September 3, 2020
Dear Families,
Borrowing a line from Bay Middle School Principal Mr. Aaron Ereditario’s playbook, “It’s a Great Day to be a Rocket!”
I couldn’t agree more, and I hope your family is feeling the One Rocket Nation love as we close out our first week of students following their schedules during eLearning mode.
• What Went Well This Week?
Students were ready and excited! Rockets of all ages were engaged in eLearning. They showed grit and perseverance as they greeted their teachers and fellow students, and mastered technology and lessons. I loved seeing the learning spaces our students set up at home...very creative. They rocked!
Our teachers were amazing! From phone calls to anxious parents, to encouraging notes to students, our faculty led the charge to make this first week of eLearning personal and productive. I am sure you have noticed the amazing transformation our eLearning has undergone since we put the emergency remote learning plan into place last spring.
Our teachers were amazing! From phone calls to anxious parents, to encouraging notes to students, our faculty led the charge to make this first week of eLearning personal and productive. I am sure you have noticed the amazing transformation our eLearning has undergone since we put the emergency remote learning plan into place last spring.
Our tech team was spot-on this week, assisting our students and families with their technology questions and concerns. Should you need their help, please click here.
Athletics and Activities are underway. As of August 1 to date, we have no confirmed COVID-19 cases due to athletics or activities. Students, coaches and advisors are taking state health orders very seriously. The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is also sending inspectors to school communities to make sure school sports and activities health orders are adhered to.
Lunch delivery! We’re trying to keep the school day as normal as possible for your student, so we are DELIVERING lunch to your door during eLearning mode. If you haven’t yet ordered, I encourage you to place your orders now for the week of September 8.
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Share Your ‘Learning Pit’ Moment...
The “Learning Pit” is a way to describe how learning actually
happens...new learning occurs only when you are in the learning pit,
experiencing productive struggle, making connections between what
you already know and new ideas, information and concepts. When you
come out on the other side of the learning pit, you experience that “I
did it!” feeling. Did your student/family experience a “learning pit”
moment this week? If so, tell me about it.
(Our own Director of Teaching and Learning Char Shryock held a Productive
Struggle Session for our parents during last week’s Rocket Family eAcademy,
and I highly recommend this recording and accompanying slide deck if you
missed it.)
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• What Can We Improve On?
We’re working to make our daily, Student Health Check text alert as simple as possible. Until then, thank you for your patience as you may receive more than one morning alert per household. Daily COVID-19 reporting is required by the state, whether your student is In-building or eLearning. This is a new protocol for all of us, and we are in the process of finding just the right app that can make this manageable for our families. We hope to have a permanent solution within the next two weeks. Thank you for making this check-in part of your family’s morning routine. Families have shared that this is a great way for them to “check in” with each other, mentally and physically.
• Friendly Reminder: Opt In to Our Emergency Text Alert System
Has your family opted in to our emergency text alert system? Please text the number 67587 from your cell phone and respond with a “Y” to confirm you are receiving our all-district text alerts. (This cell phone must match the cell phone number we have in PowerSchool.) If you are having PowerSchool log-in issues, please call your building’s main office.
• Looking Ahead
For sake of transparency, the District has initiated a COVID-19 Dashboard on our Rocket Relaunch site. I am proud to say the District had this reporting page in the works before Gov. DeWine’s recent recommendations. As you can see, the data points are looking favorable, and our staff is feeling comfortable, safe and anxious for students to return. We will make our In-building decision no later than September 10 for the week of September 14. Our inaugural return to In-building will be a “slow launch,” with half the students In-building on any one day. Final plans for the slow launch will be shared with parents once our first In-building date is set.
We have a long weekend coming up with schools closed on Monday, September 7 for Labor Day. Let us all reflect upon the Fourth of July, and how COVID-19 cases spiked shortly thereafter, with many cases traced back to non-congregate events, such as family gatherings. Please make good Labor Day decisions so we can resume In-building learning the week of September 14.
Thank you for your efforts in making this a successful week for your students during these unprecedented times.
Sincerely,
Superintendent Jodie Hausmann