We are excited to be increasing the opportunities for student-teacher engagement as we head into the second trimester of the 20-21 school year! Based upon our experiences last Spring and the feedback from both students and parents, the more ways in which we can provide opportunities for students to stay connected and engaged with their learning and our staff, the better they feel and perform. As a staff, we are strongly encouraging students to participate in the synchronous learning opportunities (live online lessons) that will be offered every day. Having devoted time provides daily structure to student learning and supports a healthy routine for them socially, emotionally and cognitively. Developmentally, we realize the significance of each of these pillars in our middle school students lives and are passionate about the innovative ways in which we can continue to provide for these needs through distance learning.

Thank you for your continued support, encouragement, and engagement in the important work we have to accomplish together during the upcoming months. This is a lot for all of our stakeholders. Students, parents and teachers are being asked to do more than ever before. We sincerely appreciate your partnership and want you to know how much we care about your children and will be here to support them as we continue through this chapter of our school year!

Respectfully,

Jennie Kelly

STMA Middle School East Principal

Just like when students were in school, they will begin their day with their SEL (Social/Emotional Learning) teacher at 9:00 a.m. as we begin the second trimester. Their teachers will be meeting with them in SEL on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Monday and Wednesday will be focused on our social/emotional learning, while Friday will be focused on having fun together with their classmates and teacher. Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00-9:30 will be a sacred reading time for all students and staff. Students will be learning about optional ways in which they can participate in book clubs and read alouds, too!

Following their SEL time, students will participate in each of their classes via 30-minute synchronous taught lessons. During synchronous lessons, students are able to watch and listen to their teacher LIVE via Google Meet. Each department will have a designated time for instruction building wide, which means all students that choose to participate in synchronous lessons will follow the same schedule each day (see schedule below). In addition, all teachers will be holding open office hours from 1:30-2:30 every day! This time will provide students and teachers with individual and small group support to answer questions that they have about their work for the day, guided practice opportunities and personalized support. Teachers will be communicating directly with students to provide the necessary information to join the synchronous learning links.

Daily postings of lessons will continue to be available for students at 9:00 a.m. These are great options for students who have been successful with more independence in learning, who may need to experience multimodality of learning to be successful, or who are unable to participate for that day in the synchronous option.

Students will continue to participate in band and choir in a synchronous manner during distance learning. Though their times will be adjusted, we are excited to continue to see their engagement and hear the amazing talents developing within these programs. Please click here for more information regarding Band and Choir Schedules.

To support our students' understanding of building and district expectations of learning virtually, we have created DL Norms for you and your child to review. The most important thing for them to remember is that while they are engaged with school, school rules and expectations still apply. We appreciate that this is a unique situation and will continue to communicate with you should we become aware of any concerns to address together with your child.

Student's attendance will continue to be tracked in Distance Learning utilizing the Daily Attendance Question in Google Classroom. Answering this short question will verify that your child has checked in for the day.

If your child does not answer the daily attendance question between 9am and midnight on a day we have school, you will receive an automated phone call and email on the following day. The purpose of this message is to keep you informed of your child's participation with the daily attendance question and communicate that they have been assigned a DLA (Distance Learning Absence) for the previous school day.

If you have any questions about Distance Learning attendance monitoring, please contact Assistant Principal David Holler (davidh@mystma.org).

Youth Matters has gone digital during Distance Learning. Students still attend sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:45 with a MSE teacher to improve their academic skills, work on homework and increase independence.

If you would like your child to attend Youth Matters, please reach out to Mr. Holler at davidh@mystma.org or open the link to the Youth Matters registration packet for a schedule and more information.

Check out the STMA Digital Learning Page. Here you will find frequently asked questions and quick tips to help navigate the commonly used resources by STMA students.

• STMA Digital Learning Page

Check out these technology resources to help students who may get distracted by online learning.

• Distraction Free Youtube Chrome Extension

• Parental Controls Article

Check in with Dean of Students, Molly Schleicher, if your student does not have a device to use for distance learning. mollys@mystma.org or (763) 497-2655

Need a break from Distance Learning? Not sure how to quiet your mind? Check out STMA's Virtual Calming Room. Between journaling, coloring, mindfulness and mind games, you can find an activity to calm your mind and body. Use these tools to manage your emotions and find new ways to cope with the stress and anxiety of everyday life.

Our 8th grade Tech Ed students created some amazing dragsters during Tri 1, highlighting their engineering skills. Here are the top 5 dragsters from Mrs. Dolan's TEE class. Congratulations to our winners!

Although in-person activities are on hold, many groups are meeting virtually during Distance Learning. Here are the activities that will continue virtually:

• MATHCOUNTS
• Destination Imagination
• WEB
• Student Council
• Yearbook
• Knightengals
• King Arthur's Court
• Spelling Bee

Email: jenniferk@mystma.org
Website: https://www.stma.k12.mn.us/Domain/8
Location: 4862 Naber Avenue Northeast, Saint Michael, MN, USA
Phone: 763-497-2655
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stmamse
Twitter: @stma_ms_east