Dear St. George Families,
I hope this message finds you and your family healthy. I apologize for the length of this message, but I ask that you read through it for important information for your student and family.
As we live through these unprecedented and challenging times, St. George CCSD No. 258 is providing opportunities to meet the continued learning needs of your family through remote instruction, lunch and breakfast pick-up, and distribution of Chromebooks.
The need for our school and our families to work together has never been more important. Our combined efforts will provide a stopgap to minimize instructional loss for our students. Together, we can provide families and students with routines and structures, which will ensure the strong bond between our community and our school continues when on-site learning resumes.
Beginning March 31, 2020, we will enter into a new phase of instruction called Remote Learning, as mandated by the Executive Order from Governor Pritzker. Our students and families will see minimal change from our current practice. Teachers will continue to provide daily instruction via SeeSaw or Google Classroom and will be available via phone or email daily, from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and by email throughout the day. However, the calendar includes Remote Instruction Planning Days, in which teachers will not be available.
It is important that continued student engagement is daily. Many of our teachers are working on videos of themselves directly teaching concepts for your child that will be loaded into SeeSaw or Google Classroom.
Attached are two (2) calendars (K-4 and 5-8) that provide our school families routine and structure for remote learning through May 1. Although the current closure order is set to expire on April 7, our school community wants to be prepared in the event the closure is extended. The calendar provides for increased student engagement time and opportunities on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning April 14, 2020.
The calendar is a guide for families to provide structure for your students. Students are not required to complete activities in one sitting or consecutively. Please keep in mind your student may need more breaks and support to complete the daily schedule. If you (or your student) find this schedule challenging to complete, please reach out to your student’s teacher or Mrs. Johnston.
Please note that Wednesday, April 1 is a Remote Instruction Planning Day for our staff. No assignments will be posted and teachers will not be available as they will be using this time to plan additional remote instruction for students.
Some additional important points for our St. George School Families are:
- The school building remains closed.
- All teachers, administrators and office staff are available by phone daily using the regular school phone numbers and extensions.
- New assignments under the Remote Learning Day Plan will be posted on Tuesday, March 31 as indicated on the calendar.
- Student engagement will be recorded daily by teachers instead of attendance. The school is responsible for tracking student engagement during remote learning.
- Grading will change to a Pass/Incomplete system in which grades are not taken but feedback will be provided by the teacher.
- Incompletes are assigned when students are not engaged with assigned remote instructional learning.
- Services for Students with Disabilities (IEPs), 504 Plans, English Language Learners, and Title I will continue. Please reach out to these teachers if your child needs additional assistance.
- Delivery of related services (speech, social work, occupational and physical therapy) will continue. We are investigating additional remote means of delivery of these services.
- An additional student Chromebook distribution is scheduled for tomorrow by appointment only. Please refer to the email sent by Mrs. Johnston on March 25, 2020. Chromebook Request Form
- Grab & Go Breakfast and Lunch distribution begins tomorrow. Please refer to the email sent by Mrs. Johnston on March 26, 2020. Grab & Go Lunch Form
- When picking up Chromebooks or food at the school, please practice social distancing. Signs are posted as a reminder.
I know the current situation is challenging for our families, students, and staff. Please know that as a school community we will provide support for our families. Please reach out to us if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Helen Boehrnsen
Superintendent