Broken Arrow News

September 11, 2020

Remote Learning....and we are off and running!

We are off and running as we wrap up the first partial week of remote learning.

I would like to recognize all of the efforts of parents, family members, day care providers, and various other in getting our students online for remote learning each day. Our first week's attendance was exceptional! THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU!

Our teachers have done an exceptional job of getting students excited to connect and that comes from the face-to-face interactions with the teacher and engaging activities with their classmates!

Please remember as we begin our school year, we would be chunking instruction throughout the day to build student stamina. This is especially dire when students are learning remotely.

Your student will not be on an iPad all day long nonstop as this is not healthy for any individual.

Please note your child may participate in a whole group lesson, whole group guided practice with all students responding on paper/whiteboards, etc. Then students may be asked to work independently or they may need to immediately work in a small group with the teacher for individualized instructional support. This is exactly the same as it would look while at school.

However, please note your child is most likely supposed to be completing an activity when not online live with the teacher/class (unless it is recess or a built in real break) . This may include working on individualized skills on an iPad app, reading, writing, or working on an assigned project. If they tell you they have nothing to do, you will want to check with the teacher, as that may not be at all accurate!

Please also note the alternative schedule your teacher will be sharing in the near future for Fridays while in remote or hybrid mode. Fridays will consist of Morning Meeting, Small group extra student support, Parent support time, and students will have assignments to complete via Canvas.

As we roll into our first full week of remote learning please continue to get your students connected as it is critical to their learning. It is my hope that most are enjoying the time spend live with their teacher and classmates and it is less of a challenge to get them connected.

Thank you for your patience, your effort, and grace for one another as it is essential to work through this newly chartered territory of remote learning.

As always, I am here to support your family and your child's learning. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions or challenges that may arise.

Mr. Horne

Are you changing your child's learning model for the remainder of the year?

You received communication earlier this week from Dr. Fulton regarding the change in the Johnson County Health Department's Gating Criteria. Due to the changes made by the county parents are being allowed to make a change to their child's learning model (In-Person or Remote).

However, it is important to know the following:

The decision you make is for the rest of the school year (NOT just this semester)
Please note the timeline below when making your decision, as SMSD is gradually transitioning toward ALL IN-PERSON LEARNING
If you do not want to make any changes to your child's learning model for the remainder of the school year -YOU DO NOTHING! IE: If your child is remote and you make no changes he/she will remain remote for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
If you are wishing to make a change you must complete THIS FORM no later than 4:00 pm on Sunday, September 13

SMSD Timeline Moving Toward All In-Person Learning

Sept 9-13: Parents make selection for 2020-2021 school year (optional)

Sept 14-18: Remote all students Pre-K-6

Sept 21-25: Remote all students Pre-K-6

Sept 28-Oct 2: Remote all students Pre-K-6

(New Schedules begin)

Oct. 5-9 Hybrid for in-person students Pre-K-2

Oct. 12-16 Hybrid for in-person students Pre-K-6

Oct 19-23 Transition to all in-person begins

Hybrid Mode Building Preparation

Our Broken Arrow Staff Family has spent hours of preparation for our students' safe return to school during hybrid mode.

We are currently updating all of our procedures since the JCHD made adjustments to their criteria.

During the upcoming weeks you will be sent videos to view with your child that will help them understand how being at Broken Arrow will be different than it was before.

It is our hope this really helps everyone transition more smoothly to hybrid mode and eventually all in-person learning.

Reminder - You should have received your "Family Number" (if your child is in-person)

You should have received your family number tag when you came through for Drive-Thru Back to School Night on Tuesday, September 1.

This will be essential when we move to hybrid mode the first week of October!

If you did no receive your family number or if you are switching to in-person learning, please email kelliunruh@smsd.org and request your family number.

This is how it will work:

When picking up and dropping off each day you are asked to go to your assigned side of the school for pick up. If your number is 100-199 you will pick up in the front of the school. Your family number tag will also say "front" or "back" on it.

If your family number is 200-299 you will pick up your child in the back of the school.

It is important that you follow this procedure or it could greatly delay you retrieving your child and cause delays for others as well.

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