Last Week of April 2020

Hello families. I want to start this blog post by thanking each and everyone of you. Here we are, basically 5 weeks since we have been out of the school building. You all have been busy doing so much. Working - many as essential workers, many from home. Wherever you have worked from you have found ways to step in and take on the role as educator to continue your child's education in whatever form works best for your family in this crazy time. It has been challenging and I recognize that, and I want to say thank you to all of you for what you are doing. You have all been on my mind. I do not know what this time has looked like for all of you, I know it has looked different for each and every family. I think about you all constantly. Not just the students, but you parents as well. I cannot tell you how much I worry for those of you who are essential workers. I want you to know I am beyond grateful for what you do, and wanted to take some time to express that to you here. Thank you! You all are rock stars, and appreciated beyond measure.

 

Here is what I want to update you on as far as learning goes. I will be adding a weekly spelling list and the little stories that go with the spelling sounds to my At Home Learning link on my staff page. This should be done by midday Monday. This will be the spelling list and the matching stories that went home weekly in the homework packet. This is optional, not at all required. I thought it might be something that is familiar and in line with what we would be normally working on if we were in school. If you want to do the spelling you may print it, or simply write the words out on a separate piece of paper. You could also find some fun ideas on my staff page as well. Visit it on the link here. Ms. Shaw's Staff Page. Also, do not forget all district grade level learning can be found on the hub which you can access through this link. DistrictDigitalHub. 

You do not have to turn in any work to me at all. This is because I have made the decision not to collect and grade any material. I will simply be rolling over grades from 3rd quarter. In math any new learning would have been in new content areas we had yet to learn, and those will simply still be X's on the report cards. In science and social studies, those grades would have been affected by new standards being taught in class, and now we cannot do that, so those will be rolled over. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please feel free to contact me at ashaw@fusd1.org and I will be more than willing to discuss this further. I do want to put out there that if you have any desire to modify your child's learning a bit more, feel free to reach out to me and we can work together to see what we can do this last month or so of school.

Is there anything else I can do for you and our students at this time? Please reach out and let me know. I am still here for you. Please say hello to our kiddos! Read them a story for me, and give them a big squeeze! Stay healthy, stay positive, stay home! 💚-Ms. Shaw

GrabAndGo Meal Updates April 20, 2020

Happy Earth Day. We have some updates to our Grab and Go Food Services, so I wanted to update for all those who are participating in this program.

Friday services will now include weekend meal dispursements, meaning when you pick up Friday's breakfast and lunch you will also be given additional breakfasts and lunches for the weekend. 

There will be changes to the mobile food services. They will be reduced to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday distribution. On Monday they will give food for Tuesday, on Wednesday they will pass out food for Thursday, and on Friday they will serve meals for the weekend as well, so you will still be able to pick up enough meals for the week through the meal sites. 

There will also be a new mobile route for the Knoles and Sinagua area. These sights and times will be:

• 1001 N 4th St. (8:30 am-9:00 am)

• 2701 E. Industrial Dr.  (9:02 am-9:35 am)

The Coconino High School meal site location has been closed at this time, but you may attend any of the other sites to grab a meal. If you were going to Coconino for your meals, you are encouraged to go to Killip now, they are the closest to Coconino.

For more information regarding the Grab and Go meals please click on the following link. grabandgo.

If you have any questions regarding meals, distance learning, or anything else please feel free to reach out at anytime (ashaw@fusd1.org). Remember - stay healthy, stay positive, stay home! 💚 - Ms. Shaw

Easter Weekend Updates

Happy Easter to all those who celebrate. Although the day was different than past celebrations, we still felt ways to reach out to loved ones and make the day special for each other. I hope the same happened in your households. Finding a new temporary normal it seems. Kind of like this blog. It is so different updating you all on the distance learning instead of what is happening in our room. Here is your update no matter....

Distance Learning: Phase 2 of our distance Learning began last week. If you missed my explanation of Phase 2 you can catch up by reading last weeks blog by clicking on this link here (Phase 2 Distance Learning Link). The one thing I wanted to clarify is that the lessons will be updated every week, for a new week of learning. They will be updated by the weekend for the following week. With that being said, this weeks plans are already posted on the HUB.

The other thing I want to make clear is that you do not have to feel obligated to complete these lessons. You are free to pick and choose what suits you and your child's needs for the week. Teaching your child from home (possibly more than one) in the middle of a worldwide pandemic is A LOT! We want to urge you that your top priority is the health and safety of you and your family. You are not under any pressure to complete any of this! If you were to do one thing every day with your kid, read a book. That would be enough. This is where we are....

This is exactly where we should be. It looks different than what we are used to school looking like, but this is not traditional school right now. Allow you and your student all sorts of grace! 

Wi-Fi Access: Here is something cool, for those of you who would like to access the lessons via the HUB but need wireless access FUSD has now made wi-fi accessible at their sights in the bus lanes and parking areas in front of their buildings. These areas can be used to access FUSD-LEARN wireless network and content will be filtered to ensure it is being used for educational purposes only. If you choose to use these area to access the HUB or other content assigned by your child's teacher you MUST comply with social distancing practices! This is not an opportunity for students to visit and hang out with each other, they must remain within social distance guidelines. 

Grab and Go Food Services:  DeMiguel Elementary School is being added to the list of locations where you can pick up breakfast and lunch for your youth. For more information you can click on the link (grabandgo).

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and made some unique and amazing memories! Stay healthy, stay positive, stay home. 💜-Ms. Shaw

Remote Learning Phase 2 April 5, 2020

Hello families. We will begin our Phase 2 of remote learning this week. Phase 2 is also accessible via the FUSD Digital Learning Hub. You can access the Hub via this link here (FUSD DIGITAL LEARNING HUB), or you may visit the district website and access it through there (District Home Page). When you are in the Hub you will see a list of grade levels on the right hand side of the screen. You may pick your child's grade level and you will get a set of lesson plans for the week. Lessons will be for all 4 content areas (math, reading, science, and social studies) as well as specials (art, music, and PE). There are also links for Bilingual/English Language Learners as well as our Specialized Education Program. Please do not feel overwhelmed by this. Just click on the link that you feel best suits your child's needs and that will be what your child will work on for the week

As you look at the lesson plans please keep in mind that they are written for a weeks worth of plans. You are not expected to do everything in one day. Pick and choose what you will do when. This is at your pace. Also keep in mind that you do not have to do everything! Your most important job is still to focus on staying healthy and finding your balance while your family is at home. If you do not finish everything that is in that weeks lesson, that is perfectly fine! You decide what is best for your family EVERY SINGLE DAY! We are simply providing the lessons to be used at your discretion. Give yourselves grace, this cannot look like regular school. It is not. It is emergency remote teaching and learning. 

Most of you have reached out and said you have access to internet and devices. Hopefully the online Hub works for you. If for some reason you experience any kind of troubles, please let me know. If this method does not work for you and you will need paper packets mailed to you, please let me know. If we do send paper packets to anyone upon request, they will not be returned to the school, the district, or myself. They will remain at home upon completion.

As far as grading goes, this is where we stand. All FUSD students will only be able to receive the grade they earned at the end of 3rd quarter for any standard, with the opportunity to do work to higher that grade. They will not be able to earn any mark lower than that 3rd quarter grade at the end of the semester. As of this week I am not going to ask for the work from the HUB be turned into me via email or any other way. Honestly, I am still trying to figure out how this will work for first graders and what I will even want to assess. When I figure this out (hopefully by the end of week) I will let you know how it will work. Thank you all for your patience.

If you have any questions about any of this please reach out and ask. I might know the answer and did not think of putting that information here. If I do not know I will 100% reach out to Principal Reasor and find out for you. 

If your kiddos need anything please reach out and let me know. I miss them everyday! Please tell them The Queen says "Hello" - they will understand what this means, and hopefully it will make them laugh. It has been our inside joke this year, courtesy of Liliana. Let them know I am hugging them super tight, and give them a big squeeze for me so they can feel it! Let them know I love them dearly! -Ms. Shaw

School Closure Updates 2020

Hello Room 9 families. I decided to go ahead and start a whole new blog post instead of updating. This is in response to this mornings announcement from Governor Doug Ducey and Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman that all Arizona schools will be closed for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year. This includes all FUSD schools, programs, activities and trips. So what does this mean for us? I will answer as many of those question as I can below, giving you all the information I have at this point. If I do not know, I will ask. I will not give you an answer until I reach out and am given a direct answer. I want to make sure all information I give to you is correct.  So here we go....

Learning Expectations:  Last night, before the statewide closures were announced, FUSD reached out and posted the online learning HUB. https://sites.google.com/fusd1.org/fusd-digital-learning-hubThis is Phase One of at home learning. These are merely resources, not expectations. What does Phase Two look like? I do not know.  I'm sure some of that may have changed this morning with the announcement of school wide closures. I do know it will be district led, and they have been and are continuing to work on it. When I know, I will let you know. I have also posted access to RazzKids and Sight Words links on my staff page, under the 2020 At Home Learning Link https://www.fusd1.org/Page/16403. The students are familiar with RazzKids as we do this in our room almost daily. I recommend working on these as a place to begin this week. This will be enough. Again, the most important thing to focus on is the health and well being of you and your families. 

Grab and Go Breakfast and Lunch:  FUSD will continue to provide all children 18 and under with breakfast and lunch grab and go meals. Kids do not have to attend an FUSD school to receive a meal, and they do not have to be present at pick up. They can pick up from any of the sites providing a meal (Coconino High, Cromer Elementary, Killip Elementary, Kinsey Elementary, Leupp Elementary, Marshall Elementary, and Thomas Elementary) between 8:30 am and 12:30 pm. FUSD is also adding mobile sites. The addresses of the mobile sites are: 

• Zuni & Kofa @ the Cul de Sac (8:30 a.m. -9:00 a.m.)

• Zuni Drive & Cochise Dr @ Bow & Arrow Park (9:03 a.m. - 9:33 a.m.)

• Mountainaire Store (8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.)

• Kachina Trail @ Raymond Park (9:10 a.m.-9:40 a.m.)

• 37 Pinewood Blvd @ the Post Office (9:50 a.m.-10:20 a.m.)

• 6885 Lumberjack @ the Lumberjack Store (8:30 a.m.-8:45 a.m.)

• Rustler Rd & Leupp Rd (8:51 a.m.-9:01 a.m.)

• S Horn Rd & Leupp Rd (9:14 a.m.-9:24 a.m.)

• Star School (9:25 a.m.-9:40 a.m.) 

I do believe those are the two big things I wanted to cover information wise. If you have any questions or needs, please feel free to contact me at ashaw@fusd1.org.  I will keep updating you all as new information comes through. It has certainly been an overwhelming and emotional day. This is not how I wanted this school year to end, at home and not with each other.  My hearts is broken knowing we do not get to finish in the classroom together. However, I am still right here with you-and I will continue to be. Please reach out, let me know your needs. Let me know your students needs. As Principal Reasor said, "The building is closed our hearts are not." #closednotclosed. Tell my babies I love them, give them the biggest hug from me! Stay healthy, stay positive, stay home! 💙Ms. Shaw

Closure Updates 2020

Hello families. As we come off of Spring Break and are simultaneously practicing social distancing I want to touch base. I hope everyone is healthy and staying positive. I want to use this space to update everyone on all things COVID-19 as it relates to our educational process. All the information I gather I will post to share with you here. As I learn new information and as things change I will add that information/make the changes to this post here - as opposed to making a new post each time. Then I will just send out an email stating that there has been an update with new information and to please read the blog, our usual. At least, that is the plan for now. As always, I will let you know if that plan changes. For now, let's get into it.

School Closure: School is currently closed until Friday, April 10th. Please remember, we are closed in order to help stop the spread of COVID-19. In order to do this, and to keep our children safe, it is being strongly urged that students are at home - not on playdates, in public, or being cared for by elderly grandparents (who are also very vulnerable right now). Thank you for your cooperation.

Grab and Go Breakfast and Lunch:  Beginning March 23rd FUSD will be providing a grab and go breakfast and lunch food service. This will run through the length of the school closures.  To remain in compliance with CDC recommendations, children will not be allowed to dine at the facilities, all meals will be taken to go to maintain proper distancing practices. Drive up options are available at every site. Both breakfast and lunch will be provided for pick up only at each site from 8:00 am - 12:30 pm. Both meals are to be picked up at the same time. Meals are being provided to all children in the community, ages 18 and under. They do not need to be an FUSD student, and they do not need to attend the school where they are picking up the meal from.  The pick up sites are:

• Coconino High School: March 23, 2020 – April 10, 2020 
• Accessible via Mountain Line Routes 2 and 7
• Cromer Elementary School: March 23, 2020 – April 10, 2020
• Killip Elementary School: March 23, 2020 – April 10, 2020
• Accessible via Mountain Line Route 7
• Kinsey Elementary School: March 23, 2020 – April 10, 2020 
• Accessible via Mountain Line Routes 4 and 14 
• Leupp Elementary School: March 23, 2020 – April 10, 2020
• Marshall Elementary School: March 23, 2020 – April 10, 2020 
• Accessible via Mountain Line Route 5 
• Thomas Elementary School: March 23, 2020 – April 10, 2020 
• Accessible via Mountain Line Route 2

These date have been change to reflect that meals will be offered throughout the duration of the closures. They will be updated as needed.

Learning Expectations: This upcoming week, March 23rd-27th, we are expecting students and families to focus on their health and well being. Coming off of spring break we will also use this week to have staff do the same, as we begin the planning and implementation of further learning processes. As soon as this unified plan is in place, you will be informed of what the following weeks and their expectations will entail.   Thank you for your patience as we enter these unchartered waters together.

Other Cancellations:  All trips, activities and scheduled meetings are CANCELLED at this time. If you had a meeting scheduled we will reschedule in some type of format at some point. Stay tuned.

Items Left Behind:  Students who may have left behind their iPad and band instruments (this would pertain to older siblings at middle and high schools), or medications and personal items deemed absolutely essential must contact the school in advance to schedule pick up of these items on Monday, March 23, 2020. This is the date the district has designated for this, unless approved by a school administrator. I have two students who were out at the end of the week and did not receive their report cards because of the closures. DO NOT come in for your report card, I will make sure I get those mailed out when I am allowed in the building. If I am unable to do so I will email you copies. Pick up of essential items will be done curbside only. Please remember, we are practicing social distancing, so for the safety of our staff and your safety as well, only make arrangements for items that are absolutely essential. I'm going to interject and say this probably does not include personal items such as books and lunch boxes, etc.... Thank you for your understanding and helping us be socially responsible towards one another.

I do believe I have covered everything. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me via e-mail so that I can address them. Give my babies (yes they are mine as well) a giant hug for me. Read them a story every night for me. Let them know I miss them and can't wait to see their faces! Stay healthy, stay positive, stay home! 💕 -Ms. Shaw

Conference Week 2020

Hello Room 9 families. Although the days ahead are short we have a lot we are packing in to this week before Spring Break. Here is what is going on the next 5 days...

Math: We wrapped up our unit on coins and we will begin our unit on place value. Miss Llamas and I will be co-teaching these lessons. We will begin with understanding our groups of tens and recognizing numbers as tens and ones, looking at writing numbers in the place value chart and using the place value chart to understand the value of a two digit number.

ELA:  We will begin our 7th unit in our NatGeo curriculum, then and now. To correspond with this we will finish our Lit Study, "Twister on Tuesday" which we have been using to compare life on the prairie to life now. Since we are doing NatGeo this week, we will have spelling, which means homework. I figure with early release days there is plenty of time to get their work done. If you are going out of town, drop me an email or write me a letter in the agenda - I'm sure we can work something out. 

Science/Social Studies:  Continuing with our Now and Then theme we will be learning about Alexander Graham Bell and his invention of the telephone. We will also compare and contrast phones then and now. This will begin a unit on inventors, as well as lead us into our next science unit on sound.

Parent/Teacher Conferences: Thanks to everyone who either signed up for conferences, or has discussed other options with me already. Our finalized list did go home on Friday. Of course, I say finalized loosely because if you want to meet and have not sign up you still may. Just pick an open spot or two and I will let you know which one works best. Do not forget all 3 days are early releases so please do plan for childcare accordingly. Wednesday is an extra early release time of 11:10 am, and Thursday and Friday will both be a 12:25pm release.

Marshall's Scholastic Book Fair: This week will also be our Scholastic Book Fair in the library. It will be open to all non bus riders after school, as well as during conferences to all. Please make time to come and visit and purchase some great books at great prices. More info here at   https://www.scholastic.com/bf/marshallmagnetschool.

Flagstaff Community Stem Night: Monday night at NAU Walk-Up SkyDome is Flagstaff Community Stem Night. This is a night to go and see all the fun and exciting STEM events and activities FUSD has to offer. This event is free, and runs from 5:30-7:30 pm. There are some really cool things to check out, I highly recommend this event. 

Spring Break: We will end this busy week with Spring Break. Spring Break will be March 16th-20th. We will return on Monday, March 23rd.

I cannot wait to share with you all the progress your students are making. I am blown away by each individual students growth this quarter! They have really worked hard this quarter and I am so proud of them. -Ms. Shaw