Great Things I Noticed this Week:
*Huge thank you to each staff member that volunteered to help with curbside pick-up of locker items. Everyone's help made the daunting task run smoothly and parents and students were SO happy to see smiling staff member's faces! Our students miss you!
*After some personal connections with team efforts of teachers reaching out to students and parents, I'm aware of a handful of students getting back on the virtual grid!
*Some of our middle school students joined in bluejeans with 5th graders to talk about transitioning to middle school.
*Some of our high school students are on a special mission of writing to spread positivity and I received one that made my day. I have no idea how far their reach is, but know they're determined!
Events Next Week:
Wednesday - 11:00 HS faculty mtg
Thursday - 7PM Virtual Senior Honors night will be posted as a vide on Facebook and Youtube to recognize our senior scholarship winners
Friday - 11:00 MS faculty mtg
Just a reminder...we only have two weeks left of virtual learning. That's only two weeks to continue to try to connect with kids who need us. Two weeks try to engage kids who miss being social. You've got this!
"Nuts & Bolts" Notes:
- Budget - the google form for submitting budget is HERE. Originally, it was due today, May 15. If you need a little more time, just let me know. To clarify, this form is to help us know what you need for next school year. It doesn't have to be super specific with item numbers, catalog pages, etc., but it should have a description for the items that you are adding to your budget (i.e. new textbooks, chart paper, beakers, etc.). The goal is to use this at the school level to budget for next school year. Later, you'll use this to fill out the purchase orders. Please let me know if you have any questions.
- Scheduling for next year - there are some wrenches that have been thrown into the scheduling process. It's unlikely that we'll end the year with you having your schedule set for next year, but I will let you know your courses and will be working on that next week.
A little professional reading:
Virtual fatigue. It's a real thing. I'm sure you can agree. My eyeballs and my brain let me know when they are DONE with screens and it seems to come quicker each day.
I've been reading about virtual fatigue and share a couple of articles below with you that helps to understand why we, and our students, are becoming fatigued.
Each time that a student emails one of you, or a friend about how they feel depressed, anxious or just feel like they're a failure because they have no motivation to do anything, their email flags our system and the PPS team and I receive it. Each time I read these student emails, they just breaks my heart, because what they are feeling is common right now. I've had students email me about their frustration when videos won't load or their assignments won't submit in Schoology. The high school staff knows how much I can relate to technology frustration after the staff meeting fail with my laptop this week! These are all things outside of our control and I know how hard you are all working despite these challenges and appreciate all that you are doing.
Tech Tip of the Week:
Common Sense Media, the platform we use for our digital citizenship curriculum, has launched a new resource for families and educators. The program, Wide Open Schools, provides some great resources for educators Pre K-12 such as emotional well-being, science, reading, math, art and music lessons. Also, Apple has some interesting resources in Wide Open Schools including teaching guides on apps and highlights from their weekly Twitter chat #appleeduchat. Have fun exploring and happy creating!
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