Dear Parents and Guardians:
Welcome to a new year filled with positivity and good health in your lives. We have all been through a lot, let’s focus on what makes us most proud and most happy as we begin 2021. Dr. Kosek and I would like to say thank you to our students, parents, and community members for all of their support during these challenging times. As we continue to move forward, we cannot stress enough the importance of student engagement in both synchronous and asynchronous learning. Parents, please be sure to frequently check your child’s progress on Schoology and/or through Genesis. As you know we will begin the re-initiation of our hybrid learning model of bringing the Blue and Gold cohorts in on separate days for full days of school beginning on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. We greatly appreciate the patience of our school community as we navigate this transition. Dr. Kosek and I look forward to seeing some students back in person. Below you will find information about our daily schedule, the days the Blue and Gold team comes to school, and what you can expect the structure of our classes to be like. Please remember, if your child is on the opposite cohort learning at home or your child is an Exclusively Virtual student, all students will follow Glen Meadow’s regular full-day schedule. Here is the Glen Meadow letter that was sent out last week with all details about students returning to school for full days.
While your children have been learning from home, our building has been cleaned and sanitized from top to bottom. We believe that our schedule allows us to teach your children the safest and best way possible. As a reminder, Dr. Kosek and I would encourage you to ensure that your child’s health is in good condition each day before sending your child to school. If your child is not feeling well but is up to completing his or her schoolwork, please call the office and we will mark your child as Virtually Present on that day. If your child is too sick to complete schoolwork on any given day, again, please call the office and we will mark your child as absent on that day.
Drop Off and Pick Up Procedures: As we did in the fall, if you are driving your child to school, please arrive at approximately 7:50 am. Your child’s temperature will be taken in the car. Students that ride the bus will have temperatures taken prior to coming into the building. If you are picking up your child, please arrive at approximately 2:50 pm, sign out your child in the front of the building, and wait for your child to come out of the building at approximately 2:55 pm.
Complimentary breakfast and lunches 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 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.
Glen Meadow Middle School
Regular Full Day Schedule
2020-2021
| HR | 8:10 AM | 8:18 AM |
| Period 1 | 8:21 AM | 9:02 AM |
| Period 2 | 9:05 AM | 9:46 AM |
| Period 3 | 9:49 AM | 10:30 AM |
| Period 4 | 10:33 AM | 11:14 AM |
| Period 5 | 11:17 AM | 11:58 AM |
| Period 6 | 12:01 PM | 12:42 PM |
| Period 7 | 12:45 PM | 1:26 PM |
| Period 8 | 1:29 PM | 2:10 PM |
| Period 9 | 2:13 PM | 2:54 PM |
| Dismissal | 2:55 PM |
Blue and Gold Schedule for January and February 2021
As a reminder, please note: Our district will remain hybrid until further notice and we may switch to all virtual learning at any time. This calendar only takes us to late February. You will always be updated when plans change in the district.
January 2021
| Monday, 1/18
Schools Closed Martin Luther King, Jr. Day |
19
Blue Team Week A |
20
Blue Team Week A |
21
Gold Team Week A |
22
Gold Team Week A |
| 25
Blue Team Week B |
26
Blue Team Week B |
27
Gold Team Week B |
28
Gold Team Week B |
29
Gold Team Week B |
February 2021
| 1
Blue Team Week A |
2
Blue Team Week A |
3
Blue Team Week A |
4
Gold Team Week A |
5
Gold Team Week A |
| 8
Blue Team Week B |
9
Blue Team Week B |
10
Gold Team Week B |
11
Gold Team Week B |
12
Gold Team Week B |
| 15
Schools Closed Presidents 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 *so that Blue/Gold have same amount of live instruction days |
25
Gold Team Week B |
26
Gold Team Week B |
Here are a few reminders of what your child’s day will look like:
ALL students, whether in-person or virtual, will be learning LIVE together with their teacher. Therefore, all students who are home 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 either in-person or 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.
After School Activities: Our middle school clubs and activities will continue. Each activity adviser will let students know if the club is meeting in-person after school or online. If clubs meet in person, after school buses will be available. The Boys and Girls Basketball teams will meet daily after school, but busing WILL NOT be provided, parents must pick up your child at 5:30 at GM for the boys and LH for the girls.
Marking Period 2: Marking Period 2 closes on Thursday, January 28, 2021. The Genesis portal will open to parents and guardians on Friday, February 5, 2021.
SCA Meeting: Our next SCA meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 20, 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.
It is an honor to partner with you…
Sincerely,
Rosemary Gebhardt Eric Kosek, Ed. D
Principal Assistant Principal