Last spring, we were all in crisis mode. It was as if the world was turned upside down and we all were making do in the best way possible to finish out the year as effectively as we could. But now your teachers have worked hard all summer to learn, push themselves, and grow in technological approaches. The district has invested in platform opportunities and chromebook resources. This fall, we will be doing remote learning, but I like to think of it as Remote Learning 2.0. Bigger, better, and definitely improved.
But, here is the thing... this new format will be different than what you have experienced before. This won't be primarily review of past content. This is full go learning. And you can TOTALLY do this! But it will be different and it will have some growing pains as you adjust to the new format.
So let's talk about what will be expected of you...
I assume by now you have seen the schedule for remote learning. All students will be expected to attend the online, live class sessions via zoom during your designated class period just as if you were in school. You will only have to sit through 4 classes a day (except for Fridays) because we know that sitting and staring at a screen non-stop can give you "zoom burn out." On Fridays, the schedule is shorter periods, but students get to interact with and see all of your teachers across the whole day. This way you end the week with that oppotunity to touch base with your teacher and clarify that you understand what you need to work on over the weekend so that you are ready again when we get to the new week.
Because all students in every grade will be expected to log online at designated times each day to work with their teachers, sharing devices will be a challenge. If you normally share a computer or chromebook with others in your family, I would suggest that you sign up to request a loaner chromebook that you can use this fall. And if there are 3 kids in your family that are all in school and you only have one device, you will want to sign up for 2 more devices so that everyone has one to be able to use. You definitely don't want to be marked for a class "cut" because you couldn't join zoom because you didn't have a device to use.
Even though you will only have 4 classes that meet live Monday-Thursday, you will have independent work that you will be expected to work on EVERY day. This means, perhaps even more than when you were face to face with teachers, you need to have some type of an organization system that you will use to track your school work assignments so that you don't get confused on what you need to do and by when. I don't care if that is a calendar, a planner, a to-do list, post-it notes on your wall, a dry-erase board, an app, or the reminders in your phone, but you need to start thinking about how you will get organized and prepare yourself to learn successfully this school year.
School supplies are also still needed even though you will be learning at home. I can't even begin to count the number of times that I would be zooming with students over the last few months and we would be trying to do a math problem and they'd say they didn't have their calculator nearby or we were working on science and I'd suggest they jot down a key point that was made in a video only to learn that the student didn't have anything to write on or with nearby. That will NOT work. You wouldn't come to school with absolutely nothing... this is school. So you will still need your pens, pencils, paper, notebooks, folders, etc. Setting up an area where you will keep all of your school supplies will help you be prepared and ready to learn. I don't care if it is your backpack and you're going to carry it with you if you and your chromebook are going to go to different areas to study, but I will say that most students find it way more successful if they set up a designated area in their house or their room where they will go to do their work - ideally a spot that is free from other distractions. For example, maybe you want to work in bed, but you know that if you are in bed you are not going to focus, take notes, or be engaged with the learning. As a result, you may choose to use the kitchen or dining room table as your work area. Or, if your kitchen is the center hub of your house and your parents are working at home or your grandma lives with you and will be cooking and watching soap operas loud in the next room, this might not be the best choice. So in that case, maybe there is a small table you could set up in a corner of your room or in the hallway away from distractions. It isn't really about where you are working - it is about where the dynamics and circumstances will be best for setting you up for success. I will remind you that if you play video games on the same computer you will be using for school work, that you are probably going to have to give yourself some type of visual and physical cues to remind yourself that this is school time and not relaxing time - especially in the beginning. After summer break, that transition away from constant relaxation time is always a shock - when you don't have the physical cues of driving to school to help get yourself in the right frame of mind for learning, you will need to create some of those cues for yourself. I promise, it really does work and help!
You will be zooming every day starting at 9:00am. That also means that for those of you who, last spring, spent the day sleeping until 12 (or 2) will have to make sure your sleep schedule is adjusted so that you are awake and functioning at 9am each day. No more procrastinating on your school work each day until the wee hours of the night knowing that you could sleep in during the morning.
Teachers will all be using Schoology as the standard platform for students to use for their classes. I know that will be an adjustment for some students and parents, but it appears to be pretty straightforward and clear on where you find information and how to use and navigate it. I took an implicit bias class using schoology over the summer and quickly learned how to move through the different features of the class so I am confident that will be easy for you as well.
I have also had lots of students asking about CC+ classes. If you are taking your classes with a CSCC Instructor, then your class will be completely remote and on your own time schedule for the fall semester. If you are taking a math CC+ Class through COTC with a WKHS teacher then you will be following the typical Worthington school schedule.
Last, but perhaps most importantly, I need to stress to all of you the importance of regularly using your wscloud email account. That is one of the key ways that your teachers (and others like me) will be using to communicate with you.
I know that it is hard for us to still be dealing with the effects of COVID impacting our lives, but this is a great opportunity for you to learn, grow, and push yourself in new ways... and I have complete faith in you and our teachers that we will be able to have a great year no matter how distanced we are at any point in time. Remember, I am still here and am just an email or phone call away if you are struggling or need to talk.
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