Virtual Learning Week 4 - Plan, Learn, Relaunch
Our collaborative team spirit is more evident than ever as we embark on a new adventure of virtual teaching and learning together. Remember to continue to call upon your trusted colleagues as you learn alongside of them. We are a team.
Your commitment to learning, planning, and implementing new strategies to ensure our students continue to be supported in all ways is so inspiring.
Virtual Connections
WOW! What a busy, but fabulous week of learning and planning it has been! We are sending love and energy arrows to all of our classroom teachers as they work to roll out the new remote learning plan with families next week. We appreciate and support you!! Teachers will be making three contacts each week with our students:
Lessons/Content delivery in conjunction with the choice boards that are inclusive of ELA, Math, Art, Music, and PE content.
Class Meetings, which will be recorded for later use if a student is unable to attend at the scheduled time. These are the only meetings that should be added to the Brown School shared Google Calendar.
Individual family contacts (10 min.) to provide feedback on learning, stay connected, and offer support during this time.
Our students are going to LOVE connecting with you in these ways. Thank you for being you!
In addition to reaching out to select students through individual connections, our team of itinerants will be joining your class meetings as well. Please see the schedule posted below so that you can anticipate their arrival in your hangout meet. Remember to post your class meeting times in the Brown School Google Calendar so that they will know the time of your connection and can access the link.
Here are a few ideas from our SSWs regarding virtual class meeting discussions:
Classroom Meeting Prompts/Ideas
- After we set expectations fro active listening and respectful responses, it is important to first check in and ask our student(s). How are you? Are you okay?
-- In just one word, please check in with an update on how you are doing, feeling, responding, experiencing to this unique time in our lives.
-- What “silver linings” have you experienced during this time home?
-- When you have experienced other stressful times in your life, what has helped you or made you feel better?
-- What has been your favorite school experience this year?
--If you could have one superpower, what would you choose?
--Today I am excited about…
--The highlight of this week has been…
-- If your students are familiar with doing a Zones check-in, you could use this as your structure.
- To keep the meeting/check-in flow going and maximizing your time, you might consider presenting your screen and using a Kagan tool, like the name selector to call on students. (Thanks B. Lokey for this idea!)
Helpful Hints & Tips
- Students will certainly want to hear from you; you might begin and model for the students.
- Tip for responding: Hear what your students say; reflect and repeat back what you hear. Avoid judgment, correction, suggestion, fixes-just let them know that you hear them. You might make a note and follow up when individually meeting with a student.
- If a student shares a private matter, you can respond much like you would in the classroom - I’d love to hear more about that when we meet this individually week.
Thank you, Sarah, for sharing the following Jennifer Serravallo resources regarding teaching lessons virtually and as well as conferring with students virtually.
During this transition Berrien RESA is committed to supporting your teachers and learners as well. To this end RESA, in collaboration with SJPS and Coloma Schools, is offering daily virtual support via Google Meet. Please see the flyer below for more information.
SeeSaw News
All teachers using the free version of SeeSaw as an LMS have been transferred to the paid version - allowing for more options for remote learning. Woohoo! You should have received an email from SeeSaw with directions. A huge thank you goes out to Andrew and Kelly for making this happen for us!
A HUGE thank you goes out to Bri, Connie and Sarah for planning and facilitating PD sessions this week! We appreciate you sharing your knowledge with your colleagues.
In addition, thank you to our grade level chairs, Linda, Kim, Sarah, and Kent for participating in and leading many virtual meetings over the past month. We are all so thankful for your leadership.
And...kudos to ALL of you for all of the hard work you continue to do to plan, implement, and support learning in all new ways. What a team of amazing professionals! WOW! WOW! WOW!
