Hey Panda Family,
Week 3 and you continue to amaze me! Wonderful work this week as we slowly began to implement our full Remote Learning Schedule. I hope you take time to rest and do something fun on this long weekend! Here are our updates for the week.
Weekly Wrap for Parents: Starting this past Friday, I began posting a short Weekly Wrap for parents and families on Class Dojo School Story. I plan to highlight successes and reminders for parents each week here. I will make the post before I leave school each Friday afternoon.
Zoom Tip: Have you heard about the Push to Talk feature in Zoom? A cool trick in Zoom - when a student wants to unmute themselves all they have to do is hold down the spacebar. The student will keep holding down the spacebar to stay unmuted and be able to talk. When they are done talking they let up on the spacebar and they will automatically be muted again. Thanks for sharing, Ms. Rinfrette!
Sympathy Card & Yearbooks: In case you haven't heard, Mr. V's (our former principal) father passed away recently from cancer. We have a sympathy card for him located in the office for everyone to sign. We also have two yearbooks, one for Ms. Pridgen's family and one for Ms. Hayes' family, in the office for everyone to sign as well. After the staff has signed them we are going to deliver them to their families as keepsakes.
Principal Meeting Updates: This past week I had a full-day principal meeting. There was a lot of information that I am continuing to work through. Once I have gone through all the material I will send everyone an email with the highlights.
Flex Friday SEL: I wanted to share a neat idea that some grade levels are doing (and they have incorporated into their PDP SEL goal). On Flex Fridays they have created a SEL check-in form for students to fill out. Some have emojis where they pick how they are feeling, the student writes what went well that week, what they need help on, and so forth. The teachers are then using this data to personally follow-up with students/families if they need help, and to also gauge how their students are feeling. Here is the best part - this is a super simple way to take attendance on Flex Friday (especially for those students that have already completed all their work for the week). I saw it first with 3rd grade - great job!
CARES Team Update: Here is an update from our CARES Team.
- Thank you all for working so hard to get in contact with families without overwhelming them. It helps so much when you have made several attempts prior to our additional attempts. Great work!
- We are down to one family that has not logged on at all.
- If you have a student who has suddenly stopped attending or who has barely attended, please let Ms. Ceglowski know.
- We are now able to also facilitate troubleshooting when a student is participating but maybe not enough or not to the best of his or her ability. Send Ceglowski those names.
- If anyone reaches out looking to help our Pandas, please send them to Ms. Ceglowski. We are in need of monetary donations to help send students to remote learning daycare centers if possible.
- A hotspot bus is coming to Kernersville! Stay tuned for details!
Flex Benefits from Pierce Group: Due to COVID-19 restrictions, our Benefits Briefing will be held virtually this year on Tuesday, October 20 during our staff meeting.
You can access and download a copy of the Benefits Booklet at:
You will receive a separate email after the staff meeting to be able to sign-up for an Individual 1-on-1 appointments.
Jose: Mr. Jose will be out on vacation for one more week. He will return on September 14. In the meantime, Ms. Faith will be helping with our daily custodial needs and Pam will open the building at 6:45 each morning.
PGE Calendar in Canvas: On the PGE Staff Canvas page, Ms. Willis is working to upload all our school meetings, events, birthdays, etc. to the calendar. Go to "Calendar" on the PGE Staff Canvas page to access.
Lesson Plans: Here are the lesson plan look-fors that Ms. Gardner and I will be checking during remote learning. We were able to give feedback on most plans this week. Remember, your plans provide you with a blue print for your teaching and it gives us clear insight as to what we should see and what standards are being assessed. Here you go - Lesson Plans 2020-2021
Packet Materials: I encourage each of you to continue sending out tangible packet materials for your students as needed (novels, worksheets, manipulatives, etc.). Please coordinate the pickup with your families. Every parent that I have talked with mentions how helpful it is to have a combination of tangible and virtual assignments. If the office can support you with this please let us know.
IT Help: Please submit your technology requests and questions to Mr. Younts using this Google Form.
NCEES: Certified staff, please remember to sign up for your PDP conference. Emails were sent a few weeks ago with attached resources and examples as well as a Sign-up Genius to schedule your conference. Dates were adjusted on the Sign-Up Genius because of IEP meetings, so please do not wait until the last minute to sign up.
Leave Requests & Substitutes during Remote Learning: If you need to take leave during your scheduled work day please fill out the Leave Request form, or you can email me if you are working from home. Leave that is 1.5 hours or less will be excused and not counted against you (please do not abuse this). Any leave that is 1.5 hours or more, you will need to enter it in the Frontline system but you will mark "No Sub Needed" during remote learning. District is not approving subs during remote learning so we will have to make a plan for your live instruction coverage while you are out. Please have all leave approved just as you would if we were working under normal circumstances. Don't hesitate to reach out to me or Pam if you have any specific questions.
Morning Announcements: Here are the YouTube links for this week's Morning Announcements. Please include them on your Canvas page.
No Announcements - Monday, September 7 (Labor Day Holiday)
https://youtu.be/_dmvztXfB18 - Tuesday, September 8
https://youtu.be/d6lHYYQmro0 - Wednesday, September 9
https://youtu.be/f25frIAexo8 - Thursday, September 10
https://youtu.be/kvzRC2uRlL4 - Friday, September 11
Opening Staff Meeting: Here is the link to the Opening Staff Meeting Presentation. It has all the vital information to begin the year - Opening Staff Meeting
Staff Spotlight: From Ms. Pollard - "Want to send a super big thank you to the CARES team for finding one of my missing families and getting us connected to one of our little ones!"
Also, a huge thank you to everyone who donated items and money to the Hurricane Relief Fund to support Ms. Tall's family! Your generosity to support one of our Panda family members was simply amazing.
IF Updates
Wonders FAQ: check out these questions to learn something helpful.
Join Math Canvas Course: Click this link to join
iReady PGE documents: Here are all the documents I have organized to help you administer iReady!
Upcoming Dates:
September 7 - No School (Labor Day)
September 8 - SIT @ 3:30
September 14 - iReady ELA BOY window opens for K-3 & 5th grade
September 14 - PTA Meeting @ 6:30 via MS Teams
September 15 - Staff Meeting @ 3:30
September 18 - PTA Spirit Night Drive-In Movie @ W-S Fair Grounds (more info to come)
September 21 - iReady Math BOY window opens for K-5
September 22 - SCC & Wellness Committees meet @ 3:30
September 25 - PDPs Conference due and signed off on
September 25 - Teacher Workday
September 30 - Student Progress Reports due
September 30 - Positive Communication Form due - Positive Communication Form
October 1 - Staff PD training @ 3:30
October 6 - PBIS & MTAC Committees meet @ 3:30
We continue to work as a team to overcome our challenges! We will be even better prepared to lead and educate our students when they return in the building - just like the team in this video. Hope you enjoy this five minute short film ⚽
Very cool video! Spent a lot of time on soccer fields and never knew this existed:)
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