Loa and Hanksville Elementary School Dismissal
Loa Elementary Parents and Guardians,
As communicated on Friday, we are embarking on an expedition into a remote delivery of instruction and learning at Loa Elementary and across the district! Initially this period of "soft" dismissal for students is scheduled to run effective immediately through Friday, March 27th. During this phase of the process teachers will be present at schools. They will be creating content, facilitating learning, and supporting students and parents as we continue to provide meaningful and high quality educational opportunities. After this initial time frame, state education, and public health leaders will determine our next course of action. It is possible that this remote educational experience could extend well past these first weeks. We will continue to do all we can to keep your children, and our community safe. This has always been of paramount importance to us. We are simply working toward this goal in a different way now than we ever imagined we would be. Tacey will still be available in the office ready to assist you and help answer any questions that you may have. I have outlined some key information of note below. Please review this information in order to best support your student during our dismissal period. Reach out if you begin to feel frustrated. Don't wait! I would ask you to be patient with us as we work daily to refine, and improve our practices in the new reality we all face. We will all be learning and growing!
Instruction
Explicit instruction will be delivered to students through our Canvas LMS. This instructional period will begin on Thursday, March 19th and extend throughout the time we are dismissed. Teachers will have short video clips of them instructing a lesson, as well as links and other resources that students can use to help reinforce the concept being taught. The lessons will be designed to focus on essential standards and skills that students need to know based on State Core Standards. Students will be assigned work on a daily basis, just like they would in school. We do not want to overwhelm students and parents with a lot of unnecessary assignments and busy work, so teachers will use their discretion to ensure the instruction and homework is no more than a few hours a day. We realize that this is going to be a challenge, especially for our younger students who have not accessed canvas; however, we are doing all we can to reassure the students that we are here to help them with their education. For now the teachers will only be concentrating on Reading/Language Arts and Math. Science instruction will be available in a timely manner. The teachers will develop a plan for submitting and grading assignments. I will also be checking Canvas on a daily basis to make sure that it is user friendly and grade appropriate.
Scheduled Times to Come to School to Pick Up iPads and materials:
We would like to schedule a time for a teacher conference and iPad pick up on Thursday, March 19th from 9:00 to 6:30. This time will be for you to meet with the classroom teacher for approximately 15 minutes. They will have your student’s iPad ready, as well as a folder with work and instructions on how to log into canvas. Teachers will also explain their expectations. Please click on the link below to schedule a time to meet with your child’s teacher. This is the same link that we use to schedule our parent teacher conferences. I will also be available that day to answer any questions or concerns you may have.
www.signupgenius.com/tabs/83C7EDC05A2CBE8C60-ipadupteacher
Communication
During the dismissal period we want to maintain open lines of communication and interaction with you and your students. Teachers will be available from 1:00-3:00 Monday through Thursday to answer any questions you may have. We are in the process of developing interactions through Google Hangouts, but not every teacher has that set up yet and this may be harder for younger students to access. Please ask your child’s teacher for more information regarding communication. You can call them, or schedule a time to meet with them. We will also keep you updated through regular emails and Remind.
Wi-Fi Access Options
If students do not have access to the internet at home, the following options are available:
-Students can come to the school parking lot and receive a Wi-Fi signal.
-LDS church parking lots. (Talk to local wards for access if you don’t have it)
-Town Hall parking lots. (Talk to your town officials for access)
-I heard today that South Central is offering free internet. Contact them for clarification.
-Royal’s Market Parking Lot (Talk to Julia or Joe for details)
Home Suggestion:
-Develop a Schedule
- Require Your Students to be Active Participants
-Limit "Hanging Out” Outside of Family Groups as Much as Possible
-Create Family Time Opportunities
-Connect in More Meaningful Ways
-GO OUTSIDE! Work Hard, but Have Fun Too!
As we move forward into this uncharted territory, our goal is to build structures that will make this disruption to the norm as seamless as we possibly can. There will most certainly be bumps in the road! Hopefully they will be limited and manageable. Over time we will refine and improve our processes. We will miss your students in our building! We truly love interacting with them in the halls each day. It will be exciting to see them walk back through the doors, whenever that is. We value you as parents and all that you do! If you have questions, please reach out to us. We will do our very best to answer all of the questions that you will have. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Cherie Blackburn
Loa/Hanksville Principal
435-836-2851
435-542-3291
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