Hello Woods Lake Family,

Can you believe that we have already completed our first week of school? Wow! Students are logging on and teachers are providing engaging lessons to our students. Last week we distributed over 150 Chromebooks and school supplies to families. We ventured through the hot sun on Thursday and sweeping rain on Friday and we were delighted to provide you with what was needed for the first day of school!

Special areas classes, (i.e., Music, Art, P.E.) begin on Tuesday, September 8, 2020. Be sure that your student attends at least two different special areas classes each week between the hours of 8:50-10:00 a.m. or 2:30-4:00 p.m. Information Slides have been shared with families on the KPS Learning Hub (Art, Music, PE).

If you were unable to come to collect your child's school supplies due to work or return from vacation, please call the main office and we will arrange a time for pick up! We want our Woods Lake students to have what they need as we learn and grow together!

In times like these our support system is vital and I am so thankful for our continued partnerships with Communities In School, Gilmore Piano Lab, Playworks, and our very own PTO. Please take the time to read their portion in our monthly newsletters, as they have lots to offer in supporting our little ones.You will also find a portion of this newsletter that is dedicated to answering frequently asked questions.

Let us work together to make this an awesome year!

Micole D. Dyson, Ph.D.

Principal

Scheduling/Appointments: Mrs. Janice Garneau

Attendance/Immunizations: Mrs. Lindsay Carr

Behavioral Support: Mrs. Natalie Orbe

Communities In School: Ms. Blaec Arevalo

Unresolved Issues: Dr. Micole D. Dyson

Website: https://www.kalamazoopublicschools.com/WoodsLake
Location: 3215 Oakland Hills Circle, Portage, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
Phone: (269)337-0790
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoodsLakeElementary

What does required attendance mean for Option 1 students:

• You need to attend your A or B Group with your teacher in the morning.
• You need to attend your assigned small group in the afternoon.
• Some of you may be meeting with Mrs. Byrd-Sikuandi, Ms. Childress, Mrs. Smith, or others and those are also required.

What does required attendance mean for Option 2a - KVLP students:

• You need to be logging on in Calvert Learning and completing your lessons.
• At least 2 times per week, you need to check in with your Woods Lake Teacher.
• KVLP families, please read this letter with important 2a clarification: Click Here

Although we do not have a firm date from Calvert Learning for when the issues will be resolved, we have every hope that it will be done by the time students return from the Labor Day holiday weekend on Tuesday, September 8. We are communicating with them multiple times every day and expressing the urgency of our situation. We are as disappointed as you are that the learning platform we carefully selected was not available on the first day of instruction and continues to be unavailable.

For the next two school days this week, students may continue to reach out to their teacher(s) to get to know them better and to talk about the upcoming school year. As a reminder, students will not be penalized for not participating in lessons until the issue with Calvert Learning is resolved.

Some students are currently able to log into their Clever account to access Lexia, Dreambox and PowerUp. These are great learning resources for students to check out this week. For those students who do not yet have access to Clever, KPS staff is continuing to update our rosters to enable access for all 2a students. KPS developed The Learning Hub website with age-appropriate learning opportunities for students and resources for parents. Students can click the grade-specific button and open up a world of learning programs.

Below is a list of other learning sites students can explore independently without having a login. These are great resources to continue to enhance their learning:

• Khan Academy www.khanacademy.org/

• Youtube Education www.youtube.com/education

• New York TImes Education www.nytimes.com/section/learning

• Wide Open School wideopenschool.org/

• Google Art and Culture artsandculture.google.com/

• Google Applied Digital Skills applieddigitalskills.withgoogle.com

• Inhale for four seconds
• Hold for four seconds
• Breathe out for four seconds
• Wait four seconds before starting over

Parents are able to start the enrollment process at our district site. For specific information start here.

When is my child expected to log into class?

We encourage you to communicate with your child's teacher to find their detailed schedule. It is important that we continue to strengthen our two-way communication.

Will students be able to pick up food packs? If so, when?

Free meal packets are available to all KPS students in both the three-tiered/trimester option or the virtual options. Meal packs include breakfast and lunch for multiple days. Distribution at Woods Lake is Tuesday/Thursday 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

How do we set up my child's Chromebook?

Below is a link to a document that you can download. There are step by step directions and a picture tutorial that will help guide you through this process.

Lexia is a reading program and Dreambox is a math program that we use to support our students. Below are step by step directions. Students must access both learning portals.