Augusta Academy's 1st and 2nd Grade Distance Learning
April 2020
Greetings, Augusta Academy families!
We want to start off by first telling you that all of us at Augusta hope you are doing well; staying safe, staying healthy and staying home, during these difficult times. We miss seeing everyone each day!
Recently, Governor Whitmer made the unprecedented announcement that she would be, by executive order, closing all K-12 schools for the remainder of the year. While we understand the reasoning and agree that health and safety is paramount, we also have broken hearts that we won’t be able to complete the year as planned with our students.
As promised, and as you have come to expect, we will continue to be there to support you and your student as best we can regardless of circumstance. The building doors may be closed, but school is not and we will work to maintain that connection and academic continuity. Below is what you can expect in the coming weeks, beginning the week of 4/13/20.
Student Work and Participation: -Every two weeks we will have a packet of work available here at school for you to pick up. These packets will be individually labeled and placed in grade level bins in front of the building. Work will be based on grade level content expectations and differentiated for your student. - Each grade-level teacher will also use their own method to reach out and explain what your child will be assigned each week, and how it will be administered, completed, and turned in. Part of these assignments will include video lessons that are posted twice weekly through our chosen distance learning websites. These video lessons will focus on core areas that in some cases have not yet been covered in class. -Teachers will also conduct class meetings via Zoom weekly. You will need to create a free account for your child to participate. These are optional, but a great opportunity for students to connect with classmates. Students should be supervised at all times, as this is an online platform.You may also be asked to create a student account for learning platforms. Our Classroom link (Ms. Almy's Class) is https://zoom.us/j/412595278?pwd=bzVrSW1rcEo4VmFFQkxuSEhkZzV5Zz09.Please set this up as soon as possible. We will begin using it for the first time on 4/13. We will continue to do these online meetings once a week every Monday at 11:00. Here is also a cheat sheet to help your child get familiar with Zoom. Meeting ID: 412 595 278 Password: 120541
Packet Pick Up/ Drop Off:
Pick ups will take place on the following Fridays from 10am – 12pm: 4/17, 5/1, 5/15, and 5/29. The 5/29 pickup will encompass the final three weeks.
We will also have a return box where you can drop off completed work packets for teachers to receive and assign grades. Please hand in the packets that were handed out the last day of school on your first pick-up. The final drop off will be on June 11th from 1-4pm, where you will also be able to pick up the summer homework packet.
Please have only one person exit the car to pick up packets, maintain appropriate social distancing if others are present. The building will not be accessible for any reason and we ask that you not use the playgrounds.
This is intended as a quick pick up and go only.
If the above dates/times will not work for you, please email Mrs. Hamilton to make other arrangements.
Communication:
-Please do not directly call the school building, as no one will be there to answer calls or promptly respond to voice messages. -Teachers will continue to communicate with you via Remind and email. We will continue to give you ideas and resources, and answer questions the best we can.
-Facebook! If you haven’t already, we encourage you to “like” our Augusta Academy Facebook page to get any updates and timely information throughout this closure.
This is our advice for those who have been thrust into schooling your kids from home due to shutdowns. You are not homeschooling. You are CRISIS schooling. This is stressful and can be trauma-inducing. Being at home all day is not normal. Our kids are not used to being locked in their houses away from friends and family. They have lost their in-person time with friends and their daily routine that gives us security. It is okay to NOT be great. Don’t expect to jump into a perfect schedule and learn, learn, learn. Expect them to act out. To not want to get out of bed and do school work. Even us teachers are struggling with the reality of online teaching versus face-to-face. Life will go on if you are not amazing during a worldwide crisis. Maybe your best today isn’t your best tomorrow and that’s okay. Love to all the parents and grandparents taking on this new challenge! Give yourself a break now and then. You got this! We believe in you! As always, if you have any questions or concerns please reach out using the emails at the addresses above, or Remind. We wish everyone continued health and safety. While this year isn’t ending the way we had hoped, we feel confident with your partnership our students will continue to make great gains in the final months of the year. And while academics are important, we also encourage you to spend time as a family creating memories. These memories are what will hold with your child long after this passes. Emotional health and wellbeing are as important as physical health. Have a family movie night, play a board game, bake something, create memories. Take care of each other and we hope to see you again soon!