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Good Morning Shrevewood Family,
I just want to give you some information to start the week as our staff begins the training to transition to distance learning. First, thank you to everyone for your participation in our Virtual Spirit Week last week! I enjoyed all photos, those shared by teachers and those posted to Twitter. These small acts helped us feel connected as a community.
We are all adjusting to our new reality since the governor made his announcement on Monday. FCPS is working OVERTIME to get distance learning ready for our students, staff, and parents. We recognize the complications moving forward with distance learning and Shrevewood ES wants to be sure everyone is ready, supported, and has access as we embark on this new learning for all of us. Below this letter, please continue reading for additional understand around the difference between continuity of learning (through Spring Break) and distance learning (beginning April 14).
I ask you to be patient with our staff as we transition to teaching virtually – this experience is new for all of us and I am instructing the staff to go slow. I also want to remind parents that distance learning is not equal to the instruction provided during a typical school day.
The health and safety of our staff and community is our top priority. Thank you for everything you have done to support Shrevewood ES and our community during this incredible time.
Lastly, we will begin our laptop distribution this Thursday starting at 12 pm. If you have fill out the survey below, you will be receiving a phone call this week from a staff member to set up an appointment to come to Shrevewood ES to pick up a laptop for your student(s) in grades 3-6 only.
Stay safe and we miss you all!
Sincerely,
Joshua DeSmyter
Here is a link to a survey that we have created to determine the needs of household access for distance learning. Please respond as soon as possible. We would appreciate a response by the end of the day and will be reaching out to families we do not hear from on Monday.
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If you are looking to access Parent View on SIS or Blackboard but, you haven't created an account, click on this link to create an account through the FCPS FASTeam. Blackboard has many great resources for your students to access during their time off. Remember, students can access Blackboard with their FCPS username and password. |
The guidance to date provided by the Virginia Department of Education is that since school divisions cannot ensure equity in access, student instructional assignments should not be required or graded during the closure. FCPS has provided families with centralized resources to support continuity of learning. These activities can be accessed through the FCPS 24-7 and are available on the FCPS Website. When anyone logs on to FCPS 24-7 they will see a Continuity of Learning module that has links to resources for elementary students as well as resources for middle and high school students.
Ms. Paska has worked to create simple ways for our families to access digital resources. Check out these two pages devoted to distance learning resources and links. Finally, our FCPS cable television channels are now broadcasting learning activities. New instructional videos are currently being recorded and will be added to the programming lineup shortly. Channel 21 includes elementary school programming, Channel 25 includes middle school programming, and Channel 99 includes high school programming.
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FCPS is embarking on a four-tiered approach to distance learning that will begin officially following Spring Break. All work and assignments are currently optional and will not receive a grade. Our priority is to offer continued learning opportunities to all our students for the remainder of the 2019 – 2020 school year.
Part 1: Weekly Learning Packets
Beginning Monday, March 30 and continuing for the remainder of the school year, all elementary students will receive a weekly learning packet in the U.S. Mail. These packets were created centrally, but teachers may reference them when new learning begins on April 14. Students are encouraged to work on these packets at home next week and beyond as independent practice.
Part 2: Virtual Teaching
Our staff has been working this week to develop a plan for ongoing instruction of our students. Classroom teachers and specialists will be either teaching live through sites like Blackboard Collaborate Ultra or recording themselves teaching and posting links to the videos following Spring Break. More detailed information, as well as a daily schedule, will be shared next week by your child's classroom teacher. When possible, teachers are being recommended to record any live instruction and share links with the students on blackboard so students who cannot join live may view another time. Our plan is that core instruction (community building, language arts, and math) will begin first and we will layer in additional learning opportunities as a school overtime.
Part 3: Channel 21 Programming
Like mentioned above, our FCPS cable television channels are now broadcasting learning activities. New instructional videos are being recorded and will be added to the programming lineup shortly. Students can watch on their TV through Channel 21 or can use these links to view building level instructional programming. Channel 21 includes elementary school programming, Channel 25 includes middle school programming, and Channel 99 includes high school programming.
Part 4: Staff Office Hours
Beginning April 14, all staff will have regular virtual office hours to be available to answer student and parent questions in real-time. Staff will explore various methods of communication and accessibility for office hours and will communicate through email and post their schedule on blackboard.
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