New Semester, New Beginnings

 As we enter the final week in January and prepare for the start of the second semester next week I wanted to provide an update on some changes to our schedule that we are making in an effort to provide our students with as many opportunities as possible.

Recess options in the cafeteria

We know so much more about the transmission of COVID-19 now than we did earlier in the school year. We know that schools are safe and we know that the different protocols that students and staff are following are working. As a result, we have been able to evolve as the year has progressed. With a little creativity and sweat equity we were able to move some furniture and make part of our cafeteria available as a recess spot for students. We have also been able to open up our lunch lines so students can come from their classrooms to get a school lunch. That’s allowed our incredible cafeteria staff to broaden the menu offerings for students. As we look to next week, the start and end times of the school day remain the same, but we have made some adjustments to when things take place during the day to create some additional opportunities for students. Here are how the schedule changes impact students:

5th Grade Changes

Fifth graders are still in self-contained classrooms so the overall impact on their daily schedule is pretty minimal. Their lunch time will be pushed back by 20 minutes to an 11:01 AM lunch rather than 10:41 AM. Fifth grade special area classes of Music, Art, & Physical Education will shift times, but still remain in the schedule on a rotating basis. Because we are trying to fit three different specials into a schedule that has students only here two days per week, the focus for these classes is on providing students with as many fun and engaging opportunities as possible. 

Whether an in-person or fully remote student, we are not going to “grade” students in these three special area classes on their report cards moving forward. To try to assess someone that you only see twice over a three week period of time on specific standards isn’t reasonable and with everything else students are trying to navigate, it just doesn’t make sense. Just being able to provide our students the opportunity to participate in Art, Music & PE classes this year is awesome! Teachers will push out a monthly overview to parents of the skills and activities that students are focusing on in each of those classes. 

5th graders on "The Hill"

Recess will continue to be a piece of the 5th grade day. Students will now be able to tackle the amazing sledding hill behind the school while we have snow and they have the opportunity to utilize some of the different recess spaces we have created for them in the building. 

6th Grade Changes

6th graders follow a traditional “bell schedule” so the adjusted schedule actually adds a period to their day. The newly created period will become Physical Education in their schedule and will take place each day they are in school in-person. Giving 6th graders the opportunity to move and have some fun in PE in a safe manner is outstanding! 

As the semester changes, 6th graders will have completed the course ‘Digital Literacy’ and will now take ‘Family And Consumer Science’ (FACS) over the second half of the school year. FACS is a course designed to introduce students to the qualities and behaviors necessary to become happy and productive adults. The course teaches students how to meet their present and future responsibilities as family members, community members, consumers, home managers, and wage earners. Our goal is to educate students to think constructively, make sound decisions, solve problems, and manage their resources.  We would like our students to learn who they are, what they are good at, and understand how they can apply this knowledge into their lives. FACS is a terrific course and along with PE, our 6th grade students are going to have a really nice daily schedule. 

Everything that we have been able to do here at school is a result of our students and staff adhering to the guidelines we have in place. These second semester adjustments will hopefully make the experience for our students even better. We continue to be open to adding more opportunities and will do so whenever possible in a strategic and safe manner.

Let’s continue to take care of one another, stay healthy, and be smart. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please email me or give me a call. 

 

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms