t stress this enough.
Virtual instruction will be hosted on Zoom each day of the week. Students need to be able to access these sessions, and so they will need to have a charged chromebook with internet access.
Teachers post a lot of their materials on Google Classroom, and so almost every single student should have 7 Google Classroom links (six periods plus Family). Teachers post assignments, announcements, and other resources here.
As is the case every year, we use Skyward for both attendance and grading. Students use “student access” and parents use “family access.”
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We hope this newsletter finds you doing well. We are excited to kick off the year with you tomorrow!
Whatever it takes!
Mark Robinson
CJH Principal
(253)517-1600
Mark Robinson
Email: mrobinson@fifeschools.com
Website: https://cjh.fifeschools.com/
Location: 2901 54th Avenue East, Fife, WA, USA
Phone: 2535171600
Facebook: www.facebook.com/columbiajrhigh/
Twitter: @cjhprincipal