Friday June 11th, 2021

 

Our own Eleane Lema!!!!  So proud!

We are STILL WORKING HARD in the ART and MUSIC ROOMS!

Our Retired Super STAR, Mary Zema returned to start off the 2021 Special Olympics!  Thank you Mary, and thank you to Michele Sharpe for collab opp!

Wrapping Up the School Year...

As we prepare for break, I wish I could tell you how much appreciation I have for the work you did this year.  But I can't.  I can't put it into words.  My appreciation and respect for the planning, the art making, the music making, the tech learning, the Google meeting... we did it, PEOPLE!!!!  And this year is almost over.

When you leave on that last day, remember what you have learned, what you have been through, and know that a better year lies ahead.  I have never longed for normal.  But, this summer, I will be smiling on that beach, as I plan for normal.  I mean, who am I kidding, we are so much more than NORMAL- but you get the point...  again, thanks isn't enough.  I hope to see you all in person, full faced and friendly on August 31st for the start of the 2021/22 School Year.

As we frame the work this June, and reflect back on our team goal, take a good look at this image- 

Did we do it?

• We made sure students had codes to Google Classrooms, SeeSaws, Quaver, Google Meets, etc, and were showing up.  
• We communicated with kids via email when they weren't showing up.
• We demonstrated skills using cameras, videos and face to face demos.
• We used ScreenCastify to engage kids with fun and informational videos.
• We asked students to demonstrate skill by working either at home or in school, behind masks, 6 and then 3 feet apart.. and they did it.
• We had students send us pics of art work, and recordings of performances.
• We modeled how to use tech for kids- from the most basic (like how to send an email), taking pics using a Chromebook for elementary kids (OMG), to the more detailed- using ScreenCastify Submit, FlipGrid, GC, etc.. and they did it.

So, what do we need to focus on next year?  Here are some of the things that came up in Formative and Summative Chats:

• Communication with Parents: I heard more than once that teachers want a way to be able to communicate the academic expectations with their students' parents.  I will make this a priority for PD in the fall, and incorporate it into a sample PPG.
• Academic Talk: I expect that students will return to school in the fall with a huge gap in their practice with Accountable Talk.  We will also focus on this, and I will add it to the SLG sample goal.
• Teachers also talked about how they want to "keep" tech strategies in place, but want to return to the hands on, face to face learning as a focus.  That, too will be a focus.

So, to summarize- we will be transitioning from the above CAN goal to this... Tech, Touch and Talk.  More to come on this focus in the fall!

Thank you, and have a wonderful summer.  

-Jackie

Dates to remember:

6/16-6/17- Release time days for students

6/17- Last day for students

6/18 and 6/21- Last two days for teachers- PD (see forthcoming email labeled PD Options)

6/24- Last day for administrators