Dear Discovery Families,
Usually I feel like I know what to say to families, but this message is much more difficult to write than my monthly newsletters have been in the past. Everyday I have feelings of grief and wonder. Perhaps you do as well. The part I miss most is greeting our students every morning with their smiles, hugs and stories. I miss reading with students and watching them as they learn in their classrooms. Just as adults are feeling stressed right now, so are our children. They are seeing and hearing about things that none of us have experienced before. When all of this ends, the most important thing will be the mental health of our people. This newsletter is dedicated to what we are doing in Fife to help our families. I ask for your patience as we work through this together.
Our district priorities to this point have been to arrange for food delivery for students and childcare programs for first responders and health care workers. The district then set a priority on students currently in their senior year. Now we start the process of unpacking what learning looks like for our students across our district This letter is a follow up to the message sent from Superintendent Alfano (click here) on Thursday, March 26, 2020. The State has indicated that remote learning must begin the week of March 30, 2020.
So with that in mind, elementary staff, principals, as well as our district office,Teaching Learning and Innovation (TLI) team, have been working behind the scenes tirelessly as we adapt to these unprecedented times. The teachers are so excited to resume educational services while still learning on the fly about what that might look like. The good news is the students in Fife have the very BEST teachers in the world who constantly look through the lens of students first, adapt as needed, and are always willing to learn.
PHASE I: ACADEMIC SUPPORT
We are excited to share with you our activities that prioritize flexibility for your families, while still providing academic support and connections. Teachers will be reaching out to you with suggestions for academic support via email on Wednesday, April 1st at around 9:00AM. Teachers are not collecting work or giving specific feedback at this time, but we may look at that in the future. The suggested activities will focus on review material, meaning students have already been given instruction on this content prior to the shutdown. Teachers are creating these assignments being thoughtful of the “life circumstances” that so many of us are experiencing.
PHASE II: GETTING CONNECTED
Teachers will be making contact with each of their students weekly to offer support and provide some personal connection opportunities. It is important that you check your emails, phones, and other devices for communication by the district and your teachers. We are working with our Technology department to process who has access and who might need further technology support. This is still a work in progress as we continue to collect information from our families.
You can expect that teachers will reach out to their students through a variety of means. The suggested activities for the weeks of April 1st - 3rd and April 13th - 17th will focus on review material. This means students have already been given instruction on this content prior to the shutdown of schools. Teachers are creating these assignments and being thoughtful of the "life circumstance" that so many of us are experiencing.
Our goal is to help, but not put extra burden on our families. Our approach will be grounded in compassion, communication, and common sense; rather than compliance and accountability. We' are ALL in this together!
Julie Bartlett, Principal
Discovery Primary School
