Hello! I hope everyone had a great weekend! It was so wonderful to see the students and their families participate in our first ever Zoom Zumba class last Friday! We hope to do it again soon! Next Friday, Nurse Sharon will be teaching basic first aid to our students.

Learning Lab Update: Learning Labs are officially open. The positivity rate in Dearborn has been below 5% for two weeks now, which means Ms. Cote and I will return to the classroom to teach. Ms. Cote will be there on Monday’s and Wednesday’s, and I will be there Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. Learning Labs will continue to be held at Howe School. Fridays will continue to be virtual for all students and will focus on special activities, guest speakers, games and review.

Virtual Students: Those who do not wish to attend learning labs will still receive your lessons virtually. You will see Mrs. Camp on Monday’s and Wednesday’s, and Ms. Cote on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s.

Behavior: We’ve started to see some silly behavior during zoom meetings. Students were given a warning and told that their parents will be contacted if it continues. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, we just need to nip it in the bud. Silly behavior in a zoom class is 10x more distracting than in person because every person in the meeting is affected by it, instead of just those in the students immediate area.

Did you know? Background noises are amplified when a student is on a zoom call. We can hear your conversations or whether your unloading your dishwasher, even if you are not in the immediate vicinity! Don’t worry, we haven’t heard anything too personal, but thought we’d let you know before we did! 🙂

See everyone tomorrow!

~Camp and Cote

Good Morning!

My apologies for not getting this out on Friday. Occasionally, we have an IEP late in the day or something comes up at the last minute that might prevent me from updating the blog. I will always try to get something out on Monday when that happens!

I can’t believe we are heading into October! Everyone is doing a great job both online and with their independent schedules. Thank you for logging on with us every day and participating in your assignments. We love seeing you! Please keep sending those pictures – we can never get enough! It’s also how we document a student is following through with their work.

This week, we will begin to implement a 2:00 p.m. zoom session for students who may have questions or need help with an assignment. This is an optional session. New material will not be presented, but we will be there to provide additional support if needed. If no one signs on after 5 minutes we will close the session.

Beginning this 10/2/20, Friday’s class will be a whole group class. This gives the students an opportunity to see those they wouldn’t see during the week. (It was so much fun to hear the excitement and see the smiles when we did a whole group activity last week.) Friday classes will be “Leisure Recreation” and will either play a game, or have a special activity. While this is not normally an optional day, students who do not wish to participate in Zumba this Friday WILL be excused as I know this is not for everyone.

ZOOM TIPS:

• Delete old zoom links at the end of the week, that way you don’t mistakenly log on to last weeks link
• “Flag” or “Star” your zoom links, or create a folder to put them in, so they are easily found.
• Make sure students are on time! Students logging on after 5 min will not be admitted unless under special circumstances. It is very disruptive to the whole class. We did allow some exceptions last week due to the change in schedules, but this week we will stick to 5 minutes.
• Please make sure students are prepared with all materials, when they log on. Students should not need to get up out of their seats once the lesson has started.
• You will receive one link for an AM time, one link for a PM time – good for the entire week (Monday – Thursday). On Thursday, you will receive Friday’s link.

If you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!

DON’T FORGET ZUMBA THIS FRIDAY AT 10AM! ALL ARE WELCOME!

Good Morning! As you know, the Board voted to cancel all learning labs due to the high positivity rate in Dearborn. However, they will still be an option for those who have already selected them. You may also opt out if you would like to wait until the numbers go down and you feel a little safer. As with anything, we cannot guarantee your son/daughter will not come into contact with someone who has COVID-19, or any other illness. Please make your decision based on your own comfort level.

What to Expect:

• Students who are participating in learning labs will be completing the same work that is done online – just in a classroom setting. If a student is in a face to face learning lab in the morning, they will complete their independent work in the afternoon. If a student is in a face to face learning lab in the afternoon, they will complete the independent work in the morning. All students, virtual and learning lab students, will be required to complete the independent work, which includes (but is not limited to) the work in the Daily Schedule, Healthy Lunch Journal and complete 30 minutes of a fitness activity

• Students attending learning labs will have a substitute teacher.

• Learning labs (LL) will be held at Howe School – they will not be in our normal classroom at Hype.

• Students will be expected to wear a mask for the duration (2.5 hours) – covering their nose and mouth.

• Food will not be served, students should eat breakfast or lunch prior to attending a learning lab

• Students will be at desks in the classroom the entire time, we will not be moving about the building and/or classroom

• Community Based Instruction and Job Sites will not be a part of a learning lab.

• Students should bring their own supplies: workbooks (both), pencils, colored pencils, scissors and glue. There will not be supplies in the room and students should not be sharing between each other in order to prevent the spread of germs.

• Please do not bring food and/or drinks

• Electronics/phones will be permitted and can be used during a short break time, but not during instruction time. If they become a problem we will discuss it with the student/family individually

I believe that covers it for now. Ms. Cote and I will see all the virtual students next week! It has been great seeing you and we look forward to next week. Great job on your work so far – keep sending us those pictures too! They are awesome! Our principal Ms. Fournier even complemented all of you on what a great job you’re doing!

If you have any questions, you can text the class phone (Ms. Cote) and through Remind (Mrs. Camp). We will respond as soon as we can! If you have decided to keep your son/daughter home from learning labs, please let us know if we haven’t talked to you already, so that we can update our administrators and transportation. Please put an E in the window as transportation has already been set up. That way the bus will know to keep going instead of waiting outside your house.

Have a great weekend!

~Camp and Cote

Learning Lab Update:

Last night the Board made the decision to close ALL learning labs until further notice, due to the high COVID-19 positivity rate in Dearborn. The CDC recommendation for face to face instruction is a positivity rate below 5% and Dearborn is currently above that. During this phase, learning labs are optional and Ms. Cote and I have opted not to teach face to face at this time. I do not know if they will be completely cancelled or if another teacher will come in, but we wanted to make you aware of the possibility for planning purposes. I will share an update when it becomes available to us.

~Camp and Cote

Hello! It was a great first week with online learning! Everyone did a great job and it was wonderful to see everyone! Next week, we will switch groups, so that Ms. Cote and I get a chance to see all of the students. We have six groups throughout the day so while you might only see us for a little while….as soon as we log off with one group, we are getting ready for the next. We might try to condense some of the groups once we get a good feel of who is attending regularly. You should be receiving a link tonight for next weeks groups running M-Th. You will receive a separate link for Friday – our parapro’s are going to lead those groups and it will be a “Leisure Recreation” themed lesson. We are trying to keep the structure much like it would be if we were in school!

A few “housekeeping” notes:

1. Please make sure you are “reasonably” on-time for online instruction. If you are more than 5 minutes late you will not be admitted as we will have already started the lesson.
2. When logging on – please make sure students are fully prepared….workbooks, planner, pencil, glue stick, etc.
3. Students should not be getting up to get food, drinks or to use the bathroom. Although I do not mind if students have something to drink during a lesson, food should wait until later.
4. Please remember to call in your students absence if they will not be attending the lesson. Attendance is being kept every day. You can call/text our classroom phone or Howe School to report the absence.
5. When calling our class phone, please leave a message if you would like a call back. We get so many calls from wrong numbers or spam, we can’t possibly call back every number that shows up on our phone. So if you would like a call, please leave us a message, we’d be happy to call you back.

That’s about it for now! Enjoy the weekend!

~Camp and Cote

Good Morning!

By now you should have received your workbooks. Included with the workbooks is a yellow packet, that includes a student snapshot, list of supplies, suggested daily schedule and healthy lunch journal.

Today’s assignment is to review the schedule with your student, make sure he/she completes 1-5 and then later today, completes the assignment for “Tuesday” (setting the table for dinner). We will be reviewing and discussing in our live meetings tomorrow. We will also be discussing the healthy lunch journal tomorrow. It might be helpful for students to remember what they ate for lunch today in order to participate – but don’t worry – I will have lots of examples!

Have a great day and we will see everyone tomorrow! 🙂

~Camp and Cote

Good Morning!

Don’t be alarmed, Assignment 2 was the Google Hangout yesterday! Everyone did a good job! Going forward we will meet in smaller groups, as I mentioned yesterday.

Assignment 3 has already been emailed to you. Students will be looking over the “Student Snapshot” that is included with the work packets that will be delivered today. After they go over the handout with an adult, they should complete the checklist that was sent to your email. Students who have been with us for a while should have more items checked as “Yes, I can do this!” than our newer students. However, if a student is checking “No, I need help” with every item, we may need to take a closer look at that. Assignments will be due the week we start learning labs. (Sept 21)

REMINDERS:

Chromebook handout is today between 12-3 at Howe School

Learning Labs – we will be finalizing our list for transportation between today and tomorrow morning. They are optional, but we need to know who will be attending so we have enough busing for everyone. If you have any questions about Learning Labs do not hesistate to contact us.

Have a great day!

~ Camp and Cote

Good Afternoon! We are slowly but surely making our way through this first week! Thank you so much for your patience and understanding!

Tomorrow/Wednesday: Work packets will be delivered to homes. They include:

Please do not throw anything away!!! Students do not need to do anything with these materials at this time. We will be using all of these materials for future lessons. We thought it would be easier than trying to get new materials to you each week.

“Live” classes via: Zoom or Google Hangout

We will be breaking the class down into small groups, so that participation is meaningful. When the whole group is on at the same time, connections slow down and it is very difficult to manage. By Thursday, you will have a time that your son/daughter will meet every day. It will be the same time every day, until September 21st.

Learning Labs – we have contacted most of you and will finish our calls tomorrow. For those of you who are thinking about it – we will call you back but need an answer by Thursday. We definitely understand you wanting to think about it and want you to take your time, there are many factors to consider. In order to plan for transportation, we have been instructed to let administration know who will be attending by Thursday. We will make multiple attempts to contact you, but if we are unable to get a response from you, we will assume you do not want to participate in the labs.

Schoology – We are almost done with our training and when we feel we have mastered it we will do an orientation for parents so that everyone understands how to access the site, and student assignments, etc. Rushing through things just creates chaos!

Tomorrows assignment: Will be posted on the blog and emailed to you. You will need the “Student Snapshot” to complete the assignment – which is located in the yellow packet. I’m sure it will take some time for the district to deliver all of the materials, so don’t feel like you have to check your email first thing in the morning. The assignment will not be due until Thursday evening to give everyone time to receive the materials and complete the assignment.

Take Care!

~Camp and Cote

Good Morning!

This will be your first assignment of the week! We will also send this as an email attachment so that you can print it out. Work Books will be delivered to houses on Wednesday. Also, chromebook distribution is scheduled for Wednesday at Howe School, between 12-3 for those who requested one.

Assignment One:

Objective 1: Student has supplies and materials ready for work/employment

Objective 2: Student is able to locate items in a store or store ad/website

Objective 3: Student is able to complete a task within a specified amount of time

Objective 4: Student is able to use technology to communicate with a supervisor

Look at the supplies list. Check off the items you have, and make a plan to obtain the other items, either by going to the store or ordering and doing a store pickup. You should have all of your supplies by Wednesday.

*TIP – Target drive up service is amazing. Order through the app and they will bring your items out to your car. The student should be matching the items from the list to the items in the store or on the store website

Once you have your supplies, create a space in your house that you will use for your school work. This should include a table, a comfortable chair, and it should be away away from distractions.

Make sure your computer or ipad is charged so that we can do a zoom meeting tomorrow. The zoom meeting will be used to take attendance and mark your first day present.

When you are done, take a picture of your work space and supplies and text it to our school phone. The number will be included on the email attachment.

Required Supplies:

Good Afternoon! Ms. Cote and I have been in meetings for the last few days as we prepare for school to begin (virtually) on Monday. One thing I have learned is to take things one day at a time. There are so many components to the new plan, I am only going to give you information on the immediate plan. If you have any questions, please feel free to email either one of us at any time!

First Weeks of School:

Week of August 31 – Next week will begin our first week of school. They will be “half days”, allowing for professional development in the afternoon. Instruction will be a posted assignment, not a “live” lesson. I will post that lesson on the blog Monday morning, and it will come to your email as well.

Week of Sept 7th – We will have a live component and an independent component to our lessons, students will not need to be online all day. We will let you know what the schedule will be next week. (Lessons will begin Sept 8, due to Labor Day) Please watch for work packets to be delivered to your house next week. (They are BIG!)

The official school day is from 8:15-3:10 Teachers will be working in the building two days a week, and from home the other three, but we will be accessible during those hours on any day. You are always welcome to send an email at anytime, however if it is outside those hours you may not get a response until the next day.

Learning Labs:

We will be making calls beginning on Monday regarding Learning Labs. Learning Labs are scheduled to begin September 21st.

What are they?: Learning labs are a 2.5 hour block of time for students to come in and receive direct instruction from a teacher, students will either be scheduled for a AM time or PM time. Learning labs will be offered “up to” 5 days. Students will be in a group of 6-8 other students, with 2-3 staff members, depending on how many students are interested. During the learning labs, students must wear a mask, and they must bring their own supplies as we will not be sharing supplies during this time.

Where are they?: At this time, we do now know if we will be located at Hype or Howe School. (Hype is currently closed because it is a gym). If we are at Howe, I feel it is only fair to tell you that there may be students there who are unable to wear a mask due to medical reasons. We will not be outside of our classroom and I don’t want to spread fear, but I want you to be able to make an informed decision, especially as so many of our students have their own health concerns.

What to expect: Everyone will be required to wear a mask and bring their own supplies. We will not be able to share supplies during this time. Students will be socially distanced from other students and staff . Learning labs are not to be used for socialization but for instruction. We will not be going outside the school building (CBI or job sites).

Are they required?: Learning labs are optional, we will be calling on Monday to see who is interested so that we may begin scheduling.

Transportation: Transportation will be provided by Dearborn Public Schools.

What else should I know?

1. That plans can change at any time due to the nature of the virus, new legislation, numbers increasing or decreasing, etc. We will be flexible with you and we just ask that you be flexible with us. Ms. Cote and I received about a years worth of information in just two days! We are processing it all and doing our best to get things up and running for our families. If at anytime you have questions or concerns, please contact us. There is no need for anyone to stress out over any of this.
2. Be prepared for a very strict sick policy once Learning Labs begin or any type of face to face instruction begins. We will update you on that closer to the start of learning labs. If students are sick, please be prepared to keep them home.

Thank you all for your patience. We will look forward to “seeing” all of the students very soon! Enjoy the weekend!

~ Camp and Cote