April 7 Update from Mr. Borkowski

Parents,

I hope this message finds you rested and healthy.  Today was the second day of online learning and I wanted to communicate to you some thoughts as we adjust to this new routine.

Building Community

One of the happiest parts of online schooling has been seeing the faces of the students in our Zoom meetings.  Just imagine, 10 years ago this kind of communication would have been impossible.  Now we can continue to learn as a community even as we are isolating in our homes.

Please take advantage of every opportunity the teachers create to be a part of the community.  Watch their pre-recorded videos, join in-class meetings and lessons on Zoom, and watch the daily Prayer and Announcement videos as a family.  I am sharing submissions from families each day on the daily announcement videos, so please consider sending me a picture or video.

Finally, please view our Lent Assembly on Thursday afternoon.  It will include a presentation from our Grade 1 class that they created online as a class.  Praying together, even online, still counts! 

IT Support

If you are having difficulty accessing a website, application, or video please contact me and I will do my best to help resolve the issue.  There have been a few glitches but I have been able to suggest workarounds so far.  Our IT company is working on resolving the issues permanently.

Specialty Classes

All of our specialty teachers are hard at work preparing ways for students to stay connected.  Some are posted already, and others will debut next week.  Soon, students will continue to be able to learn in French, Music, and PE.

Pacing

The biggest challenge for this new way of schooling is pacing.  We have a wide spectrum of parent availability and expectations.  While some families want full-time school and maximum content each day, other families want only minimal amounts of prescribed work.  The reasons for this vary, but everyone has different needs, access to technology, and time constraints.  Finding the “sweet spot” for instruction is a difficult job.

Our teachers have tried to establish solid routines that will allow students and their parents to meet their own individual needs and expectations.  They have created “must do” and “may do” activities that will give families flexibility to decide what works best for them.  Please have your child do their best but it is up to you as parents to decide how much work is fair for your child at this time.

Please feel free to contact me at any time with your questions or ideas.

Sincerely,

Mr. Jason Borkowski

Principal