Good evening amazing Spring Avenue Community,
On behalf of the entire staff, I would like to express our tremendous excitement for the beginning of school. To say we can’t wait to be back with the students again is an understatement! Staff have been busily preparing for our return to school all summer, and this week was an extremely productive time for professional learning and team planning. At the beginning of the school year, and at certain times during Morning Kickoffs, I remind the students that Spring Avenue has great students, great families, and great teachers and staff. All of these groups work together to produce the amazing school and district that we are have!
Today, you may have already received an email from your child’s teacher providing the Zoom link for the first day of school for 1st-6th Graders at 8:30 AM. The first day of school for kindergarteners will be Wednesday, August 26th. On Sunday, you will receive a more detailed schedule, which will also be communicated to you by your child’s teacher. At that time, you will also receive your child’s time slot for the “Meet and Greets” on Thursday and Friday afternoon between 12:00 and 3:00 PM. “Blue” students will be scheduled on Thursday afternoon and “Gold” students will be scheduled for Friday afternoon. Students are arranged in groups of 2 or 3, and they may get to see some familiar faces, or meet some new friends! We will have hula hoops set up on the field to ensure sufficient social distancing and signage to make sure everyone knows where to go. Everyone involved will be wearing masks. In the event of rain, we will hold the event virtually.
We have listened to parent feedback in terms of creating manageable "schedules-at-a-glance" to lessen the amount of emails you were receiving last spring with those important teacher details, links, and assignments. As a result, we have streamlined the communication process and teachers are ready to unveil the D105 learning template that will contain things like schedules, classroom links, and needed information for you to be our academic partners once again. To ensure that this new D105 learning template does not overwhelm you, we have created a simpler communication plan to use this first week, which includes the Zoom link communicated today and the schedule for next week which will be communicated on Sunday.
On Monday, your child will begin the day with their teacher. On Tuesday and every day after that, we will have virtual Morning Kickoffs hosted by yours truly and special guests. I will communicate exact details of the Morning Kickoffs on Monday and in subsequent community emails. One thing we will definitely be continuing will be our fun postings on Edmodo! The directions are attached if you need to sign up: Spring Avenue Edmodo Principal Page.pdf . Remember, these postings are only seen by the Spring Avenue community.
On Friday, August14th, Dr. Ganan sent a parent email with the Remote_Learning_Student-Parent_Guide.pdf . This guide provides details and examples of the D105’s remote learning plan for both students in the full remote program and for the remote learning days embedded in our hybrid model. The principal team would like to highlight certain parts of this guide:
How is it Remote Learning different from the spring?
This fall, students will be provided a daily schedule from their teacher that is comparable to an in-person schedule.
All learning will be connected to grade-level standards and grade-level units..
A combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences will occur during the day through a combination of recorded teacher lessons, independent application, collaborative learning experiences with peers, and targeted student instruction via video-conferencing.
There will be opportunities for class community connections in support of student social and emotional well-being.
Unlike last spring, grades will be given to students in the 20-21 school year. PreK-2nd students will receive standards based progress ratings; 3rd-8th grade will receive letter grades. Teachers will provide regular feedback to students and teachers regarding ongoing progress.
Learning Expectations
We are grateful for your partnership in facilitating learning at home. We have all learned so much since that spring experience. Even when we are proud of our accomplishments, we can always strive to learn and get better at our work. It is important to keep in the mind that in a typical year, the first weeks of school consist of celebrations and assemblies, organizing lockers and desk materials, reviewing/setting building wide and classroom expectations and rules, creating student, teacher, and classroom goals, and introducing new grade level academic concepts. Elementary principals are in support of teachers continuing these foundational practices remotely. This also means that during those first weeks of remote learning, staff will start with a layering approach to build relationships, build student stamina on and off the computer, and create and practice behavioral expectations while learning remotely.
If you are having any trouble connecting on the first day, please do not hesitate to call the main office at (708) 482-2710 and/or contact me directly at blawson@d105.net.
Have a fantastic weekend with your families, and look forward to an exciting start to a school year that we will make great, whatever it takes!
Brian Lawson Susan Calder
Principal Assistant Principal