(Parents - PLEASE READ & SHARE). A lot of information is included which will answer many questions.
The purpose of this information is to give you a brief look at what to expect over the next few weeks and hopefully alleviate some of your anxiety, concerns, etc.
• Students will remain in all of their classes until the end of the semester. Ask your senior about their coursework completion choices as an email was sent to them. All students will receive a letter grade for the 4th quarter which will be averaged in with your 3rd quarter grades to achieve a final semester grade, as we have normally done.
• Teachers are working to provide lessons for their classes beginning on Monday, March30th. Each class will be different as to how they are delivered, assigned, etc. A document will be shared with tentative teacher plans. Please keep checking email, Facebook, the USD #444 website.
• A general rule of thumb from this point going forward: "A student should have no more than 3 hours of "schoolwork" on any day". Less is More. Teachers will try and hit on essential standards that are important for receiving credit in their class. "Due dates" are very flexible.
• Teachers will be "virtually accessible" from 8 - 3 every day. Communicate with your teachers via email as often as needed.
• When we start on Monday, please do not be overwhelmed with all of the "work" that pops up at the same time. Remember, we will work with you throughout this 8-week period and we do not intend to add any stress to an already stressful circumstance for you.
• If you have any questions that need answers that your teachers may not be able to help with then please email Dr. Herbst.
Please understand that these next 8 weeks are totally new to every one of us and everyone has different levels of anxiety and concern because of the entire situation. We will commit to making the best of the situation without increasing your anxiety. One of the biggest losses that we have had is not the academic side of school, but the social aspect of being together in this building! We miss seeing all of you and will try and make this next 8 weeks as stress-free as possible for all of you. This will be an experience for all of us to experience together.
LRJSH Student Expectations: DAILY 1. Check your school issued email. Teachers will use this to communicate with youregarding upcoming work, assignments and advisory related messages.
2. Check Google Classroom. As the designated delivery platform for our school, teachers will post weekly assignments, video lectures, links for video conferencing and other pertinent information. Unless designated differently by an individual teacher, all assignments will be submitted through Google Classroom.
WEEKLY 1. Access live conferencing session. A schedule of conferences, intended for liveinstruction of content, will replace ‘class time’. Please try to attend these scheduled sessions. If unable, teachers will post recorded video for your access at a later time.
2. Submit assigned work by due date. Each content area has designated a specific day for assignments to be submitted on Google Classroom.
a. Monday - English
b. Tuesday - Math
c. Wednesday - Science/Agriculture
d. Thursday - Social Sciences, Math
e. Friday – Electives
Parent Expectations: 1. Check your email. Teachers will communicate a collective plan for weekly instruction with you, provide instructions for access to Google Classroom, and outline expectations for completion of course work.
We will be using the parent email addresses provided in the recent USD 444 survey and/or the addresses in Powerschool. If either of those are incorrect, please reach out to Dr. Herbst immediately. IF you see you did not receive an invitation to Google Classroom, please email your child’s teacher.
2. Access Google Classroom. Parents will receive notification that their contact information has been added to Google Classroom. This will allow you to receive email notifications of teacher assigned work, due dates and missing work.
3. Classes do not officially begin until Monday, March 30th. Some teachers may besending out communications earlier to ensure accessibility to the Google Classroom platform orfor planning purposes, but students do not need to be “in session” until March 30th.
4. Continued Learning Plans will be available to your students through the rest of this 9-weeks. Seniors last day is May 13th. All other students will be May 20th. No early release date for 8th grade this year.
5. Please look through your student(s) emails together and make a plan/schedule for when they will be conducting schoolwork in a manner that fits your schedule. It would be good to begin with the LRJSH Facebook Page announcement each morning.
6. Acellus Courses: If your student is enrolled in an Acellus course, the course is expected to be completed. Students are able to log on at home and it is self-paced to fit your family schedule. The recommendation would be to help monitor your student through their work. There is no penalty for early completion, so get those courses done.
7. College Courses: Any student enrolled in a college class online should complete the course they are enrolled in. Students should screenshot their college course grades by 3:30pm each Friday to their supervising teacher. Reminder college courses are dual credit which means final grades will appear on both their HS and College Transcripts.
8. Counselor Google Classroom: Please watch for an invitation to Mrs. Kratzer’s Google Classroom for tips and activities to stay healthy and well.
9. College/Career Information: Mrs. Wohletz will continue to post college/career information and opportunities on ‘Class of 20XX’ Google Classrooms. She will also share a calendar spreadsheet in these classrooms if you would like to schedule a ‘virtual meeting’.
10. Driver Education: Enrollment has been postponed at this time. There has been no decision on the status of the driver education class being cancelled for the summer. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
11. USD #444 Meal Service: All district children age 1-18 are eligible for a free breakfast and lunch. Please be sure you have filled out the USD #444 district survey to receive your meals and watch for information for pickup service.
12. Special Education: Students that have IEP’s or those students that receive content instruction from Mrs. Mantz will be contacted by Mrs. Mantz in the near future.
13. Access teachers through email. If you need to contact teachers, feel free to email them at any time. They will be accessible during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. While some have time designated for live video, all can be contacted to arrange an individual time/conference or communicate via email if needed. You are also welcomed to contact Dr. Herbst at any time. If you feel your student needs to visit with Mrs. Kratzer (counselor) or Mrs. Wohletz (career coach), please contact us. Email contacts are listed below:
• Mrs. Ayers - jayers@usd444.com
• Mr. Ayers - kayers@usd444.com
• Mr. Dohe - cdohe@usd444.com
• Mrs. Ediger - rediger@usd444.com
• Mrs. Gunther - kgunther@usd444.com
• Dr. Herbst - aherbst@usd444.com
• Mrs. Hildebrand - khildebrand@usd444.com
• Mrs. Hull - khull@usd444.com
• Mrs. Kratzer - rkratzer@usd444.com
• Mr. Lafferty - clafferty@usd444.com
• Mrs. Mantz - jmantz@usd444.com
• Mr. Rains - krains@usd444.com
• Mr. Renken - trenken@usd444.com
• Mrs. Rolfs - krolfs@usd444.com
* Mr. Rose - TECHNOLOGY Assistance (rrose@usd444.com)
• Mr. Trapp - ntrapp@usd444.com
• Mrs. Williams - cwilliams@usd444.com
• Mrs. Wohletz - ewohletz@usd444.com
• Mr. Zimmerman - dzimmerman@usd444.com
We as a school are trying to keep in mind the burden that all families in our district are going through in this time of uncertainty. During these unprecedented times, it is important to try to keep daily routines as normal as possible. Kids gain security from the predictability of a routine, including structured time for schoolwork. As we are working this week to formulate continued learning for our students in the coming weeks, please be assured that our faculty and staff are working very hard to get the "academic" portion of school to your son/daughter all while trying to maintain the social, emotional and psychological needs of everyone. The academics are important, but the social-emotional aspect is most vital and also being addressed at this time. Students and families have lost many things in this situation that, unfortunately, are out of our hands. We appreciate all of you for remaining vigilant and connected with us. It will certainly take a “village” to get us through the rest of the school year and this unprecedented situation. Always know that though we may be “distant”, we are always “near” and accessible.
Take care, stay safe and contact one of us if you have any questions.
Well wishes and kindest regards,
Dr. Herbst