Greetings Gibson Families,
We hope this message finds you well. Please remember to stay safe during this time. We are seeing an increase in Covid 19 cases in our community. Many experts are citing “Covid Fatigue” as a contributing factor. As the pandemic continues, the tendency is to become lax in our social distancing, hand washing and other protective behaviors. Our first priority is the safety of our children!
It is hard to believe that we just finished our first quarter of the 2020-21 school year. In partners in education, we are once again seeking some feedback from our families. Please take a few minutes to provide some feedback to us. The survey attached should not take more than 5 minutes to complete. Please use this link or copy and paste it in the browser.
Distance Education Family Survey: https://forms.gle/gJ2sPDkzJVixpwDh8
On Thursday, October 29th our school will be celebrating Halloween “distance style”. Children and Staff are encouraged to wear their costumes during the school day. Please remember that costumes must align with CCSD Dress Code. In addition, masks, graphic face paint, and weapons are not permitted. All classes will have a virtual Halloween party on this day from 1:00 - 2:00 pm. Remember, there is no school on Friday, October 30th in observance of Nevada Day.
Our PTO is hosting two fabulous Costume Contests and there are prizes to be won!!
1) Family Costume Contest = Winner receives a $50 Amazon Gift Card
2) Student Costume Contest = Winner receives a $25 Amazon Gift Card
Put on your best costume/s and share the photos with us via our Facebook Group EVENT or via email!! We will have our local Fire Department pick the winners for both contests on Sunday Nov 1st, then we'll announce the winners!!
Our Facebook group is:
Gibson Goldminers PTO
Our email is: Gibsonpto@gmail.com
Each week, we will bring you a topic that will assist you in making Distance Education work for your child. Most of what we share with you is from “The Distance Learning Playbook for Parents: How to Support Your child’s Academic, Social, and Emotional Development in Any Setting” by Wiseman, Fisher, Frey and Hattie. This week we will focus on Creating a Learning Environment.
We all need a place to work and learn. This has traditionally been the school building. Think back to your days in the school building;
Where were the children sitting?
Was music playing in the classroom?
What was the voice level of the teachers? the students? classroom helpers/visitors?
Most of you will remember that children were sitting at desks or tables, or possibly on a carpet area. They were taking turns talking to either each other or the teacher with respectful voices. Classroom helpers may have been present at the back of the room, but they were quiet, and didn’t interact much with the teacher during instruction - they may have been working with a small group of students or completing a task for the teacher. There may have been soft, classical music playing in the background.
These same factors need to be in place in the home learning environment. Children should not be attending class from their beds, loud music should not be playing in the background, and distractions such as the tv and cell phones should be avoided during instructional time. Finally, profanity should not be used while children are participating in group meetings.
A few things to keep in mind while creating a learning environment include;
*Create a dedicated workspace for each child, ideally outside of their bedroom (ie: kitchen table or desk). The closer they are to the internet connection, the stronger the signal they will have.
*Try to keep a consistent space so that habits and routines are formed
*Keep learning materials in the learning space
*Develop plans (with the teacher) for breaks, movement, drinks of water
*If the work space is shared, consider using headphones while on class meetings
*Establish family ground rules for the learning space (ie: TV or radio should be off when classes are in session, social conversations should be held outside of the area)
We hope these tips make your school day run a little smoother. We encourage you to ask you child’s teacher for suggestions. In addition, Gina Vesci, Read by Three Strategist will be having a Family Learning class on Distance Education. Look for more information in our Family Survey.