October 23, 2020
Happy Friday! I hope you had an enjoyable week. With the first quarter now complete, grades are due this morning at 8:30. If you have a grade change after 8:30, please email Mr. Formanek or myself to change the stored grade. Midterm of the 2nd quarter is on November 18. All PASS Plans need to be completed by this time. Remind students if they have been quarantined twice or quarantined and then isolated, their parents can opt to have their class go Pass or Fail. Parents will need to notify the high school office by 12/21 to do this. Mr. Formanek or I will send an email out with the names of students opting to go pass/fail. Then you will need to change the grade to a P or F.
As you have probably seen, the CDC changed how the 15 minutes of exposure time is figured. As of now, the IDPH has not changed to follow the CDC guidelines. IDPH is still going by 15 consecutive minutes. If they would change to the CDC guidelines, then it is calculated by cumulative minutes. It is vital that we keep on the kids and us wearing masks. If you are around anyone else, a student or another teacher, you need to have a mask on. This includes meetings where you can distance. The only time we can take our mask off is if we are by ourselves in your own classroom or office. Yesterday, Plymouth County's 14 day average started at 19.9 and the Plymouth County Health Department said they are seeing an increase in parents with school aged kids. That means we could see a bump on kids quarantined or put into isolation.
As we wrap up this first quarter, I want to remind you of how much we have done. Most of our students had not done any academic work since March 13. Because of this we have had to train the students on what to do and how to study. Not only did we have to train, but we also introduced new procedures and processes. We need to continue to be patient with our students and not tell them to just look in Schoology. They need that human touch, the compassion, and empathy that we need to provide. We are just not an institution for academic learning, but we are helping them grow. It is our job to help our students grow as individuals. We can not dismiss those students who are not growing at the same rate, we need to find ways to connect and assist them. This is going to take additional time. Because of that, you will not get as far in the content as in past years. AND THIS IS OK. Treat the struggling student like he/she is your own child. How would you want his/her teachers to help him/her? Many of the kids that are struggling, do not have the support system at home that we have or had. We need to be that support system. I appreciate all you have done in the first quarter. Our challenge moving forward is to create an experience that is inclusive for all of our students. This year, more than ever, we have to adapt and overcome.
Have a Great Weekend!
Mark
Assistant Principal's Happenings
Ideas from the library/video class/student council
Student council is aware of mental health issues in today's world. They have a few small projects in the planning stages, but they have started with writing positive messages on bathroom mirrors with dry erase markers. Please alert a student council member if a mirror needs to be washed off because of alternative messages.
Comments
Post a Comment