ISY Elementary School Faculty Blog
Here we go again!
Mike Simpson
18 September 2020
I really enjoyed the meetings we had online discussing our enduring understandings and essential questions for our Quarter 2 units. Many connections were made and I know we have the got the makings of three great units. But now we have to make them!
We will start this planning process next week by creating scope and sequences for each unit. I will send meeting invites out as follows:
- Tuesday, 2:00-2:40pm: Grades 2 & 3
- Tuesday, 2:45-3:25pm: Grades 4 & 5
- Tuesday, 3:30-4:10pm: Grades PK, K, & 1
- Wednesday, 2-3pm: Specialists*
The goal is to have a planning document shared with you on Monday for you all to review and assign roles. On Tuesday, we will discuss the planning document to make sure we know what needs to be done and who needs to work with who.
The following week we will start developing weekly lessons. One step at a time but we will be stepping quite quickly!
Creating these units is a very complex task during a very uncertain time. But the late Dr. Ken Robinson would suggest that this is the perfect time to reimagine what education looks like.
Feedback from Parents and Students
Through your efforts, we enjoy good support from our students and families. There are the odd comments around technology but the overwhelming need that both families have is to feel that the students have a connection to each other and to their teacher – through learning or just as people.
This is to be expected and this is why we now send home weekly family reports. We need to keep finding ways to keep connecting with our students.
I know our CLO coordinators are scheduling extra meetings to connect with students. I also know that our synchronous teachers are reaching out to students after 12:30pm as needed. Please keep doing this. It is appreciated and will help keep students engaged and connected as move forward.
This week’s Elementary Family Blog focuses on the importance of connection and it will interesting to see if the feedback we receive from today’s family survey still focuses heavily on this.
Upcoming Events
October 5-9:
WASC Online Accreditation Visit
Previous Elementary School Posts
Elementary School Faculty Blog – April 23
Parent Teacher Conferences have come at a perfect time to reassure our parents that they are doing a good job and that their children are going to be ok.
Elementary School Faculty Blog – April 9, 2021
Thank you, Delphine. We appreciate all that you have done for us and our school.
Elementary School Faculty Blog – April 2, 2021
Each day this week has seen more emails from families preparing to leave Yangon and we expect that this will continue throughout this quarter.
Elementary School Faculty Blog – March 26, 2021
I have a tremendous amount of respect for you all. It means a lot to be part of this group and I think it will mean even more as time goes on.
Elementary School Faculty Blog – March 19, 2021
We might not feel like experts but today’s assembly was a chance to remind ourselves that we are now good at many things that we did not know how to do at all just a matter of months or weeks or days ago.
Elementary School Faculty Blog – March 12, 2021
The reality of the current situation can make finding the bright side difficult. But research shows that in difficult times, it is important for our mental health to allow ourselves to acknowledge that times are difficult and to feel rather than suppress negative emotions.