April 20th - 24th

Dear Families,

As we begin our fifth week of distance learning and school closures, I want to begin by saying that physical, mental/emotional and spiritual health and wellness are a priority for everyone at this time.  Learning activities and goals set out by teachers are optional.  Families must make decisions that suit their individual needs.  Please prioritize the health and wellness of your family and make decisions about distance learning that suit your own needs.

This is our Virtual Spirit Week at St. Augustine school (details outlined in previous post). Learning goals for the students have been added to the Google Slide deck for this week which can be found in their Drives on the Student Portal. Students may choose to share work with me as they complete it OR share it all at the end of the week on Friday. If  students choose to do work on paper rather than in the Google Drive, then consider taking photos of it and creating a document that can be shared with me. How students complete the work is really up to them but in order for me to be able to provide anecdotal feedback, I have to be able to see it and they need to share it with me!

Last Wednesday we had our second Google Hangout/Meet as a class.  Our numbers are increasing each week which is great. It was wonderful to see everyone. We all agreed that we are enjoying spending more time with our families but that we miss each other and all of our friends. 

One of the things we did in last week's Google Hangout/Meet was to review etiquette for having hangouts. Here is a quick summary of the main points discussed:

• Be on-time for the hangout 
• Do not show up at the meeting dressed in pyjamas but rather in clothes that would be appriate for school (no need for the uniform)
• Set yourself up in a central room in the house such as the dining room, kitchen or family room
• Make sure that you are comfortable with what people can see in your home behind you
• Participants can always choose to block the camera if they prefer to be heard and not seen 
• Your microphone should remain on mute until you are called upon by your teacher to speak 
• The 'Chat' function is not to be used during the Hangout. You behave in the meeting just as you would during class which means you would not be having conversations with other people while the teacher is talking
• Raise your hand if you have a question and wait your turn to speak
• Listen attentively to others and avoid distractions of home
• As your teacher, I will be the first to start the Google Hangout/Meet. Once I have logged on, you will be able to log on. I will also be the last one to log off when the meeting is finished.  

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, or there is any way that I am able to support learning from home, please contact me via email: ruth.stratford@ocsb.ca

Please note that I continue to maintain my half-time teaching schedule and can only be reached in the mornings.  

Mrs. Stratford