Virtual Teaching & Learning - Week 8
Learn and implement learning management platform to share assignments and feedback - check
Communicate with every student via video conference weekly - check
Learn how to use screen casting tools to teach lessons from your living room - check
Clean a building multiple times to protect the safety of others during a pandemic - check
Ongoing collaboration with district colleagues - check
Participate and/or host district PD via Hangouts - check
Feed students throughout the district through a drive-thru - check
Assist students with work completion in an on-demand format - check
Taking care of yourself and your loved ones while lifting up our students and their families during a pandemic - check
Rocking emergency remote teaching and learning - check, check, check!
You are all superheroes!
Thank you to all who were able to attend session one of the "Mind the Gaps" series offered at no cost by Solution Tree. Mike Mattos led the first session related to designing a master schedule to ensure all students have access to all three tiers of instruction. |
Tier One - prevention (when ALL students have access to guaranteed, viable curriculum, you prevent the large gaps)
Tier Two - intervention/extension (based on formative assessment data - think reteach/enrich)
Tier Three - remediation (intensive support to remediate a variety of skills)
|
 |
| The water represents the essential standards. Orange juice and kiwi juice are great too, but water is essential. When we intervene, we must be focused on the "must haves". |
Click here to learn more about the upcoming sessions and to register. Not able to catch the webinar live? No worries! A recording of the presentations will be posted on allthingsplc.info (please allow up to 5 days following the live session).
Please click here to cast your vote for the 2020 Principal's Award winner. Remember that nominees would include those that go over and beyond to help others around them. In addition, they consistently exhibit the Bear Necessities and are eager to serve their school. Thank you for submitting your response before next Friday (5/22) at 4 p.m.
Summer Learning Challenge Planning Session
We need your creative thoughts to plan enriching & fun learning experiences for our learners! If you would like to help shape our Summer Learning Challenge 2020, please plan to click on this link and join us on May 21st at 9 a.m. All Brown School staff are welcome!
Advocating for Funding
We all need to advocate for K-12 funding support with Care Act dollars. The sample email below may serve as a guide for you in contacting our legislators. Thank you!
Good Morning, Senator Stabenow,
I am writing as an educator and tax payer to urge you to do all that you can to continue to support America's K-12 education system with the Cares Act dollars. The amazing work our schools are doing to support, connect, and educate students in the face of a pandemic has been nothing short of inspirational. Our teachers have innovated, originated, and overcome the hurdles of being apart from our students and families. Our families have come to count on us and have rediscovered the importance of a strong educational community for their child.
There's no doubt that the extreme financial crisis in our country is difficult. You and your colleagues are faced with the difficult (and often thankless) task of taking care of the many sectors of society while figuring out how to keep our economy as strong as possible. I appreciate you and know that your longstanding support of public education will help inform your work. We need you now more than ever.
Please do what you can to support the Cares Act and encourage other law makers to do the same. Our K-12 kids and their families are counting on you!
Thank you for your time and consideration.
 |
| We hope that you can join us virtually to celebrate the creativity and innovation of our students! |
PTO Meeting and Volunteer Appreciation
Our final PTO meeting of the year is happening virtually. We hope that you will be able to connect with us on May 26th at 7 p.m. The link is posted in the Brown School calendar and will be shared in the family blog. We hope to honor our volunteers this evening with a special slide show/video, as well as some heart-felt words from the staff. Long-standing Board members Matthew & April Soyk and Marylin Bishop will be moving on to help support the Upton PTO. We'd love to honor them for their commitment to our school, staff, students, and families over the years. If you have an idea for this, please let Kristen know as soon as possible.Thank you!
End of Year Planning
Our administrative team is working on plans for classroom closure, student material pick-up process, fifth grade and student farewell car parade, teacher evaluation, and report cards. Look for details to be shared during next week's coffee chat and in the next week's staff blog.
Farewell to Students
Natalie has agreed to put together a farewell video for us to share with our Brown Bears, wishing them a great summer (thank you!). The beach balls that we will each have as a prop have been ordered and will be available for pick-up during our classroom/workspace clean up times at school. Look for more details to come soon.
Learning Opportunity
WMU has $4,900 scholarships available for 25 K-12 teachers interested in earning their MA in Literacy Studies/Reading Specialist Endorsement.
Our program is committed to providing the necessary support for teachers, Reading Specialists, and Literacy Coaches during this difficult time.
Our two-year ONLINE program is designed for working professionals and is nationally ranked and accredited.
REGISTER HERE FOR OUR INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR
MAY 28 @ 6:00 PM EST
*Attending the informational webinar will qualify applicants to waive the $50 application fee to the graduate program.
