03.17.20: Evening update

From: Julie Smith, Head of School
Subject: Day One of distance learning

Dear Stanbridge Parents and Guardians,

Day One of distance learning is in the books and—while there were some hiccups throughout the day—overall the response was positive. We are so fortunate to have this incredible group of educators who give so much of themselves to our students. Our teachers report that they were able to interact with students via Google Classroom, Zoom, and other online tools. Principal Matt Poynter held a Zoom session this morning with the elementary students, hosting a virtual "story circle." Our counselors and specialists joined video conference calls with students and teachers in other divisions. As you can see in the post below, we may have been geographically separated, but we were still able to stay connected as a class, as a school, and as a community. 

Not bad for the first day of remote learning, and for that I'd like to thank everyone involved with today's virtual school day. This is very much a period of adjustment for all of us. Parents, we know many of you are at home juggling your own workloads while virtual school is in session; and for some, you are managing multiple children with varying levels of independence. Similarly, many of our teachers are adjusting to running a virtual classroom at home while sheltering-in-place with partners, roommates, and kids as well. Everyone's patience and understanding today was vital in ensuring this venture got off to a solid start and I can't thank everyone enough for bringing their "A game" today.

I write that fully aware that not everything was perfect. As problems came up throughout the day, many of you reached out to us, and we have worked with the appropriate personnel to ensure your issues were addressed. Of note:

Please ensure you submit your student's attendance status each morning. The glitch from this morning's Google Form has been fixed. Knowing at the start of each school day who is present for learning and who is not is critical for our teachers, as well as necessary from an administrative point of view. By 8:45 a.m. each morning, please complete the brief Google Form that Linda Bargas will send out to you via email. If you did not receive an attendance email today, please email Linda tonight so we can verify your contact information.

We have posted some helpful links to the Parent Portal. These include links to the online Help Centers and FAQ pages for Zoom and Google Classroom. Based on feedback from today, we have also linked to a short video on how to download a pdf file from Google Classroom. Many students will be doing this in the weeks ahead; important to know how to do it right!

In the days ahead, we will be soliciting feedback from students and parents on how things have been going for everyone this week—what is working, what is not, what is challenging, etc.—so we can adjust our strategies as needed going forward. Feedback will be critical to ensure that everyone is able to get through this extended phase of distance learning successfully. If you have any immediate concerns or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me, Matt, our counselors, your student's advisor, or whomever you feel is best-suited to address the issue.

Finally, a few links of note to share:

• Parents Helping Parents (PHP) will be broadcasting a number of their upcoming classes, seminars, and speaker events at no cost online. Click here for their calendar of events to see what is coming up and to register in advance. The PHP site also offers a number of links and "E-Library" online resources for families with children who have learning differences and special needs.
• ADDitude will be hosting a free, live webinar on March 19, "Coronavirus Crash Course for Parents: Keeping Kids with ADHD in ‘Study Mode’ While Home from School." Learn how to apply structure to this unstructured time with solutions from educator and author Ann Dolin, M.Ed. The webinar will cover topics such as the importance of setting up schedules and routines, fostering independent work, and finding the right balance of learning and free time to increase motivation. Click the link above to register, and note that the presentation will be archived for reference on the site if you can't watch it live.
• Last but not least, while we should all be practicing social distancing, our Lower Elementary teacher Danny Martin made an exception this morning as he invited our favorite classroom puppet, Stanley Bridge, and Pete the Cat to virtual storytime. Broadcasting on SeeSaw, Danny and Stanley talked to our youngest students about what social distancing means and how it's okay to be in the Blue or Yellow Zone if you're sad or nervous about being away from school. The duo then read Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes—an appropriate way to start the school day, even if some of our students were still rocking their PJs and slippers. It's a cute video and it was a relaxing way to start the day...and not a bad way to end it, either.
  
  

Thank you all again for making this day go so smoothly; I wish all of you a restful evening ahead. With gratitude for your partnership with Stanbridge—Rock on, tomorrow is Day Two.