Spring Break-April 10-April 17-No Distance Learning
First Digital Friday Sing!
Tomorrow is the first Friday of the month, so it’s time for Friday Sing! Join Mrs. B. and Mrs. Siebert (and a quick visit from Mr. Bill) for a Friday Sing video. Finishing touches are still being applied now, so watch your email tomorrow for a Friday Sing Link, and share with your students whenever it works best for you.
Thank you, teachers and parents!
I know we’re all working through new challenges and circumstances as we’ve transitioned to remote learning. Many of you have shared both your success and frustrations. I appreciate that you have found ways to make it work for your child and your family. As we continue to identify problems and troubleshoot solutions, I’m hoping we’ll accomplish more success and less frustration. Our goal is to be flexible and accommodating with families while still being responsible for delivering our state’s curriculum.
A Note from our Counselor- Amanda Sullivan
It is now week three of our stay-at-home mandate, and one of two things might be happening in your home: 1) You’ve settled into a “new normal,” a new routine that is working well for you and your family, or 2) You and everyone around you are about to go stir crazy! You can put me in that second category…
In order to bring some peace back to your lives, let’s talk about the importance of routines.
Kids crave routines. Their minds need order as they learn about the world around them, and maintaining routines helps them to feel safe and protected and confident. So what do you do when everyone’s routines are thrown off across the entire country?! It can be very scary for a child to know that even adults are off-balance right now and not sure about what to do.
It is very difficult for children to go from a very ordered environment (school) to a possibly unordered environment (home). Because of this, it is important to find a new routine at home and stick to it. It will be more work for you initially as a parent, but the benefits far outweigh the work that is involved to make it happen. You will all feel much more safe and secure and well-balanced, which makes staying at home together day in and day out much more bearable.
Here is an excellent article from PBS about creating a new routine now that your kids are home from school.
Also, creating daily rituals during the week is a great way to set a routine that is fun, something for kids to look forward to, and also a super way to keep up with what day of the week it is (I’m having trouble keeping up now that we aren’t in school!). Here are some examples of daily rituals:
- Monopoly Monday—play Monopoly with your kids on Mondays
- Taco Tuesday—have tacos for dinner on Tuesday nights
- Wind-down Wednesday—create a special “wind-down” routine just before bedtime on Wednesday night (playing a special game, doing meditation together, reading a book—something calm and different for bedtime once a week)
- Thursday Bake-Off—bake something special with your kids’ help
- Photography Friday—go outside with your kids and take photographs! You can even make a theme for the day, like photographing flowers, or the family pet, etc.
This is an anxious time for everyone right now because no one has ever gone through something like this, and no one knows exactly what to do. We’re all in the same boat. So kids might be particularly anxious because of that. Creating routines and rituals for your family are great ways to bring calm and structure back into your lives.
And if you’re at a loss as to how to talk to your children about COVID-19, please check out the Center for Disease Control’s website for some great tips.
Please remember: even though we are not at school right now, Mr. Ertl and I are still available to help your students! If you or your child needs to reach out for help, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email: Amanda Sullivan or Scott Ertl.
Changes with iStation Reading Assessment (K-3)
The State Board of Education voted to not extend the Istation contract. As a result, the state contract with Istation expired yesterday. This means we will lose that access to the assessment platforms.
- ABS staff will take time this week to download and print the student summary report or any other data needed, as it will no longer be available.
- Parents will no longer have access to Istation’s parent portal.
ABS April Board Meeting
The ABS Board of Directors will convene the April Board meeting on April 14, 2020, at 5:45pm using a virtual meeting platform. Board meetings are open to the public. If you would like to view the meeting, please email Principal Hollis for the link.
YEARBOOK ONLINE ORDER DEADLINE EXTENDED
The deadline for yearbook orders is EXTENDED THROUGH MAY 15. This gives you more time to order, but don’t wait – order today! Last year we sold out of yearbooks AND sold out of our reprint! Orders can be placed by visiting the Strawbridge website and clicking the red “Order Pictures and Yearbooks” button at the top of the page. The price is $22 and our school code is YB106312.