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 – March 5, 2021

Elementary School Faculty Blog – March 5, 2021

Mar 5, 2021 |

We have long term, yearly, quarterly, monthly, and weekly plans but our planning and preparation has now taken more of a day by day focus. It will therefore need to be very fluid as we plan for our students’ safety and wellbeing, connectedness, and learning.

Elementary School Faculty Blog – February 19, 2021

Elementary School Faculty Blog – February 19, 2021

Feb 19, 2021 |

To my Myanmar colleagues, on behalf of all my international colleagues, thank you for the support that you continue to give us as we work together for our students in these most challenging of times. We want you to know that we support you and can adapt the way that we work to allow you to deal with whatever you need to deal with outside of school.