Newton South School Publishes Tips And Reminders For Home Learning

Press release from the Newton South High School PTSO:

April 5, 2020

Dear Newton South Parents/Guardians,

We hope this letter find you and your loved ones healthy and well. The COVID19 situation has impacted all of our lives in ways none of us could have imagined.

As home learning phase 2 outlined in April 2 Update from Superintendent Fleishman and recent April 3 Update from Principal Stembridge, rolls out on Monday, we wanted to remind everyone that this home learning is unprecedented and teachers are also working on the fly to work out the kinks.

First we want to thank the teachers and administrators for everything they are trying do for home learning. We know no one signed up for this and we know there are significant challenges to support our diverse learning student community at South. Many parents have learned in the recent weeks that their version of home learning is overwhelming for both student and parents.

Teachers have already been engaged with students and provided:

• Non-graded problem sets, writing options, or similar assignments;
• Reading material or items of interest related to class topics;
• Links to videos and other online material;
• and most recently, virtual meeting schedules.

If your child is not checked Schoology, they need to now. In the coming days, look for more specific assignments and instruction from teachers.

Also, a reminder that course verification for 2020-2021 school year needs to be done by April 8. Please review the Course Verification April 3 Mr. Hardiman. Students need to log in to Aspen.

Home learning and structure online learning will take shape in several forms. Teachers have already engaged students and setting expectations, weekly assignment due dates, virtual class schedule and office hours (like J block).

We all know how stressful and rigorous high school academics are in a normal school environment. Now forced into a home learning scenario, students and parents should not expect this change to be seamless. In collaboration with NSHS Guidance Department, we have a few reminders and tips that we hope will help with home learning.

Home Learning Reminders and Tips:

• Be dressed and ready for virtual meetings with teachers or online classes – still a safe zone and wear what’s comfortable
• Keep Chromebooks, calculators charged
• Remove distractions like radio, tv, phone during structured learning time – just like school.
• Student should get their daily planner out, or make a list of tasks for the day and week. Help and guide your teen(s), as needed as they are still developing their executive function skills.
• Create a work space – A spot at the kitchen/dining table, a corner on a couch, or a desk. Allow different spaces – whether lying on the ground or sitting at a table – whatever works best.
• Schedule breaks – breaks are a natural part of the school day.
• Let them keep in contact with friends, virtually – Encourage teens to lean on their friends, at a social distance. Being social is still important!
• Check in but let your teen, where possible to take control of their own learning and not rely on you.

Simple structure is more valuable than you think – wake up/bedtime schedule, home learning blocks, time for family meals and interaction. Life often teaches the best lessons – COVID19 is a major hurdle. As parents/guardians, we can help our teens understand how this world pandemic has changed our lives – all lives and businesses. Remember that home learning is just one small part of their learning now.

Lastly, a message from Dan Rubin, Department Chair for Guidance:

” I don’t know for sure the origin of the phrase, “May you live in interesting times”, but boy have the past few weeks been…well…interesting. As we’ve all been challenged to adjust our lives and routines, I hear people left and right using phrases like “new normal” and “unchartered territory”. I also have been hearing a lot of folks saying “we’ll get there” or “we’re not there” yet. It’s enough to make me wonder where “there” is anyway?

All of the changes to our lives are requiring us to adjust not only our routines, but also our goals and our vision. When I think about how we assess the success of distance learning, it strikes me that getting “there” is primarily about engaging students to feel ownership of and responsibility for their learning. With ownership and engagement as the goal, the content becomes a vehicle to get there, rather than the goal in and of itself.

This paradigm shift is a radical change for many of us. Regardless of whether you support this change or you are highly skeptical of deviating from traditional classroom instruction, our community is transitioning to distance learning. The more quickly students can embrace change and adopt a curious mindset, the more likely they are to develop new routines that will support success.

You may be wondering what you can do to help your child to adjust to schooling from home. Talking to your student about how they are feeling about the disruption to their school lives and this unfamiliar format is an important step. Acknowledging the range of emotions that accompany the uncertainty of the moment may help students to move from a feeling of loss to a feeling of acceptance

You will find a list of strategies in this article – That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief that you can implement at home to support your students. If you have the time as a family – and it seems as though we all have a little extra time on our hands these days – I encourage you to take the time to watch this webinar that presents strategies to support healthy emotional regulation during stressful times. As always, please be in touch with your student’s school counselor and/or dean if you have any questions or concerns.”

Hang in there! WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

May Chiu, Michele Rosenthal
co-Presidents, Newton South PTSO

This press release was produced by the Newtown South High School Parent Teacher Student Organization. The views expressed here are the author’s own.