April 24, 2020
Re: May Learning Packets, Elementary Zooms, Materials Pick/Drop Off
Elementary Parents:
First, let me start by saying how very sad we all are that we aren’t able to finish our school year in the traditional fashion. We miss the students, we miss their smiles, their questions and watching them grow and learn.
Second, please know that our teachers are working very hard behind the scenes to prepare May learning experiences for our students. Thank you for taking the time to speak with our teachers and provide us with some much needed feedback as we proceed with our final month of distance learning. We want you to know we heard you! We understand that this situation is stressful and oftentimes overwhelming. So, as we looked to plan May’s learning activities, we tried to simplify the process for you so that you had an easy way to encourage your child to keep learning, stay active, and be healthy.
That said, our grade-level teaching teams have prepared May Choice Boards for your students. These choice boards provide learning opportunities from math, reading, science, and more for you to easily direct your child’s daily learning and/or work with him/her in the spirit of continued engagement. In addition to your child’s grade level choice board, our special area teachers (PE, Guidance, Reading Interventionist, and Music) have also prepared a board for all students to participate in self-care, physical exercise, and love of music, art, and reading! We hope you find these boards a refreshing, simplistic take on learning in an otherwise trying time. Paper copies of May Choice Boards will be mailed out to you around May 1. We will also post electronic copies to our school’s website under the “COVID-19 River Valley School Updates” page.
In addition to providing our May Choice Boards, each classroom teacher will continue to host one or two Zoom meetings a week with times to be determined by the teacher. He/she will send invites to your or your child’s email account each week. These Zoom meetings will be a time for students and teachers to connect with one another, ask questions, and encourage students to keep learning.
It’s important to remember that during this time of social distancing, we do not expect students to keep regular school hours. It’s a good rule of thumb to consider 15-30 minutes a day, depending on your individual situation, engaged in learning and another 30 minutes of physical exercise. We encourage your kids to get outside, especially as the weather is turning much more sunny and pleasant. Fresh air and sunshine are good for the soul!
In addition to requesting more learning activities for home, many of you have been wondering when and how you will be able to pick up your child’s personal effects from the school and/or return school materials to the classroom. We will look to set up dates and times for parents to stop in and pick up/drop off materials between May 14-May 22. Teachers will clean out students’ desks/lockers respectively and bag any personal items up for you to retrieve. We will have these bags labeled with your child’s name and sitting on teacher labeled tables in our commons area for you to come by and pick up. At the same time, we will have tubs on each teacher’s table for you to drop off any books or supplies you may need to return. Items to check for return to school include: guided reading bags, guided reading books, class novels, Everyday Math flashcards, text books, rented instruments, and library books. Again, we are looking to make this as easy as possible. Jill and I will be there to assist you with anything you may need.
In the meantime, if you have questions, need assistance, or otherwise, please give us a call or email your child’s teacher.
Yours in Education,
Mrs. Melissa Holtz