Bridgid and Kayla assisting Mrs. Mitchell during the snowstorm

 

Dear Glen Meadow Parents and Guardians:

Thank you for continuing to support the learning process! We know how challenging this time has been for your children and your family. Please continue to communicate with your child’s teachers, counselors, case managers, Dr. Kosek, and me if we can help you in any way.

As you are aware, we will begin a two-week quarantine on Monday, February 1, 2021, and will continue the quarantine through Friday, February 12, 2021. School is closed on Monday, February 15, and students will return for in-person learning on Tuesday, February 16, 2021. While we are in quarantine, we will follow the 9:00 am to 2:00 pm schedule as listed below. This schedule is very familiar to our students because it is the schedule we used while our whole district was on virtual learning.

 

GMMS Virtual Learning/Quarantine Schedule:

9:00 am- 2:00 pm

 

Student Log In 9:00
Period 1 9:00 – 9:31
Period 2 9:33-10:04
Period 3 10:06-10:37
Period 4 10:39-11:10
Period 5 11:12-11:43
Period 6 11:45-12:16
Period 7 12:18-12:49
Period 8 12:51-1:22
Period 9 1:24-2:00

 

Blue and Gold Schedule for February 2021

 

1

 

Quarantine Begins

 All students learning online

 

VTSD Snow Day #2

2

 

3

 

4

 

5

 

8

 

9

 

10

 

11

 

12

 

Quarantine Ends

15

Schools Closed

President’s Day

16

 

Blue Team

Week A

17

 

Blue Team

Week A

18

 

Gold Team

Week A

19

 

Gold Team

Week A

22

 

Blue Team

Week B

23

 

Blue Team

Week B

 

24

 

Blue Team

Week B

 

25

 

Gold Team

Week B

26

 

Gold Team

Week B

 

 

Here are a few reminders of what your child’s day will look like:

During our quarantine, ALL students will be learning LIVE together with their teacher.  Therefore, all students are expected to be on their Chromebook and attending the LIVE class at the designated times learning with their in-person peers. Because students will be attending school online five days a week there will be no “office hours”. When your child is attending synchronous (LIVE) lessons, you can expect the teacher to be (but not limited to):

  • Teaching a 10 to 15-minute mini-lesson
  • Reviewing a concept,
  • Conducting a class conversation on a topic,
  • Having a student explain an answer, etc.
  • Providing a demonstration (science experiment, for example)
  • Allowing time for the student to work on a skill and then calling the students back into the class to assist one-on-one or by whole group

 

For our students, here are some requests and reminders from your teachers:

  • Student attendance is mandatory for all synchronous lessons at the designated times for each period,
  • Check Schoology for correspondence and daily expectations,
  • Come to class on time while participating in a LIVE Zoom or Schoology Conference and remain in one location; clock times vary, please login a few minutes prior to the class starting time.
  • Please dress as you would for school,
  • Participate from a quiet place in your home,
  • Please keep your camera on unless instructed otherwise by your teacher,
  • Be respectful,
  • Anything visible in the background of your video must be school appropriate.

 

For our parents and guardians, here are some requests from Glen Meadow, please:

  • Set clear expectations and routines for your child’s remote learning days.
  • Partner with your child’s teacher and reach out should any challenges arise.
  • Refrain from joining your child’s LIVE classes or be visible on your child’s screens during classes.
  • Encourage your child to communicate with teachers when your child has questions or concerns

Please note: from time to time to help limit screen time, there will be days that teachers may elect to have a particular class period be an asynchronous lesson; however, your child’s teacher will be available during the period to assist your child. During these periods, your child will be working and learning at his or her own pace individually while in-person students will be with their teacher in the classroom. Please check each teacher’s Schoology page that will tell students on the Updates page what is expected on any given day. Asynchronous lessons may include some of the third-party computer applications your child is familiar with using.

 

Complimentary breakfast and lunch will continue to be available to ALL students on a daily basis, including our Exclusively Virtual students. Virtual students can pick up their meals at the Vernon Township High School. We will be taking all precautions in the cafeteria. Additional outdoor picnic tables have been purchased. Please remind your child to dress warmly as he or she will have the option to eat outdoors on warmer days.

If you would like to order complimentary breakfast and lunch pick up at VTHS from Sodexo when your child is learning at home, below are the links to Google Forms that you need to complete.

For the Blue Cohort

For the Gold Cohort

For Exclusively Virtual Students

 

Yearbook Sales Continue: Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Stigler are working with the GMMS Yearbook Club to create a memorable book for the 2020-2021 school year. Here is the link to the Josten’s Yearbook Company to purchase your yearbook online. The cost of this year’s yearbook is $30.00. 

The Yearbook Club is also accepting your baby pictures free of charge to be posted in the 20-21 Yearbook. Send your baby pictures to Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Stigler via your Google Drive.

Finally, Yearbook recognition ads are a great way for parents, families, and friends to commemorate student achievements and important milestones while attending Glen Meadow Middle School. To purchase an ad online for your child, follow the instructions on this form. Jostens is managing our yearbook ad sales so please do not contact or send materials to Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Stigler.

All ad orders must be placed online by February 11, 2021.

 

Free Personalized Tutoring Available- Undergraduates and graduates from the University of Pennsylvania are offering FREE online tutoring via Zoom in all subject areas in a program called Wave Learning Festival. Tutoring is designed specifically for middle and high school students.  Here is a link that takes you to the sign-up page to receive tutoring. Tutoring hours are very flexible. What a great way to get support from college students in the field that your child might need support.

 

 

Marking Period 2: The Genesis portal will open to parents and guardians on Monday, February 8, 2021. Once all grades are in for Marking Period 2, the Honor Roll will be posted. Students who are Exclusively Virtual will have his or her Honor Roll Certificate mailed home. In addition, it can be printed out in Genesis. 

 

National Junior Honor Society Information– Coming soon, if your 7th or 8th-grade child meets the required cumulative GPA of 92 or above he or she will be receiving an application to apply to become a member of the National Junior Honor Society. Information will be coming out from our adviser, Mrs. Amato, later this month. Please see this link that can be found on the GMMS website to read more about the National Junior Honor Society and the qualifications for its student members.

 

SCA Meeting: Our next SCA meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, at 9:45, via Zoom. If you are interested in attending this meeting, please email our president, Mrs. Lally for the link for the meeting.

 

In closing, as we begin the second half of the school year, please know how we appreciate that you are partnering with us with your child’s learning. We hope that you and your family continue to stay well and healthy. We know that many families have many challenges whether they are working from home or are an essential worker that must leave their home every day. We thank you for being great parents and guardians!

Sincerely,

 

Rosemary Gebhardt                              Eric Kosek, Ed. D

Principal                                                  Assistant Principal