Newsletter: Thursday October 22

Hey Everyone,

I’m going to use this week’s newsletter to update you on our coming changes.

With Phase 2 quickly approaching, Mr. Martin and I will be returning the kids to their assigned teacher next week. I’m excited to begin working with the kids as mathematicians, scientists, and social scientists – as well as spending more time with them each day!

Since we will not be able to do independent (taped) lessons once the kids return, I’m going to move back to live lessons next week as well.  I really appreciated the opportunity to work with them in smaller groups. They might have one or two more slides sprinkled in here and there next week but the norm will be live teaching.

Our schedule when we enter Phase 2 on November 4^th will be 8:30-2:40. This is how our day will be broken up…

8:30        Morning Meeting

8:55        Writing

9:45        Read Aloud

*** 10:00     Screen/Seat Break ***

10:30     Special Area (in our classroom)

11:15     Lunch (in our classroom)

11:45     Reading

12:45     Math

1:30        Science/Social Studies

*** 2:00        Recess ***

2:30        Pack-up/Read Aloud

2:40        Dismissal

The 10:00 seat/screen break will be a time when the kids at home can go off and play in their room, grab a snack, play in the backyard, etc. For those of us here at school, we will walk around the track outside, take some chalk out to the sidewalk, or find some other opportunity for some fresh air. In creating this schedule, my aim was to keep them from having long stretches of confinement to those purple chairs (our longest stretch is two hours and fifteen minutes). And as I mentioned a few weeks ago, if it’s possible to get outside to read or write we will definitely do our best to do so. The only issue with that (other than weather) is the possibility that lots of other classes- both at CFI and the middle school - might be out there which would prevent us from concentrating. We’ll just have to play it by ear and be flexible.

In regard to room set-up, we have 15 students returning to the classroom and they'll be seated three-to-a-table. We will have tri-fold boards that will be taped to the tables in an effort to secure them their own protected space. I can send you all photos once we receive the dividers and they are set up. Each of the tables is separated by at least six feet. Per district expectations, we’ll spend the first few days talking at great length about the fact no one is to walk around the room, get out of their seat, etc. This is a very non-CFI type of environment so I suspect it’ll take some getting used to – for me, as well! Any discussions you can have at home to prepare them for this would be much appreciated.

Since we will be using some of our class time learning new classroom procedures/expectations, the kids working virtually might wind up with a few extra breaks those first couple of days. I will always post this on our Google Classroom agenda so families will know what to expect and not have to wonder whether or not their child is actually supposed to be off the Meet.

We'll continue to use Google Meet. The kids at home will log-in as usual and the kids here will simply log-in from their seats. I will be very careful to ensure all kids -whether they are in the building or virtual - feel connected and included in all we do. If you ever notice something isn't working for your child please inform me right away. I always want to know what's going on so I can try to address it!

If your child is working virtually and you need any resources at all from the classroom (including books from our class library), please let me know. I’m happy to put that together for you. I can leave it at the front of the building for pick-up or, on some afternoons, could possibly even drop it off at your house if you’re relatively close to my drive home.

That’s all I can think of right now. I’m sure more will occur to me over time and you will likely have questions of your own once we begin. If so, please do let me know.

Thanks everyone,

Chris