L.B. Clarke Middle School

It was so great to see our students back at school with us this week! We had a little fun and did some preparations for the first week of school. All Google Classrooms should be set and the kids should have brought home the schedule for their classroom. This is the schedule they will follow every day, whether in school or at home. You will find more information about that below.

I realize the newsletter is long, but we want to provide all of the information you should need in one spot. I will move new and more pressing information to the top and keep other information for your reference toward the bottom. Please make sure you continue to read the newsletter throughout the year. It will get shorter... I promise!

There are two times of day when all students will be doing the same thing. In the morning, from 7:55-8:20 am and in the afternoon, from 3:10-3:25 pm all students will be in their advisory groups. Throughout the rest of the day, teachers will rotate into the classrooms and students will follow the schedule posted for their room. Your child received that schedule at their advisory meeting this week.

You will find important information about attendance, grading and purple/gold cohorts, and sign-ups for athletics below. In next week's newsletter, I'll provide information about drop-off and pick-up procedures, advisory, and plans for the first week of school. If you have any questions, you can email me or call the middle school office at 794-1614. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

The first week of school begins on a Tuesday, so the schedule will be a little bit different.

PURPLE COHORT

• Tuesday and Wednesday (Sep 8-9)- Attend in-person
• Thursday and Friday (Sep 10-11)- attend online

GOLD COHORT

• Tuesday and Wednesday (Sep 8-9)- Attend online
  
• Thursday and Friday (Sep 10-11)- attend in-person

All students who are attending school in-person will be part of either the purple or gold cohort. This schedule starts the week of 9/14.

PURPLE COHORT

Monday/Tuesday- attend at school in-person

Wednesday/Thursday/Friday- attend online through Google Meet

GOLD COHORT

Monday/Tuesday/Friday- attend online through Google Meet

Wednesday/Thursday- attend at school in-person

FRIDAYS

All students will attend core subject classes on Friday mornings through Google Meet. Friday mornings will be used to wrap up learning for the week, foreshadow learning for the next week, and to provide support or extension learning for students. This is a required part of the school week.

Here is a sample student schedule:

• Science- 9:15-9:45

• Math- 9:50-10:20

• Integrated Studies- 10:25-10:55

• Integrated Studies- 11:00-11:30 (Integrated Studies is a two-period class)

Afternoons on Friday are for students to finish up on any work for the week, start any assignments that have been given for the next week, or for getting extra help from a teacher.

Teachers will help students prepare for the first Friday of the school year. This Friday schedule begins on September 18th because the first week of school has only four days. Please see the purple/gold schedule for the first week of school above.

While our return to school looks very different this year, attendance law and expectations remain the same. Whether in school or at home, students must follow their schedules and attend classes. When students are at home, they must log in at the beginning of each class to attend through Google Meet. In each Google Classroom, there is a link at the top of the page to join the class.

Reporting an absence:

• Whether it is a day they are attending school in-person or at home eLearning, a parent/guardian must call the middle school office, or email shannon.zarn@trschools.k12.wi.us, by 9 am and report the absence. If the school doesn't receive a call we will call you at home or work. For your child's safety, it is important that we make sure you know they are not attending school.

If your child is sick and cannot attend school in-person:

• If he or she feels well enough, they can attend online instead. However, we still need you to call the school to confirm that they are not attending in-person.
• If they are ill and do not feel well enough to attend class, please have them rest and take care.

If your child is sick and cannot attend school online:

• If they are ill and do not feel well enough to attend class, please have them rest and take care. However, we still need you to call the school to confirm that they are not attending online.

***We understand that students may be at home on their own or with older siblings as their caretakers during the day. This is an added challenge for eLearning days. Many teachers and staff are working parents who will have the same situation at home. One of the reasons for this structure is so kids have a schedule to follow at home and will be an active part of the class. If you or your child struggle with eLearning routines, please contact your child's advisor. We are here to help.

The video above does a great job of explaining Grading for Learning, our system of grading and providing feedback. We call it that because one of the goals is to remove the focus from scores, percentages, and letter grades so we can put the focus back on the learning itself.

Below, you will find more information about Grading for Learning, as well as links to a few more videos to describe the reasoning behind it. As you can see below, we report the demonstration of knowledge and skill separately from behaviors. This is explained in the video.

Academic Grades- Represent Academic Knowledge and Skills

• Grades only reflect student acquisition of the knowledge or skill students must learn.
• Each standard is reported separately, not summarized into a single grade for a course.
• Grades are not averaged. Grades represent the student’s achievement of the standard as of the most recent assessment.
• Students may earn a better grade by going through the process of requesting, preparing for, and then being reassessed. (Rick Wormeli, Part I, Part II)
• If an assessment is not started or isn’t finished, it is marked as incomplete in the grade book.

Raider Way Grades- Represent Behaviors and Soft Skills

• I am prepared for the workday and put forth my best effort.
• I arrive on time so I am ready to do my best.
• I complete work in a timely manner.
• I observe workplace expectations and procedures.
• I am mindful of the thoughts and feelings of others.

Terms We Use

• Essential Standard: Carefully selected knowledge and skills students must know and be able to do by the end of each grade level.
• Learning Target: Smaller, lesson-sized chunks students learn that help them build the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the essential standard.
• M (Mastering): The student meets current grade-level standards and expectations. They can consistently perform what is expected independently.

• P (Progressing): The student meets many/most of current grade-level standards, but still must demonstrate proficiency or consistency in some, and still may need some help.
• B (Beginning): The student meets some/few grade-level expectations, must demonstrate proficiency or consistency in many, and needs significant support.
• INC (Incomplete): The assessment was not completed, therefore there is no way to assess whether or not the student meets the standard. The assessment must be completed.
• C (Completed): This grade mark indicates that a practice assignment was completed. We do not grade practice, so students are able to make mistakes and learn without penalty. This is simply a way to record whether or not an assignment was completed.

If you have questions about Grading for Learning, please contact your child's advisor or teacher. We want to place the focus on learning.

Parents and guardians can sign students up for fall sports by clicking the links below. You can pay the athletic fee online as well by clicking on the RevTrak link in the form or above.

The forms below will take the place of the emergency forms that have been used in the past. More information about what sports will look like, schedules, practices, and safety protocols will be coming soon.

Google Classroom is our main platform for eLearning as a district. Teachers will post lessons, assign work, provide feedback, give assessments, and more through Classroom. It will be important for students to be in each of their classrooms daily to make sure they are keeping up with things. You will also be invited to each classroom as a guardian.

After you are invited, you will have an option to select how you would like to be updated. I suggest you choose the daily option. Google Classroom will send you a daily update of your child's progress in a neatly packaged email.

The video below is a nice overview of how parents can use Google Classroom.

The School Day

We want to come back to school and stay in school. In an effort to minimize the possible spread of COVID-19 at school, our students will be in static groups. Basically, this means that students will be in class with the same kids every day. In order to make this happen, teachers will rotate through the classrooms rather than the students changing classes. In the event of a student or staff member testing positive, we will have a much smaller group of people who could be affected.

Purple/Gold Cohorts

Each student is part of either the purple or gold cohorts. These groups designate what days kids are in school and what days they are eLearning. You will find information about the cohorts below. Please pay specific attention to the first week of school. Because it is a four day week, the rotation is a little bit different.

Synchronous Learning (In-School/At-Home)

All students will be receiving a daily schedule this week. All classes will have new learning every day, just as we would in a normal situation. Whether students are in-person at school or eLearning at home, they are expected to be present for every class. Students who are eLearning should be logged into the class through Google Meet and be present on-screen.

Following their daily schedule will help provide structure and consistency for students. This allows for students to follow the same daily routines no matter where they are attending. Teachers will take attendance and the office will follow up with parents if there is an issue. If there are circumstances the school should be aware of, please contact your child's advisor. We want to work with you.

Attendance for eLearning is not meant to be a punitive measure. It is to provide structure and allow parents to know whether students are attending as expected. This is especially important since new learning occurs each day. We are not expecting parents to be teachers. We do need help from you to provide structure at home so students can successfully attend online, where the teacher can take care of business.

Whether we are operating in a COVID-19 driven situation or a normal school year, Chromebooks are now an essential tool for student learning. Please help your child to do the following:

• Take excellent care of their Chromebook. It is theirs for the entire four years they are at Clarke and must last through the years for them.
• Bring their Chromebook to school fully charged every day.
• Keep a pair of earbuds at school. They will be very important for instruction and work time in every class. Students will be working with their peers who are in school and at home every day.

Students in each grade level have a set group of specials for this year. The state has requirements for the elective courses students must take through certain grade levels. We will rotate these courses throughout the year to make sure students are able to take each one. By remaining in static groups, we are not able to schedule specials classes as we normally would. The courses are set for all students.

Students in each grade level will have the following courses:

Technology Education
Art
Information Technology/Career and Life Skills

• Online Skills- 5th grade
• Career Exploration- 6th Grade
• Google Apps- 7th Grade
• Personal Finance- 8th Grade

Music

Due to the nature of activities in Band and Choir, we cannot have classes gather in large groups. In addition to this, blowing into instruments and singing are known to be a higher risk for the spread of COVID-19. In response to these complications, we have created plans for each grade level so our students can still participate in music classes and continue progressing in learning instruments and singing.

• 5th Grade- Music (non-singing/no wind instruments)
• 6th Grade- Music (non-singing/no wind instruments)and individual/paired lessons with the band or choir teacher.
• 7th Grade- For students continuing in music, individual/paired lessons with the band or choir teacher as well as an online component for instruction and feedback.
• 8th Grade- For students continuing in music, individual/paired lessons with the band or choir teacher as well as an online component for instruction and feedback.

Physical Education

All classrooms have two scheduled Phy Ed times throughout the day, in addition to lunch recess. The Phy Ed teachers will be running structured activities during these times just as they would in a regular class. Students will also have a Phy Ed Google Classroom, here Mr. Helling and Mr. Linzmeier will be posting assignments, activities, doing assessments, and providing feedback.

Social-Emotional Learning

All 5th and 8th-grade students will have an elective course taught by one of our school counselors. Ms. Scherer will teach Life Skills to all 5th graders. This course focuses on building healthy relationships, conflict resolution, friendship, etc. 8th-grade students will have SOAR (Social-Emotional and Real Life Ready) with Ms. Wagner. This course will continue with the knowledge and skills students have learned about social-emotional health from Life Skills and Health classes in 5-7 grades.

Health

Students in 6th and 7th grade will have Health class with Mrs. Wachowski. Health class focuses on healthy living, learning about the human body, drug and alcohol prevention, as well as healthy eating and exercise habits.

Email: timothy.wester@trschools.k12.wi.us
Website: http://www.trschools.k12.wi.us/schools/lbc/
Location: 4608 Bellevue Place, Two Rivers, WI, United States
Phone: (920) 794-1614
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Two-Rivers-Public-Schools-194601570552333/?ref=page_internal
Twitter: @lbclarkeraiders