Dear MCDS Families,
In the midst of all this uncertainty, a new source of joy for me has been to read teachers' greetings to their students, and to hear from parents about how they're preparing their children and homes for distance learning. Charles Darwin is credited with saying, "It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change." Our families have really stunned me by the adaptability and resilience you've all shown as we shift to a new reality of remote working and learning. I'm so grateful for that.
Our Division Heads and teachers have thoughtfully set up a plan and expectations for students based on grade level. Please read their updates and reminders:
For Lower School, click here for a letter from Stephanie. (Note: For convenience both letters can also be found below.)
Obviously this significant endeavor would not be possible if it were not for our creative, inspiring, and dedicated teachers. I hope you can join me in sending them deep appreciation for how they're managing through this change by developing thoughtful lessons and activities for your children, and by keeping your students connected.
Please note that most children benefit from predictability and routine. To the extent that you can support them with a structured schedule, including breaks, healthy meals, and physical activity, they will weather this situation. And if you're overwhelmed, also be compassionate to yourself. Children are incredibly resilient, and there's an entire MCDS community here to support you. Don't hesitate to reach out.
A very quick reminder that our campus is closed and therefore please do not come to school. We have cleaned and disinfected it, and for the time being will not have community members on site until further notice.
Sending you virtual elbow bumps and foot-shakes as you start the week!
Warmly,
LOWER SCHOOL LETTER FROM STEPHANIE
Dear Lower School Families,
We hope this email finds you and your family well as everyone adjusts to all of the changes coming our way. We wanted to clarify a few things as we launch Distance Learning tomorrow, as well as provide a few resources.
As you may have seen, the general recommendation to set your child and family up for success while everyone is trying to work and learn from home is to create a schedule. Your children are accustomed to having a daily schedule in their classroom that they can refer to throughout the day. Creating a schedule will provide predictability and will be grounding for your child during a time that feels very different to them. We recommend making it clear when their independent time will be, as well as their family and unstructured time. Here are two articles that might be helpful- one about structuring the daily routine and one about how to set up a daily schedule.
As a reminder, we have set out time expectations for their learning each day, which can be found HERE. We as a teaching team are also learning how to deliver content in this way and are using our experience to inform the quantity of assignments we are giving. That being said, all students work at different paces and children will take some time to adjust to doing schoolwork at home. The schedule we provided is meant as a framework- if your child completes the work in less time, they can always spend some time doing something from our Extensions docs, and if your child needs more time to complete tasks, they can always return to it the next day.
This is also an opportunity to review clear technology guidelines and expectations with your children. Lower School students have never had their school technology home with them, so will need reminders that this is a tool to be used for assigned tasks only, they should not change the configuration on their iPad/Chromebook, and they should refrain from eating and drinking while using their technology.
As we embark on this new way of learning together, there will certainly be questions that come up. Please reach out directly to the teacher who assigned the work- that person may not necessarily be your child's homeroom teachers. For example, if you have a question about P.E., please reach out to your child's P.E. teacher. We know that this is a difficult and uncertain time for all of us and that the home-school partnership is essential to making this a success for your children. Please feel free to reach out to us (Stephanie: sdeitz@mcds.org and Karlyn: kadler@mcds.org) with any questions.
Warmly,
Stephanie
UPPER SCHOOL LETTER FROM BARBARA AND MARK
Dear Upper School Families,
We hope you are all well in these strange and troubling times. I speak for the whole Upper School faculty when I say that we are really, truly sad not to be going to school as usual for the next two weeks. We love being with your kids and cherish the day-to-day interactions we have with them. That said, we are looking forward to interacting with students, albeit in different ways.
As a reminder, our distance learning plan can be found HERE. Teachers will provide content to students via Google Classroom, a system already familiar to students. Students work at different paces, so please note that the time expectations are approximate. If you child would like more to do, please check out the extensions ideas provided in the overall plan or by each teacher.
A large part of the student's work in middle school is to manage time and materials and to become an effective self-advocate. Therefore, we encourage you to let your child take the reins, with your gentle guidance as needed. To support your child, we recommend that you:
We also know that middle school is also a time when students are intensely social, so we send some email messages directly to Upper School students from me and Mark and are looking at other ways to provide virtual community-building opportunities to kids.
Please know that Upper School teachers have put a tremendous amount of time and thought into what they are providing for students. We are learning, too, and will evolve, tweak and adjust our plan throughout the next weeks.
Finally, please communicate with us during this time. If you have questions about a specific subject, please email your child's teacher. Please feel free to reach out to Barbara (bkraemer-cook@mcds.org) or Mark (mboswell@mcds.org) with any other questions or concerns. Our counselor Nell Branco is also available to talk with both parents and students (nbranco@mcds.org).
Best,
Barbara and Mark
marin country day school 5221 Paradise Drive • Corte Madera CA • 94925 To unsubscribe from future emails, click here. |