By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Holy Family Elementary School started its continuous learning plan Thursday.
Information went out to parents Tuesday. The letter is attached below.
Rachel Wentling, Holy Family principal, said she has been trying to sooth parents' worries about school.
"I don't think anybody should worry about their child falling behind. This pandemic is not just affecting students in Ellis County in Hays and not just Kansas, but it's the entire United States and the entire world. ...
"When we are able to return to school in our traditional format, we are going to assess students, and we are going to meet them where they are at and continue their academic progress."
What your child's learning will look like will vary depending on their teachers and their grade, she said.
Students will be using school Chromebooks, which have been checked out to them.
The Kansas Department of Education is recommending the following maximum instruction times per day for students based on grade:
- Preschool — 30 minutes
- Grades K-1 — 45 minutes
- Grades 2-3 — 60 minutes
- Grades 4-5 — 90 minutes
- Grade 6 — 30 minutes/teacher with a maximum of three hours
Families with children in grades preschool through first grade should have received school packets when they picked up personal belongings at the school last week.
Those packets contain worksheets, which will be used in conjunction with online reading and math textbooks that students have already been using. Parents will also be able to play instructional videos.
"For our younger kids, I think it is really about keeping them reading," Wentling said, "giving them opportunities to read and practice their site words and continue to practice all of those skills."
Wentling said the students will be doing the same thing in math — practicing basic addition, subtraction and writing their numbers.
Parents can take pictures of the children's work and submit them to teachers through the Class Dojo app.
The Holy Family librarian is making children's books accessible for students online.
The school is also offering optional enrichment activities parents can try with their kids at home, Wentling said.
"All of these days they are home together, it is hard to come up with ideas all of the time," she said. "Hopefully we can be a resource for parents."
Teachers are still developing some of these ideas, and what children will be able to do will also depend on the supplies available at home.
Wentling gave examples such as drawing pictures with sidewalk chalk, lego activities or offering an act of kindness at home.
The school is also going to continue to offer special classes including art, PE and music.
The Holy Family PE teachers is developing physical activities and games that require no additional equipment, Wentling said.
Students may be encouraged to create an art piece in the style of a famous artists with the supplies they have at home.
Holy Family is taking into consideration many parents may still be working and children will be in day care or being cared for by older siblings.
"When parents come home at the end of the day, it is a lot to ask them to also then teach their kids," Wentling said. "We need to be cognizant of that. Forty-five minutes is not as demanding as a typical school day."
The school is also trying to be flexible with the instruction for the older elementary school students, Wentling said.
Teachers have recorded lessons the students can play at any time. Teachers will be available daily for office hours, but are looking at goals for students to accomplish in a week, Wentling said.
Some students will finish more quickly than others.
Some teachers have been exploring choice boards. The students will have required actives and then be able to choose from a list of optional activities.
Students will be focusing on math and language arts, but students may be able to choose from optional STEM activities. An example is building a solar oven at home, something fourth-grade students had traditionally done in class in the spring, Wentling said.
"Of course our focus is on maintaining and having some academic gain," Wentling said," but really the most important part is our students spiritual and social/emotional well-being as well as their health.
"They are all in unique circumstances at home, so we want to make sure they are supported."
When students are in school, they bond through a human connection, Wentling said. However, when kids are at home, they are missing out on that human connection.
The school is looking at ways to use social media and platforms, such as Google classroom and Class Dojo to keep students connected to each other and to their teachers, Wentling said.
Teachers gathered in the parking lot of the school on Sunday so families could drive through and see and wave to their teachers.
The teachers kept their social distance from each other and the kids, but celebrated with streamers, signs and costumes.
"I think it was mutually beneficial," Wentling said. "Teachers get into teaching because of kids and because there is a human connection there."
See a link to a pre-recorded Facebook live with Wentling on the Holy Family Facebook page.
The Holy Family letter to families on continuos learning is below in full.
HOLY FAMILY ELEMENTARY CONTINUOUS EDUCATION PLAN, 2020 PHILOSOPHY OF CONTINUOUS EDUCATION:
QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
The KSDE Continuous Education Guidelines recommends the following daily instructional times:
- Preschool — 30 minutes
- Grades K-1 — 45 minutes
- Grades 2-3 — 60 minutes
- Grades 4-5 — 90 minutes
- Grade 6 — 30 minutes/teacher with a maximum of three hours
Teachers identified critical standards in specific discipline areas that will be the focus of curricular instruction for the remaining six weeks of the school year during online instruction.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Holy Family faculty will continue to utilize the various instructional technologies that have been employed throughout the school year and are familiar to students.
Teachers will learn and master 2-3 additional technology skills as needed for delivery of instruction, student engagement, and student assessment. This will allow instructors and students to streamline and master the technologies while being able to maintain the focus on student learning.
CORE EXPECTATIONS WITH OPTIONAL ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
Understandably, every household has specific challenges for the online delivery of instruction and student learning. This has been a consideration in the development of the continuous education plan at each grade level.
Homerooms teachers will deliver explicit expectations for student practice and involvement that fall within the recommended guidelines of Continuous Education for daily instruction. While these guidelines exist, it is understood that some students will require more time to complete their learning and others will complete the assignments with ease. Also, it is recognized that many parents may want to further enrich their child’s daily learning. Teachers will present required activities along with various enrichment activities as a resource to parents to further their children’s learning while at home for the extended period of time.
Please remember that during this COVID-19 pandemic that all education across the state, country, and globe is paused and being re-evaluated. While it may feel as though our students are falling behind, they are falling right in line with what all other students are experiencing worldwide. When the new school year commences in 2020 students will be assessed and met where they are at academically to continue their education. Student spiritual, social-emotional, nutritional, and physical health are just as significant as academic gains during this time.
ONLINE DELIVERY OF INSTRUCTION AND STUDENT LEARNING
CHROMEBOOK
All students are expected to use the school Chromebook that was checked out to them. The Chromebooks are managed under the school domain, have content filtering devices to protect students while online, and will continue to be managed with proper bookmarks and shortcuts to the resources that will be used for student learning. Fortunately, HFE already has and uses core curriculum resources that have a digital textbook platform to serve as an added resource for teachers, students, and parents.
OFFICE HOURS
Each teacher will keep an office hour during the day for students or parents to contact them for assistance. These Zoom links will be shared and posted in the HFE School calendar. Because of restrictions that do not allow teachers to videoconference with students one-on-one, many of the office hours will be joint with another teacher or para-professional. Mrs. Wentling offers a daily office hour from 12:30-1:30 pm for students or parents to meet and will be available each morning at 9:00 am on YouTube Live to interact with students after our morning prayer, pledge, and daily announcements.
PRESCHOOL-3RD GRADE
Preschool, First, Second, and Third Grades will utilize the Class Dojo platform to interact with students online. Preschool, KinderPrep, Kindergarten, and First Grade are also utilizing paper packets that were distributed with student materials last week. The procedure for drop off (if necessary) and pick up of additional packets is still being developed at this time.
Kindergarten, First, Second, and Third Grades are enrolling in the EPIC reading platform to provide students with high interest reading at their appropriate reading levels and will allow teachers to assess the reading of the students. All grade levels will continue to use the academic online programs such as IXL, Lexia Core 5, and Xtra math as they have been used throughout the year as formative assessments and academic practice.
3RD-6TH GRADE
Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grades will utilize the Google Classroom platform to deliver and collect assignments as well as post instructional videos and Zoom classroom links. Students will make use of their google email accounts as a form of communication with their classroom teacher as well. Students will continue to use the digital platforms of Pearson’s Reading Street, Pearson’s Envision Math, Shurley English, Interactive Science, and Be My Disciples Religion Text as they apply to the curricular instructional goals. These platforms may be further supported through IXL Math, IXL Reading, IXL English, IXL Science, IXL Social Studies, Lexia Core 5, Xtra Math, and Khan Academy as they relate to the student practice, learning, and formative assessment.
SPECIALS CLASSES
Each specials class will have lessons one day per week, i.e. Monday-Music, Tuesday-Art, Wednesday-Library, Thursday-Computer, Friday-PE. These lessons will be largely participatory in nature and are meant to enrich the students’ learning and daily lives while providing additional structure as needed at home. Specials teachers will also assist the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade teachers with reaching out students and parents who may need additional support with completing work. Each teacher is assigned to a grade level team as a support person.
STUDENT ASSESSMENT
Grades will continue at all grade levels, but may be calculated differently than they would have been in a traditional educational setting. Each grade level has different challenges as they relate to the amount of instructional time and the content of the various discipline areas. This aspect is still being developed, but grade cards will be distributed at the end of the 4th quarter, although, they may be modified to reflect the online delivery of continuous education.
SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS, TITLE 1 READING, READING RECOVERY, AND REFERRALS FOR EVALUATION SPECIAL EDUCATION
During this unprecedented time meeting the needs of students with exceptionalities can be challenging, but it can be overcome. With the changes of instructional time authorized by KSDE, there are also allowances for to adjust instructional times that vary from the students’ IEPs. Students with exceptionalities will receive an Individual Continuous Learning Plan (ICLP) developed specifically for these next few weeks of school. With that in mind, Holy Family and West Central Kansas Special Education Cooperative is committed to continuing education of all students. The special education services of HFE will focus on trying to maintain as much routine as possible with students working toward their individual educational goals.
TITLE 1 READING & READING RECOVERY
Mrs. Woydziak is available for consultation to support parents of students receiving Title 1 and Reading Recovery services. She is available for check ins with students, and can be contacted by email [email protected] for additional support.
REFERRALS FOR EVALUATION
Several students are in the referral process to determine if they qualify for services as a student with an exceptionality. Currently, evaluations are on hold until due to many restrictions that make norm-references assessments impossible to administer. If needed, we will file for extensions and complete the evaluations when school returns to normal. In the meantime, parents will be supported with intervention strategies to continue to help their child make academic gains.
SPIRITUAL FORMATION, SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL NEEDS, AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT
SPIRITUAL FORMATION
As a Catholic school our mission is to bring Christ into the daily lives of our students. Each morning we will continue to start our school day with prayer, our school mission statements, and the Pledge of Allegiance through YouTube Live at 9:00 am. This will be posted for students to view at any time during the day. Fr. Nick will prepare a spiritual message for our students each week on Thursday when he would normally have the school mass. We encourage the students and their parents to watch the daily masses that are broadcast by our local parishes when possible. Teachers will continue with religion instruction and we are developing other plans for our First Friday prayer services and other ways to bring Christ to our students on a weekly and daily basis.
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL NEEDS
School counselor, Ms. Lang, is developing a resource page that will be linked on the school website. Parents may access the page to help support students at home who may be having feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, withdrawal, etc. The COVID-19 Pandemic is a health crisis that could have traumatic effects on students depending on their individual circumstances, especially if a family member or themselves contract the virus or there is the presence of a family member with an immunosuppressed condition. The children’s daily routine and structure have changed dramatically, families have had to make significant adjustments accordingly, and there are financial concerns across the board. If any parents are struggling with their child’s motivation or has concerns about their disposition, please contact Ms. Lang or Mrs. Wentling so that we can provide resources to help support parents as they support their child(ren) at home through this Continuous Learning timeline. Our staff will help develop positive behavior interventions and offer counseling services and/or resources remotely.
NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT
All Holy Family Elementary students are eligible to participate in the food program distribution through Lincoln Elementary, Hays Middle School, and Hays High School. Please notify us if you need further support nutritionally and we will help identify other resources available.
COMMUNICATION
Communication will be the key to success of this plan. Please utilize the office hours, email, and phone to contact us. With the influx of email please give faculty and staff the grace of 24 hours to respond to messages. If more immediate assistance is needed, please use the designated office hours or phone to get in touch with the needed staff member. The school office phone calls will be forwarded to Mrs. Toni Whitmer’s phone during the day.
CLOSING STATEMENT
We trust in God’s Divine Providence of His schools and we have always maintained that parents are the primary educators of their children. Our faculty and staff are here to support you in this very important task that has become even more integral in your daily lives. You and your family are in our daily prayers, and we beg God to cover our school and entire community with a shield of protection for our health and all those who are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. At Holy Family We are CHRIST to One Another. We grow in our
Catholic faith to
Honor God
Respect others
Imitate Christ
Study and develop our
Talents to glorify God!