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Greetings, Graham Road Families!
We are thrilled to have had such a smooth, exciting week of learning at Graham Road. While we are so excited to have resumed live instruction with so many students, we are also still delighted to make connections with students on the phone to hear how they are continuing to learn by completing learning packets, watching instructional videos on Channel 21, reading and helping out at home.
I want to say thank you for the words of encouragement and the continued support from this community as we tried our very hardest to make things work for the last few weeks. Teachers worked tirelessly to plan and prepare to meet students online and when the systems failed us, it was a disappointing moment for us all. Nevertheless, we did what we do best at Graham Road, we kept moving onward and upward. Using the collective strength and knowledge of our team, we developed and put in place a new plan for students to access additional learning opportunities.
Below you will find some answers to frequently asked questions. Parents received grade level updates from me over the last few weeks but below is a composite of answers that apply to our whole school. We will also add these FAQs and important links to our school public webpage. Visit grahamroades.fcps.edu, click the Full Menu and find the Distance Learning section. If you have more questions, please email me at lebadini@fcps.edu. I am happy to answer your questions individually and it’s likely that if you are wondering something, other parents are too! The more you share and ask of me, the better I can inform and support our community.
Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week! Had we been in school, we would do fun things each day to celebrate the teachers at Graham Road. Now, more than ever, they deserve our appreciation and encouragement. I cannot even begin to describe how hard they have all been working over the last few weeks. I encourage you all to reach out and share just how much you appreciate them!
Lauren Badini
Principal
Graham Road Distance Learning
Frequently Asked Questions for Parents
How do I support distance learning at home, especially when I am still working, taking care of other children and have no experience as an educator?
The one thing we can guarantee all students have consistent, reliable access to is the mailed, paper learning packet. As you’re thinking about where to start, the learning packet is a good place to guide your child first. Learning packets were designed to follow what students would be taught if we were physically in school. They include routines our students are familiar with so they should be easy for students to complete. The live lessons, recorded lessons and additional learning opportunities are planned from and support the learning packets. When planning, learning packets are where teachers start and build from there. I encourage parents to do the same.
Additionally, teachers have and will continue to connect with students either by phone or virtually to talk through students’ work on learning packets. If you have not or are not receiving packets on a weekly basis, email me or your child’s teacher immediately so we can find out why and get packets to your child.
Where can we find everything from my child’s teacher in one place?
Grade level teams have worked diligently to create sites to serve as a landing page for students so they have one place to visit to see everything they can do from home. Teachers have worked very hard on these sites and it shows - they are incredible! They are well organized and familiar to students as we have used Google products all year long. Students must be logged onto their FCPS Google Account to access the links below. They will be prompted to log in when clicking links below or they can log on by visiting our school website, grahamroades.fcps.edu, and clicking G-Suite in the top banner on the homepage.
Kinder Distance Learning
1st Grade Distance Learning
2nd Grade Distance Learning
3rd Grade and 3/4 Combo Class (Pakrul) Distance Learning
4th Grade Distance Learning
5th Grade Distance Learning
6th Grade Distance Learning
When and how can my child join his/her teacher live?
Students received a unique link in FCPS Gmail accounts to click at designated times to join teachers for live instruction through Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. Students will use this one link every time they join their teacher and classmates for live instruction. Below are two videos that will help parents and teachers!
English Version: Getting to FCPS Gmail and the Blackboard Collaborate Message
Spanish Version: Getting to FCPS Gmail and the Blackboard Collaborate Message
The schedule for live, teacher led instruction is:
Kindergarten and 1st Grade - 10:30 - 11:45 and 3:15 - 4:00
2nd Grade - 9:45 - 10:15 and 2:45 - 3:15
3rd - 6th Grades - 9:00 - 9:45 and 2:15 - 2:45
Details about teachers’ online office hours to give students’ feedback were sent to directly to parents in each grade level on April 24th. More detailed schedules are also posted on grade level distance learning Google sites.
Click here for tips and troubleshooting with Blackboard Collaborate Ultra
What about our specialists (Art, Music, PE, Spanish, Tech, Library, Band and Strings)?
Our enrichment teachers have created a Google Classroom for all students to access choice boards and additional learning opportunities. Encourage your child to visit it here:
Specialists Google Classroom
Additionally, specialists will be live for lunch bunches to connect and answer any questions from any and all interested students from 12:00 - 1:00 on the days listed below. Students only need to log onto the Specialists Google Classroom and join the Google Meet session.
Monday: Mr. Lee (Art) and Ms. Lamm (Spanish)
Tuesday: Ms. Patel (Library) and Ms. Phalon (STEM)
Wednesday: Mr. Carter (PE) and Mr. Harkins (Music)
Thursday: Ms. Suchecki (Strings) and Ms. Bowen (Band)
How can students connect with the counselor, social worker and psychologist?
Students can visit our Counseling Site for links to wellness resources, lessons and videos. We will also post wellness resources for parents on our public website soon!
Are assignments being graded?
At Graham Road, we are not grading any work completed during distance learning. That said, learning packets do not need to be saved or turned in to teachers or the school at any point. However, teachers will be giving students feedback on their work on packets and other online learning opportunities through phone calls, virtual office hours or digital written feedback.
Will my child receive his/her 3rd Quarter report card?
All assignments due on or before March 12 will be used to calculate students’ 3rd quarter grades. No assignments shared by teachers after schools closed can negatively impact students’ grades. Due to the unexpected timing of the closure, there will be areas that were not assessed during the third quarter – those grades will print as NA (not assessed).
In addition to being mailed home, third quarter grades will be visible in ParentVUE and StudentVUE on Saturday, May 9 at 6 AM. FCPS anticipates printed report cards will be provided to the postal service by May 23. Delivery to homes will be dependent on the postal service.
Will my child be able to move onto the next grade level next school year?
Students who were on track for promotion prior to closure will be promoted onto the next grade for the 2020-2021 school year.
Can we pick up a school laptop? While we originally reported we have technology devices at home, it’s hard for siblings to share.
We were fortunate enough to have enough equipment at Graham Road to distribute laptops to all students in grades 3 - 6 who did not have access to any device at home. Parents were asked to report devices at home for each child through a survey sent on March 12 and classroom teachers followed up with phone calls during the week of March 30th to double check home access. While the first phase of our distribution is complete and only included students in upper grades, should things change, parents will be notified.
Because we recognize how challenging it is for siblings to share devices, especially those in younger grades relying on technology given to older students, we’ve made some adjustments to our schedule and recommend parents rely heavily on paper learning packets and additional learning opportunities provided through grade level distance learning sites that can be accessed at any time. By accessing the rich asynchronous learning opportunities (learning packets, recorded mini lessons, additional online learning opportunities), all children in the family can engage in academic work throughout the day. The schedules shared are guidelines to follow but we are understanding when multiple children are sharing a device. All live, teacher led instruction is recorded and teachers will make recordings available through their distance learning sites.
Our school issued laptop isn’t working properly, how do we report the issue and get it fixed?
Reach out to your child’s teacher to share issues with school laptops. Teachers have a process they will follow to get help for you. They will need information about the device like the barcode and a description of the issues. Fixing the device may require a call with the parent, an interpreter (when needed) and our technology specialists to solve problems remotely.
Our family still doesn’t have reliable access to the internet, what can we do?
Verizon and Cox are offering free and affordable internet during this time. Cox has also extended their free period through July with monthly costs being $9.95/month afterwards guaranteed for two years. More information is available on the Cox website: https://www.cox.com/residential/internet/connect2compete.html. Families in need of support signing up or documentation to qualify for this program should reach out to our parent liaison, Annabel Arana, aarana@fcps.edu. If you have tried to access these free programs still cannot secure internet access, please reach out to our parent liaison to share so we can take your name should we ever receive FCPS-issued mi-fi devices.
Where do we go for food resources?
Fairfax County and Fairfax County Public Schools have worked together to develop a searchable map that includes community food distribution sites, including FCPS grab and go locations, community meal distribution sites, food pantries, and other related services. Visit https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/maps/food-resources and type in an address, you can view the closest food assistance sites!
If you want to order a yearbook for your child, the cost is $17. Please note that all orders must be completed online (no cash/checks). Visit the website and enter Yearbook Code 12106120 to get started.
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