Good evening!
After spending the week collaborating and streamlining, we want to make sure that everyone knows what the expectations are moving forward and how best to support learning in this environment.
First, congratulations to all of our seniors who have successfully completed their requirements. We will be hosting a virtual celebration on June 5th at 7pm and hope to have an in person celebration in July. Congratulations Class of 2020! Remember that you are not cleared for graduation until you have contacted Mrs. Hurt (mhurt@artsk12.org) and gotten confirmation from her that all requirements have been met.
Teachers at the 7-12 Campus have been asked to comply with the following guidelines beginning this Sunday, April 12th:
- Each teacher will communicate a week at a glance for their courses by Sunday afternoon for the following week. The week at a glance will detail when office hours are, when zoom lectures or tutoring sessions occur, and any assignments that should be completed on a day by day basis. We hope that this facilitates weekly planning for parents and students.
- Students will be given a full school week to complete assignments and submit them in Google Classroom. Students with paper assignments can take pictures of their completed work and email them to teachers or mail assignments back to the school.
- Teachers will begin posting assignments in eSchool and mark all completed assignments with a "C" to communicate to parents which assignments have been turned in completed. Teachers will be providing feedback to individual students on assignments to help them focus on growth.
- Attendance will be based on assignment completion. Students who do not complete assignments for a class will be marked absent for that class. Ten absences in a class results in loss of credit for that class regardless of the grade. Administrators will be reaching out to parents of any student who is not completing assignments or participating in order to offer support and encouragement. Flexibility and grace will be extended wherever necessary.
- Any video lecture should be no more than 30 minutes in length and students should spend no more than 1 hour per day per class on assignments. Study hall teachers will be helping to motivate students and keep track of assignment completion as well as offer tutoring. Teachers will be focused on essential skills that are vital for student success in the next level class or for tests like the ACT or SAT. If your student feels overwhelmed, please have them reach out to their teachers and to me. If students feel like they are not being offered enough coursework, they are welcome to ask for additional enrichment activities.
Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Friday, April 17th. Teachers will be contacting parents to communicate their preferred method for signing up for digital conferences. The focus of these conferences will be their recommendations for course placement in 2020-2021.
Students will be able to select courses in eSchool at the end of April/beginning of May. Once available, I will send an email detailing instructions and linking to a video tutorial.
This week was the first time that I really began to feel the cabin fever! There are a few simple things we can all do to improve our mental and emotional health while spending most of our time at home.
- Take regular showers! In addition to helping with your physical health, feeling clean is an emotional boost as well. Especially if you sing loudly while doing so. :)
- Actually get dressed for the day. Spending all day in your pajamas (or multiple days) can affect your mood and motivation. Getting dressed in real clothes can help you feel better and focus on tasks.
- Brush your hair, do your make-up, give yourself a manicure. All of these small self-love tasks can boost your self-esteem and make you feel better.
- Eat a variety of foods. Everyone loves cereal, but eating a variety of foods can help you avoid feeling stuck in a rut. Be sure to get as many fresh fruits and vegetables as you can.
- Get some sunlight! Sunlight helps your body produce Vitamin D which is important for your immune system and mood regulation. Just remember not to get too much!
- Move! Even twenty minutes of physical activity that gets your heart rate up can help boost your mood and help you focus and sleep better.
- Set a Schedule. Actually give yourself a rough schedule for getting up, eating, and working at roughly the same times each day. These will help stabilize your circadian rhythms making it easier to focus and sleep at appropriate times which helps improve mood.
Mrs. Carpenter and I will begin hosting some student social activities through Zoom and Google Meet next week. Most events will occur at 4 pm, be sure to check the calendar and Google Classroom for offerings.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. We hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Happy Easter!
Heather Wright