Dear Windsor Families,

I hope this email finds you all doing well and ready for the start of the 20-21 school year. We look forward to working with you to help your child grow both academically and social-emotionally over the next ten months. While the school year will be starting remotely, we continue to embrace the important work of teaching and caring for our students with the same level of dedication as we would if we were starting in typical fashion. We realize this is difficult for many families, we will make every effort to support our students and families throughout the year.

Here is important information for the start of the coming year:

• We are following a typical start and end times for the school day; 9:05-3:35.
• Expect at least 2.5 hours of synchronous live instruction via zoom each day.
• The first week of school will be focused on building class community, digital citizenship, routines and schedule practice, and virtual classroom expectations. Specific details will come from the classroom teachers during the week of 8/24.

• Updated District Calendar- See below

• Staffing update: We say goodbye and best wishes to Kindergarten teachers Dr. Samartino and Mrs. Roche. The new Kindergarten teacher will be announced shortly, your class placement may say TBD. In our LMC, we welcome Mrs. Julie Patton as our new LMC Director.

This will be a challenging and exciting year for all of us. We appreciate your partnership and patience as we navigate the start of the school year. Feel free to reach out to me with questions. Please enjoy the last days of summer vacation and stay well.

Warmly,

Mrs. Anastacio, Principal

Mrs. Soprano, Assistant Principal

Communication:

I look forward to communicating with everyone consistently this year. You will receive weekly emails sharing valuable information and happenings at Windsor each Friday. We will also use email, School Messenger, and our website to keep parents informed about all the great things happening throughout the year. I encourage all of you to contact your child’s teacher via email, as open lines of communication are extremely important for a secure home-school connection.

Daily Schedule:

Our goal is to create an engaging and enriching day for each of our students. Students will be following their daily schedule with a mix of synchronous (“live”) and asynchronous (“on-demand”) teaching/learning activities. We will make every effort to maintain consistency and coordination of instruction at each grade level to assist parents who are working with each other to create groups to support their children’s remote learning.

All K-5 teachers will use Seesaw as their primary launch point for digital learning management, while Zoom will continue to be our first video conferencing tool. This will create a consistent starting point for all our students. Teachers may use additional digital learning tools to enhance and extend their lessons.

Unlike the spring, students will start each subject area with synchronous instruction that will range from 15-30 minutes. Then students will transition into small groups or independent practice, which will be a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous experiences for the remainder of the subject. Below you will find a sample schedule to help visualize the flow of a typical day.

Your child’s teacher will share their specific class schedule at the beginning of the school year. They will also help students set up home routines and schedules and establish and practice norms of remote instruction and participation.

Student Supply Pick-up: The district will be providing a device (iPad for K-2 students and Chromebooks for 3-5 students), as well as other materials that will assist with remote learning. These materials (as well as any school supplies ordered through PTA) will be distributed during the week of August 24th. Specific details with dates and times will be shared shortly.

Meet the Teacher: Teachers have been hard at work planning opportunities for students to meet them virtually. We are also planning to have teachers present during student supply distribution. This will be an excellent way to see each other, connect from a far, and get excited about starting school!

Home of the Wildcats

Email: lanastacio@sd25.org
Website: https://www.sd25.org/Domain/16
Location: 1315 East Miner Street, Arlington Heights, IL, USA
Phone: 847-398-4297
Twitter: @WindsorWildcats