Happy Saturday Vikings! Here is a brief summary of the math assignments for next week. Remember, Friday, May 22nd is the start of Memorial Day Break, so there will be no assignments that day.

Monday: Watch the video posted on Google Classroom and complete 1 Khan Academy assignment.
Tuesday: Join us on iLearn for our Big Blue Button video chat at 1pm.
Wednesday: Complete 1 Khan Academy assignment.
Thursday: Complete the Google Form “quiz” posted on Google Classroom
Friday: No school, no assignment!

Have a great week, and enjoy the upcoming long weekend! And, for those who observe that weekend, Eid Mubarak!

Mr. Zimmer

Hello Vikings,

This upcoming week will be slightly different, because many of us are struggling to accurately calculate the area of triangles. Us 6th grade math teachers made some adjustments to try to get you some extra help. Here’s what you should do this week:

Monday: 1 assigned lesson on I-Ready called “Area of Parallelograms, Quadrilaterals, and Polygons”
Tuesday: Join Big Blue Button video chat on iLearn at 1pm
Wednesday: Watch video from Mr. Zimmer posted on Google Classroom, then do the 2 Khan Academy assignments
Thursday: Take Google Form “Quiz” on Google Classroom
Friday: Do 1 I-Ready lesson from your pathway

Let me know if you have any questions!

Mr. Zimmer

Vikings,

Happy Saturday! I hope you all are staying safe, healthy, and enjoying this beautiful weather! I have received many emails this week asking to clarify what students need to complete. I apologize that expectations have changed practically every week since the school closure. It feels like every week there are several new developments that require changing our distance learning expectations. I know that every change complicates things for students and families, so I will do everything I can to keep things consistent from week to week. Also, to help everyone prepare ahead of time, I will be be sharing a summary of learning for the upcoming week every weekend in our Google Classroom, as a blog post, and in a mass email. I hope this will help clarify expectations.

One new thing this week is that we will return to video chatting as a class on Tuesday at 1pm. However, it will now be on Big Blue Button through iLearn instead of on Google Hangouts. This will increase security measures for students and staff members. I have attached directions for how to access iLearn and our class’s Big Blue Buttons. Please email me if you have trouble.

Here are our expectations for online learning this week:

Monday: Watch the video on Google Classroom and complete two Khan Academy assignments.
Tuesday: Complete two more Khan Academy assignments and join our class Big Blue Button video chat on iLearn at 1pm.
Wednesday: Complete the Google Form “Quiz” posted on Google Classroom
Thursday: Complete 1 I-Ready lesson
Friday: Complete 1 I-Ready lesson

This means that by the end of the week you should have completed 4 Khan Academy assignments, 2 I-Ready lessons, and 1 Google Form “quiz.” Please email me if you have any questions.

Mr. Zimmer

Greetings Vikings! 
I hope you are all staying safe, healthy and engaged in remote learning. Your teachers and I miss you tremendously and can’t wait to get back to school to see you all. 
I’m sending this out because it has come to our attention that some students may have shared passwords with friends. I want to remind you that you are responsible for protecting your account by having a “strong” password and keeping your password private/not sharing your information with ANYONE.  Anything sent from your account is your responsibility. 
 I’m asking that you take a moment to change your password – especially if it is easy for others to guess or if it’s been shared. Please read below, follow the step by step directions and change your password now. 
Let me or anything of your teachers know if you have any questions or concerns. 
Thank you and stay safe! 
Principal Jebril 
——————————————————-

Keeping you password just to yourself is your responsibility. You are responsible for anything that happens with your account.  You should go to https://dearbornschools.org, then click on the Student Portal, then Change District Password.  Your new passphrase must be at least 10 characters long (but can be longer). Although your passphrase must be memorable (you are responsible for remembering it), it should not be easy to guess. Here are some tips to creating a memorable, secure passphrase:

• Make your passphrase nonsensical. 
  • Use a variety of random words (at least 4 words)
  • Memorize a sentence or two and use the first character of each word.
• Never use obvious personal information (do not use your birthday, a pet’s name, the street that you live on, etc.)
• Never reuse passwords.

You should NEVER share your passphrase. 

Remember, your password is the key to data and privileges. These are extremely valuable and must be protected. 

—
Zeina Jebril,

Ed.S. Principal

O.L.Smith Middle School

(313)827-2804

Vikings,

Grades for math class are updated and posted in student/parent connect. Please check your grade to see how you’re doing so far. Due to our unique circumstances, everyone’s overall grade should show up as 100%. Please don’t assume that means you have everything turned in, instead please look at your individual assignments. An assignment score of 2 means you completed and turned in the work, 1 means you attempted but did not receive a passing score, and a blank score means you did not submit anything. Please email me if you have any questions.

Also, there have been some changes to our weekly schedule. Due to some student misconduct during video conferencing sessions (I believe this was taking place at other schools) our district has banned the use of Google Hangouts. The weekly spreadsheet will still be posted to the blog every Monday, but I want to give you a sneak preview so there are no major surprises. This week’s schedule will be as follows:

Monday: Watch the video posted on Google Classroom and complete 1 Khan Academy assignment.
Tuesday: Complete 1 Khan Academy assignment. Office hours are today from 12 – 1pm, so email me during that time and you will get a reply instantly.
Wednesday: Complete the Google Form posted in Google Classroom. This will be like a mini-quiz to assess what you have learned so far this week.
Thursday: Complete one I-Ready lesson. Also, I will be holding “office hours” from 12 –
1pm, so if you have any questions about the week’s work please send me an email and I
guarantee a response during that time.
Friday: Complete one I-Ready lesson.

I’m sorry that things have changed, once again. I hope, as I’m sure you do, that this new weekly schedule will run smoothly and stay consistent for the remaining weeks. Please email me if you have any questions, and please continue submitting work daily so I can give you the best grades possible. And, for those who observe, Ramadan Mubarak!

Mr. Zimmer

Vikings,

All parents/guardians have been invited to join our Google Classroom. That way adults can see exactly what is going on every day without needing to log in to their child’s Google account. Some of you will be getting the invitations from me, personally, while others will receive it from another teacher. Please make sure to accept the invitation, regardless. If you do not see an invitation to Google classroom please send me an email at zimmern@dearbornschools.org. There were a few adults with no emails listed.

Also, I would like to remind everyone that all work is now being graded. Please make sure every Viking completes the following for math class each week:

Monday: Watch the video posted on Google Classroom and answer the questions in the same post.
Tuesday: Join the Google Hangout at 1pm. An invitation will be sent to student email accounts just before 1pm.
Wednesday: Complete a Khan Academy assignment that will be posted that day.
Thursday: Complete one I-Ready lesson. Also, I will be holding “office hours” from 12 – 1pm, so if you have any questions about the week’s work please send me an email and I guarantee a response during that time.
Friday: Complete one I-Ready lesson.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and keep learning!

Mr. Zimmer

Vikings,

Thank you for all of your hard work and flexibility up to this point. I know that online learning is not the same thing as being in a classroom together. Us teachers are constantly thinking and working hard trying to make your learning experience as simple and meaningful as possible. With that being said, we are going to make some changes beginning next week, Monday, April 20th.

1. ALL WORK IN EVERY CLASS WILL BE GRADED FROM NOW ON. Please make sure you complete all assignments your teachers post. We will be tracking which assignments you complete and which assignments you do not complete. If you have extenuating circumstances that are preventing you from completing assignments please let me know.

2. Math class will follow a new daily schedule each week. You will have something to complete every day.

Monday: Watch the video posted on Google Classroom and answer the questions in the same post.
Tuesday: Join the Google Hangout at 1pm. An invitation will be sent to student email accounts just before 1pm.
Wednesday: Complete a Khan Academy assignment that will be posted that day.
Thursday: Complete one I-Ready lesson. Also, I will be holding “office hours” from 12 – 1pm, so if you have any questions about the week’s work please send me an email and I guarantee a response during that time.
Friday: Complete one I-Ready lesson.

3. This schedule will be the same every week from April 20th through the end of the school year, June 12th. This is designed so every student should have 20-30 minutes of work from each class every school day. Watching the video lessons on Mondays and attending the Google Hangouts on Tuesdays are part of this 20-30 minutes. Completion of each activity is expected and will be recorded for grading purposes.

4. There is a weekly schedule for all subjects that will be released every Monday morning around 9am. This will be posted on my blog and on my Google Classroom page. It will include the same math assignments I have listed here, plus all assignments for all subjects.

If you have any questions about this new schedule or feedback as to how we can best meet your child’s needs please email me at zimmern@dearbornschools.org. And, most importantly, be safe and healthy.

Mr. Zimmer