Families,
We are a month and a half into our school year and find ourselves continuing with the Continuous Learning 2.0 ( all online) model of instruction. Daily when I walk through the halls of Discovery it breaks my heart about how quiet the school is with no children in the building. However, it always brings a smile to my face to hear the teachers connecting with their students They are working so hard to make this school experience meaningful and fun for your children. Thank you your grace and patience as we navigate through these unprecedented times. As Superintendent Alfano shared HERE, in his newsletter to our community last week, we have a tentative hybrid or remote learning start date of November 2nd, 2020. Even as I write this message I hear on the news that schools in surrounding districts are delaying the start dates due to increased numbers in Covid. Our district leadership continues to work with the health department to make the safest decision possible for returning to school in person.
Regardless of the start date we do want to be ready for students in this new world when they do get to come to school in person. In order to be ready for students to return, staff members have been busy! In addition to teaching remotely and all the work that comes with developing lessons for online practice, our teachers have been getting the school ready for students' return. Here are some of the projects we are currently working on to be ready for a safe return to school:
Ordering and organizing PPE (plastic screens, sanitizing materials, additional hand-washing stations, Masks, Gloves, Thermometers, etc...)
Classroom Arrangement (6 foot distancing between desks, space for 1:1 instruction, removing personal items and some furniture)
Staff training on safety protocols
Collecting and organizing staff & family survey data for scheduling and planning
School procedures for recess, lunch, and entering/exiting school safely
Preparation for instruction in both remote and hybrid learning
Organization of material hand out and pick up for our students
Transportation
Parent pick-up and drop off process and locations
Busses, in transit (on the road & at stops), school drop off, school pick-up
Marking our walkways and high traffic areas with labels for social distancing
Organizing meal services
Planning for lunch, specialists and recess with social distancing and cohort groups
Developing systems for material hand out and pick up
Later in this newsletter you will see a picture of what kindergarten and first grade classrooms will look like when students return for the hybrid model. i will send out more details about specifics for both online and hybrid models at a later time, when I have more information.
In the meantime we continue to connect with students in our current continuous learning 2.0 remote model. Below are some pictures of preschool, kindergarten and first grade students engaged in their learning. I find these the "silver lining" of this situation. My hope is that you are also having great experiences with your children this Fall.
Sincerely,
Julie Bartlett
