First Day of School, 2020-2021

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL YEAR 20-21 = SUCCESS!

Despite the fact that we hoped to start school year IN PERSON, we had a great first day. Nearly all of our students made a virtual appearance; and we spent some time getting to know one another. We played a game where each student had a turn at the virtual spinning wheel and then was asked a question.

Students shared their responses and then chose the next person to respond. Everyone was able to participate and it was awesome to see students (most had cameras on) and hear their responses.  Of course there are challenges when starting the year virtually...I wondered:

Did all students have working wifi/internet? 

Were they able to access their student email? 

Did they see anyone familiar in their advisory? 

Were they anxious or feeling comfortable with sharing on screen?

Our hope is that we are virtual just for the first week while the finishing touches are secured in our new barn space. As you can see, it's coming along.  By the end of this week, we're hoping for the certificate of occupancy so we can be on campus!

What were some of the challenges of today? 

*Not everyone has a good connection. Some individuals freeze or get kicked off - which isn't terrible if they can log back on, but it's painful if it happens repeatedly and they aren't able to feel connected to the group.

*Even teachers can lose connection.  We had two staff members in each advisory; this is particularly helpful is one has a weak connection, but also fun for staff to get to know each other and the students together.

*New students might be a bit quieter as they don't know the community yet. The welcome might feel warmer in person, BUT we didn't have to wear masks online so you could definitely see the SMILES.

*It was a slow start because all of the staff hasn't had a chance to meet all of the students yet. We can't give work to classes we haven't connected with.  I don't think students were disappointed with a light load, but I did hear one student say, "My mom is upset I don't have more work to do." I can understand that parents are ready for someone else to keep their kids busy.  It was a long 6 months at home for some families.

What were some of the successes of today? 

*Almost perfect attendance. It was delightful to see so many students in our google meets.

*We smiled! We laughed! We played games!

*We established some norms for virtual learning, clarified the schedule for the week, and students joined their google classrooms.

*We answered questions about what in-person learning will be like. Students wondered about masks and breaks and distances and recess.  It might be helpful to have some of those answers before we're in person.

I can't wait to see what the rest of the week will bring...and really hope we're on campus next week!