Week of 4.26.20
Happy Sunday, Brave Community!
I pray that you are all healthy and well. I must admit
that I seriously miss seeing our Brave leaders. I miss their faces! I miss
their laughs! I miss watching them engage with our amazing teachers! AND, I seriously miss their impulsive
hugs!
I want to again address expectations and reality. There is no
set pacing for the at-home learning.
While we are providing a recommended schedule, feel free to space out
the week's assignments in a way that works best for your family. We are
asking for 1 student submission in reading, writing, math, science, and social
studies each week. For more on the grading policy and expectations for this
final nine weeks, click HERE.
Update: Initially our
slide decks were slated to be released on Mondays at 8:00 am. Our district
recently decided to release them on Sundays at noon so that families have the
opportunity to preview the week’s activities in advance and make a plan. I hope that this is helpful and beneficial.
On Friday, you received an email from our district about virtual
class meetings between students and teachers via Google Meets. I am excited that teachers and students will
get to connect in this way. However, I
feel the need to set some boundaries to protect our students and our teachers. Please partner with me by honoring and
respecting the following boundaries for virtual class meetings.
1. Parents
can be present, but not visible during virtual class meetings.
2. Parents
can be present, but not participants during virtual class meetings.
3. Parents
will reserve any questions that they have for the teacher for a different,
private platform, such as email.
4. Teachers
will facilitate meetings at set days and times that do not overlap with any
other Double File Trail teacher’s virtual class meeting day and time, so as not
to cause a participation conflict within the household of families with
multiple Double File Trail students.
5. Teachers
will provide directions on how to access and engage.
6. Teachers
will not provide one-on-one instruction during virtual class meetings, but will
instead connect with the class, continue to build community with the class, and
answer general questions about lessons on the slide decks.
7. Virtual
class meetings will last the duration of about 30 minutes, once each week on
either Monday and Tuesday.
Specific guidelines for student video
chats can be found in Google Meet Guide for students and families.
About student supplies and personal items…
Some of you have started to ask how we will distribute student
supplies and personal items left at school.
Great question! I must admit: I
do not have a perfect plan for distribution YET. What I will ask for is some grace here. If your child will be returning to Double
File in the fall, consider waiting until our Meet the Teacher event in August to collect his/her things. In the
event that this is not feasible due to the nature of what you need distributed
(such as eye glasses), respond accordingly to the email that your child’s
teacher will send at the end of this week.
We will accommodate distribution in a way that is safe and convenient.
We know that in order to effectively participate in at-home
learning, you need internet access. I
happen to have a great internet provider, but at times my internet service is
faulty. If at any time you find yourselves in the same situation, here is a list of locations
around the district where we have outdoor wireless.
Berkman – Outdoor Areas
Cedar Ridge - Band Pad
Early College - Parking Lot
Gattis -Playground, Middle Courtyard
Johnson - Outside Library, Outside Gym,
Outside Awing Corner
Laurel Mountain - Outdoor Courtyard
Old Town - Outdoor Courtyard
Round Rock HS - Band Pad
Ridgeview - Garden Area, Front Deck
Stony Point - Band Pad (see below)
Spicewood -Playground
Transportation – East Bus Parking Lot
Transportation – West Bus Parking Lot
Voigt - Basketball Court
Westwood - Main Entrance, Hanging Off P05
Family Resources:
Texas
non-profit Community not
Commodity has prepared a web page that lists local resources to help families during
the COVID-19 pandemic. Find more than
75 resources to help families with food, housing, utilities, job assistance and
more.
The
Student Transfer Deadline has been extended:
The
deadline to request a student transfer has been extended
to Monday, May 4.
The Home
Access Center is an online information system that allows parents/guardians
and secondary students access to and the ability to manage/view student
information such as:
o Set
grade notifications
o Class
schedules
o Class
assignments and grades
o Attendance
records
Before I end this newsletter, I want
to reiterate three points from my last Brave News:
1. We are not expecting you to recreate your child's school
experience or replicate the work of our teaching staff at Double File Trail.
Instead, we are providing temporary, asynchronous learning experiences during a
time of crisis in hopes that students maintain learned skills, keep their
brains sharp, and stay curious about learning.
2. We
recommend that the school work be turned in each Sunday evening so that our
students do not fall behind. There will be a new slide deck coming out
each Sunday at noon with new assignments.
3. We know that change can be tough. We are here to support our families every
step of the way. If receipt of the learning slides has caused you to feel
overwhelmed, please reach out to your child’s teacher or any of our support
staff. Administrator and counselor contact information is accessible at the end
of this newsletter. Also, here is a link to our Double File Trail Counselor
Corner. https://sites.google.com/roundrockisd.org/schoolcounselingatdft/video-lessons?authuser=0
Mae Grant, Counselor: mae_grant@roundrockisd.org
Ryann
Stalwick, Counselor: ryann_stalwick@roundrockisd.org
Daisy
Guerrero, Parent Liaison: daisy_guerrero@roundrockisd.org
Mindy
McVey, Office Specialist: mindy_mcvey@roundrockisd.org
Angela
Page, Assistant Principal: angela_page@roundrockisd.org
Alifia
Britton, Principal: alifia_britton@roundrockisd.org
Again, thank you for your continued patience and
flexibility during at-home learning.
Thank you for teaming with us to support our students. PLEASE continue
to hug our Braves for us, and tell them how much we miss them! Expect another fun, family connection video
from our staff soon to share with our amazing kiddos! We appreciate you more than words can
express! Stay healthy! Stay well! RRISD Strong! DFT Strong!
My Belief:
I consider it a privilege and a blessing to serve the Double File Trail Elementary Community as the principal. I believe in our students and their ability to achieve excellence in education. I want to partner with you to make this happen. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any member of my team in support of your child’s education. We are ALL here to support and encourage our students to BE BRAVE, CHOOSE KIND and LEAD ON!