Lower School
Middle School
Upper School

Lower School

The Lower School will focus on a variety of strategies with a focus on distribution of information and some use of real time interactive content via conferences due to the limited technical skills of the students and the need for hands-on parental involvement in the process. For the higher grades at this level, flipped learning is recommended where teachers prepare instruction for home consumption. For this level of student, strategies may include:

Students may complete handouts via an online embedded document.
Conveying content via a teacher video self recording discussing/explaining ideas or concepts.
Students (Grade 1 or above) can submit self recordings explaining understanding of what they did, understand or viewed. Students can also hold up drawings to the camera for the teacher to view.

The First Days of Home Learning

Everyone needs routines. Find what works for you and your family.
Connections are important. Teachers will be working hard to maintain the relationships they have already built with your child. They may:
- Post a pic of their workspace
- Have a Fashion Show
- Introduce their pet
- Have a Joke a Day
- Create a Weekly Artist award
- Find a way to have your child post their interests

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Middle School

A move to online learning at the Middle School will require setting the stage for expectations early on. Middle School teachers as a group are creative, enthusiastic and risk takers. Middle Schoolers are highly adaptable and are accustomed to change but require much guidance. Teachers will try to be clear and have direct communication up front about what their expectations are concerning timeliness and attention to details. Attention to subject and directions helps decrease anxiety, uncertainty and confusion.

For Middle Schoolers, you may see:

The use of Discussion Boards to get interaction going. These students love expressing their ideas and discussion boards allow the students time to process information and content which helps sift and organize relevant information.
Project based learning activities. Short term projects will be assigned and teachers will provide many resources that will help them curate information for their project.
Teachers will use their computer screen captured recordings to illustrate concepts and to show themselves as an engaged participant. MS students consume visual information and this is a common and highly successful strategy for remote learning.

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Upper School

Upper School students seem to thrive with a mix of strategies to maintain engagement in online learning. Discussions, projects, face time activities via the Big Blue Button and journaling all keep a student engaged. This level of student appears to be more dependent on teacher feedback and engagement than the middle school student who maintains class interaction and engagement via their social group and class discussions. Instruction will focus on:

Ample communication
Active facilitation of discussion boards
Treating and addressing students as unique individuals and
Adding positive emotion ;-) and belonging

These strategies help combat the isolation and feelings of separation that can occur with remote instruction.

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