Good afternoon-
It was truly so nice to see many of you today. This is a crazy and stressful time. Seeing you all pull together as departments and colleagues to support students has been wonderful to watch. It's hard to imagine how this will all progress but if we keep working together as a team we can help each other and our students through it. Please know that Erin, Brian, Stephen and I are here for support and to be an ear. I want to thank Chaz for the work he has done as well.
Building access- Many asked today when they will be able to get back in the building. AHS will be closed after Thursday's scheduled times for students until further notice. If you have plants or pets you are concerned about please make a plan. The building will open at 8am and will close at 2:00pm Wednesday and by noon on Thursday. If you need to come by because you forgot something please do, just practice social distancing.
Scheduling for the 2020-2021 school year- Counselors are still moving forward with moving recommendations to requests. We recognize that many of you have not had the opportunity to have conversations with parents and students about overrides as conferences were scheduled for tomorrow. I encourage you to reach out to those families and hold conferences over email or through some other virtual means, especially if they were students you are concerned about. Counselors have been asked to reach out to you, the student, and the parent when they come across an override request that has not been addressed. I ask that you "reply all" with your thoughts on why the student should be in the recommended class. If the family continues to express the desire to override the counselor will have that next step conversation.
Links to assignments/activities- Stay tuned for information on how we can further share the content you have compiled for students. While you have all shared the information directly with student emails, we would like to have the information posted in a central location, such as the AHS website, as well.
Out of school activities moving forward- While we don't know exactly how long our school closure will last the recommendation has been to suspend all field trips/out of school activities for the rest of the year. Please think about how that impacts your classes or clubs. Let me know if you have questions or concerns.
Staying in contact- It has been great to hear about the classes that have met virtually over the past few days. I know it's scary for you to see and hear how the students are feeling. They are worried and have so many questions. As you think about how the next few weeks will unfold I encourage you to think about ways to connect with each of your classes/caseloads. Set up Zoom sessions or Google Hangouts, send individual emails, make phone calls, anything to stay connected to the students. They are needing it as much as we are. It's okay for us to say we don't have the answers but we are here to get through this together.
Looking forward to seeing more of you tomorrow and offering any support I can give. Hang in there. I am getting ready to enjoy a crock-pot boiled dinner prepared by my 5th grader and then catch the Dropkick Murphy's concert on tv.
It was truly so nice to see many of you today. This is a crazy and stressful time. Seeing you all pull together as departments and colleagues to support students has been wonderful to watch. It's hard to imagine how this will all progress but if we keep working together as a team we can help each other and our students through it. Please know that Erin, Brian, Stephen and I are here for support and to be an ear. I want to thank Chaz for the work he has done as well.
Building access- Many asked today when they will be able to get back in the building. AHS will be closed after Thursday's scheduled times for students until further notice. If you have plants or pets you are concerned about please make a plan. The building will open at 8am and will close at 2:00pm Wednesday and by noon on Thursday. If you need to come by because you forgot something please do, just practice social distancing.
Scheduling for the 2020-2021 school year- Counselors are still moving forward with moving recommendations to requests. We recognize that many of you have not had the opportunity to have conversations with parents and students about overrides as conferences were scheduled for tomorrow. I encourage you to reach out to those families and hold conferences over email or through some other virtual means, especially if they were students you are concerned about. Counselors have been asked to reach out to you, the student, and the parent when they come across an override request that has not been addressed. I ask that you "reply all" with your thoughts on why the student should be in the recommended class. If the family continues to express the desire to override the counselor will have that next step conversation.
Links to assignments/activities- Stay tuned for information on how we can further share the content you have compiled for students. While you have all shared the information directly with student emails, we would like to have the information posted in a central location, such as the AHS website, as well.
Out of school activities moving forward- While we don't know exactly how long our school closure will last the recommendation has been to suspend all field trips/out of school activities for the rest of the year. Please think about how that impacts your classes or clubs. Let me know if you have questions or concerns.
Staying in contact- It has been great to hear about the classes that have met virtually over the past few days. I know it's scary for you to see and hear how the students are feeling. They are worried and have so many questions. As you think about how the next few weeks will unfold I encourage you to think about ways to connect with each of your classes/caseloads. Set up Zoom sessions or Google Hangouts, send individual emails, make phone calls, anything to stay connected to the students. They are needing it as much as we are. It's okay for us to say we don't have the answers but we are here to get through this together.
Looking forward to seeing more of you tomorrow and offering any support I can give. Hang in there. I am getting ready to enjoy a crock-pot boiled dinner prepared by my 5th grader and then catch the Dropkick Murphy's concert on tv.
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