Don't forget! August 6th, is the deadline for
Flex Day completion.
Your Leadership Team met Monday and discussed the following. We look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow afternoon through Zoom meetings!.
When will the building be open?
Your Key Card Access will be restored Monday morning! Please stay turned to email for more information about possible restrictions and a "task list"!
Will we have time to get everything set up?
Classrooms will look differently this year. Rosetta has worked tirelessly with our custodians to set up roomsthe best we can to adhere to the guidelines we were given. Be prepared to purge! We must have extra room for desks. In most cases, that means things need to come out of your room. We are prepared to store items bought with State and Local funds. Personal bookshelves etc.... may need storing at your house.
I heard we have to turn in seating charts?!
Yes, we do need students sitting in the same place/seat every day. So, a seating chart will be required. If you choose to do the necessary disinfecting, you can amend the chart and resubmit. Rosetta will be taking care of this documentation for us.
Will we still use the buddy system?
Yes, but the buddy should be someone that they are already seated close to, in their cohort.
What is Blended, 50-50?
When Option A was presented, 50% blended was presented as a temporary solution to a Covid outbreak. In the option students would be assigned to Group A or Group B. A students would come on M/T. B students would come TH/F. Wednesday would be a day to clean the building. On the days the student are not in the building, they would have virtual lessons to complete.This particular option has not been discussed in months.
How will GaTE work this year?
We will start the year with GaTE being a Virtual experience. GaTE students would work on their assignments in their classroom during Enrichment/Remediation time.
We think we will need additional supplies that are not listed on our supply list due to every student having their own set. Can we add things to the supply list?
The supply list have already been published. Parents are also choosing to pay for supplies online. I think we will be able to create individual supplies from the things we have, however if you need additional materials, we'll find a way to get those for you.
How will we manage classroom libraries?
Classroom libraries will be managed by the teachers. We may have a room you can store them in or you can put them in a closed cabinet or an open book shelf in an area that is "off limits" to students. We'll follow the 72 hour rule. You can give a book(s) to a student to keep with their personal materials. When they return it, it should sit for 72 hours before going into circulation.
Where are our Yearbooks from 19-20?
They still have not come in! When they do, the PTO will distribute through a drive-by plan.
Will students who choose Option B and C be able to participate in AR, Dreambox and the Wall of Fame? Yes!
How will we have EnRICh?
That's really on hold. I don't want to give up on the idea, but I feel that it will be later in the school year before we can make a plan.
Can you clarify how SchoolsPLP works with our curriculum?
From Dr. Berry
TCS teachers have been trained and provided with the SchoolsPLP curriculum. SchoolsPLP is simply a framework of curriculum wherein teachers may utilize lessons that align to standards being taught. SchoolsPLP is just one resource. Our teachers understand that they have autonomy in how they teach the Alabama Course of Study Standards and will be utilizing additional curriculum as they always have to best meet the needs of all students. We are so blessed in Trussville to have excellent supplementary curriculum ,software, and programs some of which include, Lucy Calkins, IXL, Go Formative, KUTA, Mystery Science, Dreambox, Edulastic, Success Maker Reading and Math, etc. We have outstanding and dedicated teachers in TCS that will work diligently to ensure that the learning experienced by our students in Option A is reciprocated to those in Option B.
How will data notebooks be used this year?
We plan to use data notebooks just like we always have. Rosetta will be sharing a plan for transferring them and letting them "sit" the required amount of time before giving them back to the students. Virtual teachers will use data notebooks too.
How will AR be utilized? Are we grading AR?
I don't anticipate AR being a grade. I plan to continue to use it as a tool to increase students reading capacity and teach goal setting.
Are there some days that we will be teaching PE and specials?
Our master schedule will not include gen. ed, F2F teachers as responsible for teaching PE and Specials.
In addition to the questions above, the Team had a discussion about Meet the Teacher. We will talk about this as grade levels in a few days. In the mean time, I think it would be reasonable for you to plan on a video showing your new families around your room and introducing yourself. I will work on a short video to introduce the school and arrival and dismissal information. We could email these prior to the students coming for the first day.
