Lower School Distance Learning Guide by Iona Preparatory School

Iona Prep Lower School Distance Learning Guide

IntroductionThe outbreak of the Covid 19 virus has forced unprecedented changes on our society. Iona has been developing methods and policies to deliver effective instruction while students are made to stay home during the outbreak. This remote, or distance learning, as it is commonly referred to, presents both great challenges and opportunities. This guide is meant primarily for use if the entire school is forced to close and all students have to learn remotely. The challenges are obvious, especially given that Ionaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s educational program is built on the strength of the relationships that faculty and students develop. Classes are often designed around discussions and collaborative work that may be more challenging in a distance learning setting. Distance learning challenges our ability to quickly break out for small group work, remediation, or enrichment. Our faith, however, teaches that Our Lord would never put a challenge before us that we cannot overcome with His help. Therefore we also look at this as an opportunity. It is an opportunity for our teachers to try new methods and test new programs. It is an opportunity for our families to reconnect at home and an opportunity for us as a faith community to turn to God and connect more closely with Him. We believe that by adhering to our core values and mission, and allowing them to guide our choices, we will be able to continue to deliver effective, age appropriate, and meaningful instruction to our boys. Realizing the amount of instruction will not be the same as attending inperson classes, we believe that by focusing on the quality of the instruction given, we will continue to advance the education of every student and provide opportunities for growth.

General guidelinesOur model of distance learning will use both synchronous activities, where all students participate at once, and asynchronous activities, where students participate at their own time and pace. All work for the day will be posted by 8:45 am. Posts will be made on PlusPortals so that parents can see and help organize student work if necessary. Parents can look at the Upcoming Events box in the top right corner of their Portals home page for a list of the work due in the next few days. By clicking on a class name, a parent can see more detailed information about that class. Clicking on the calendar will bring up a visual representation of work assigned. Classes will also utilize Google Classroom for assigning and submitting work. If a student is missing any login or classroom code information they should contact Mrs. Mone. Some classes also utilize other websites for various activities and lessons. Your son would have received that information prior to leaving school. Please contact your son’s teacher if login information is needed for another site. Primary grades (K-5) should expect anywhere from 2-3 hours of live class time online each day (Mon-Thurs.). Lessons, activities and assignments for each day are at the discretion of the teacher. Teachers may use the time allotted for subjects each day as they see fit (e.q. delivering instruction, working with groups, having students complete assessments, question and answer time, reviewing previous work or homework). Teachers may also assignment homework. Middle school grades (6-8) should expect 3-4 hours of work each day divided up into about 30 minutes for each core subject. Most core classes will post work daily. If a class meets virtually they may be assigned less written work. Some assignments may be divided into separate activities that are expected to be completed over several days. Distance learning assignments can include:  Worksheets  Web-based activities  Utilizing an online resource for skill acquisition and practice or other activity  Watching videos and responding to questions  Teacher-generated videos and lectures with associated work  Other activities Assignments are posted for all classes including specials, and students are asked to try and complete them all. If your son is unable to complete an assignment he, or his parent, should contact the teacher to discuss options. Unless otherwise indicated by the teacher all assignments are expected to be turned in by 9:30 pm on the night assigned or the specified due date.

Teachers will meet virtually with their classes utilizing Google Meet. Attendance will be taken for all live classes. We encourage students to attend live sessions but recognize it may not always be possible. In the event your son cannot make a scheduled class meeting, he should contact the teacher with any questions. A general schedule is attached for classes in grades PK-5, but teachers may alter the schedule if needed. A sample middle school schedule is attached. Core subject classes meet twice a week for instruction or to review and address student questions regarding assignments. The schedule will also be posted on PlusPortals under Announcements. Teachers are also available for extra help by invitation or request. Times for extra help are on the schedule. All meetings will be on Google Meet. CommunicationCommunication is key. As we will not have face-to-face contact with students daily, it is very important that parents and students maintain active communication with the faculty and administration. We completely understand that each home situation is different and unique. There may well be reasons why posted work may not be able to be completed by the due date and students cannot attend live classes. If that is the case, it is important to contact the teacher right away so adjustments and accommodations can be made. Teachers have been directed to respond to emails as quickly as possible. However, given that our teachers' home lives may also be in a state of constant change we ask that you give a teacher 24 hours to respond. It is also important that teachers have the ability to attend to their home needs therefore emails received after 5pm on Friday may not be replied to until Monday. In the event of an emergency on the weekend, and you need to contact the school please, email Mrs. Mone at dmone@ionaprep.org. All student communication to teachers must be done through the Iona Prep email system, Plus Portals or Google Classroom. We realize that our students may be ill from time to time and unable to complete school work for a day or two. If that is the case, kindly email Mrs. Mone and your sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teachers so accommodations can be made for him to complete the assignments when he is feeling better. GradingFor distance learning, Iona has made the decision to issue grades as we normally do. This can help hold students accountable and provide incentive to do their best. Parental InvolvementWe realize that acting as your sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teacher at home can be stressful. Our teachers are working hard to develop assignments and activities that can be completed by the students as independently as possible.

The first and most important thing you can do is provide your child encouragement to engage with and complete his assignments every day. We do not expect you to suddenly become a teacher. Some assignments will require more support than others and you may have to lend a helping hand. If something is unclear or causing frustration or you are unsure of how to complete an assignment, put it aside until you or your son has had a chance to discuss it with the teacher. Once you have a better understanding of what to do, you can go back to it. Again, while we recognize that each family’s situation will be different, we wish to discourage late work. Unless there is an excuse, teachers may take a 10% penalty for late work. Here are some general tips to allow for success (and a bit less stress!): 1. Help your child set up a location for on - and off - line studies. We recommend someplace other than the child’s bedroom, if possible; it will help to create more of a sense of “going to school” if he has to get out of bed to do his schoolwork! He will need access to a computer with an internet connection, his notebooks, textbooks, a calculator, pencils, etc. If you have more than one child at home attending school online, separate locations are preferable. 2. Encourage your son to continue a typical morning routine as much as possible: breakfast, brush teeth and dress for school. 3. If possible, move distractions and temptations such as cell phones, TV and video games out of sight during online school hours. 4. Resist the temptation to over-supervise or help him with schoolwork. His first resource should still be the teacher, via email or Google Classroom, or during live lessons or extra help. 5. When school happens remotely, it is more important than ever that children spend some free time offline. Please encourage your son to spend significant time each day away from the computer, whether it’s to exercise, play a board game, bake cookies, etc. 6. Help your child get regular and an appropriate amount of sleep. Keeping a regular schedule at home can help ensure that your son gets enough sleep and is ready to learn. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following:  Ages 3-5 years: 10-13 hours (including naps)  Age 6-12 years: 9-12 hours  Age 13-18 years: 8-10 hours

Spiritual well-being/Social-Emotional supportWe will have morning prayer each day before live classes begin. Our Campus Ministry team will send home prayer and faith resources for our families to use. Our school counselor will meet with the middle school students weekly according to the class schedule. If you feel your son needs some extra support please contact the school counselor. Students in the primary grades can also meet with the school counselor. Parents should email the counselor with any requests for meetings.

Student ResponsibilitiesAll students are expected to attend all live classes and to complete all work assigned. We do, however, realize there may be reasons why work cannot be completed by the due date. A student or parent should contact the teacher to explain the situation and make arrangements to discuss with the teacher the work in question and come to an agreement over how to proceed. Teachers will be flexible as long as you are communicating with them. Work is to be turned in using the Google Classroom Turn In or Mark as Done feature. Photos of completed work are acceptable with the teacher’s permission, but PDFs are preferred, if the work can’t be turned in directly using Google Classroom. If a student is unsure how to turn work in they should check with the teacher. Students are expected to follow the school’s Acceptable Use Policy for Technology found in the student handbook. With the advent of using Google Meets we add the following: 1. Make sure you are dressed and in uniform for the meeting time. No bed heads or pajamas. 2. Get out of bed, be sitting up at a table or desk. If that is not possible then the couch, but sitting up. 3. Make sure the background where you are sitting is appropriate and doesn’t reveal personal information. 4. Make sure you are on time; arrive a few minutes early. 5. Test your speakers and mic beforehand. 6. Mute your mic before entering the class. 7. Be respectful of one another and allow the teacher to direct the conversation. If not you may be muted or asked to leave. Through our distance learning program, we are working to continue to deliver on the mission and promise of Iona Preparatory School. In these extraordinary times we remain committed to the growth and development of each of our students. We will be flexible and adaptive to the needs and situations of our students and their families. As an institution we will also learn and grow as well. We ask for your cooperation and understanding as we work through these circumstances together. Through it all, together we will emulate our motto: Estote Firmi (Be strong).

Iona Prep Lower School - Distance Learning Schedule - Grades K-5 (updated 11/17/20) Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

8:45 – 9:00 AM

Prayer, Pledge, General, Announcements, Attendance, and Class Announcements*

9:00-9:40 AM

Reading/LA**

9:45 – 10:25 AM 10:30 – 10:55 AM 11:00 – 11:25 AM

Math** Math** Math** Math** Religion Religion Religion Religion PK/K – Art# PK/K – Spanish# PK/K – Technology# PK/K – PE# 1st - Music+ 1st - Art+ 1st – Spanish+ 1st - Technology+ nd + nd + nd + 2 - PE 2 - Music 2 - Art 2nd - Spanish+ 3rd –Art+ 3rd – Spanish+ 3rd- Technology+ 3rd – PE+ th + th + th + 4 – Technology 4 - PE 4 - Music 4th - Art+ 5th – Spanish+ 5th - Technology+ 5th - PE+ 5th - Music+ Lunch and Recess Have a healthy lunch and enjoy some relaxed time. Try to get outside or do some physical activity away from screens. Science** Social Studies** Science** Social Studies**

Friday Morning Check-up time++

11:30 – 1:00 PM 1:00-1:45 pm 2:00-2:30 pm

(Reading Specialist in 2nd)

(Reading Specialist in 4th)

Extra help by invitation or appointment

(Reading Specialist in K)

(Reading Specialist in 3rd)

PK/K – Music# 1st - PE+ 2nd - Technology+ 3rd – Music+ 4th -Spanish+ 5th - Art+ 11:30 – 12 noon Class lunch and social time Meet session

Extra help by invitation or appointment

*The prayer, pledge, and general announcements will be recorded for each day and available in a Google Class. Teachers will play it for their classes on a Meet so the students can participate. **Teacher may only be conducting a lesson for the first part of the block. The block contains time for questions and answers and for formative assessment (classwork/homework). The teacher may also split students into two sections with one class meeting during the first half and the other during the second half. +Special classes will have one live class and one “remote” class on Google Classroom each week. The remote class may be completed at leisure, but before the class meets the following week. ++This is a time to catch up on work and for teachers to work with small groups of students. # PK/K will have asynchronous lessons, assignments, or activities that can be completed during the 11:00-11:25 block or at another time convenient for parents. The reading specialist will also be conducting small group sessions at times mutually agreed to with the classroom teacher.

Iona Prep Lower School - Distance Learning Schedule - Grades 6-8 (updated 11/19/20) Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Prayer, Pledge, General, Announcements, Attendance, and Class Announcements*

6th 7th

Technology 6 (G) English 7

Art 6 (G) English 7

Math 6 (M) Group Guidance 7 (Tues)

Group Guidance 6 (M) Religion 7 (E)

8th

Religion 8 (H) Religion 6 (G) Spanish 7 (H) English 8

Social Studies 8 (H) Algebra Math 6 (G) Social Studies 7 (C) Art 8 (Tues)

Science 8 (A) Algebra

6th 7th 8th

Social Studies 8 (H) Algebra Social Studies 6 (M) Spanish 7 (E) English 8

Math 6 (M) Technology 7 (Mon/Thurs) Science 8 (A) Algebra Math 6 (G) Art 7 (Thurs) Science 8 (B)

6th

English 6 (G&M)

Science 6 (M)

English 6 (G&M)

Social Studies 6 (M)

7th 8th

Social Studies 7 (C) Technology 8 (Wed/Fri)

Math 7

Religion 7 (G) Group Guidance 8 (Tues)

Math 7 Group Guidance 8 (Thurs)

8:45 – 9:00 AM

9:00-9:40 AM

9:45 – 10:25 AM

10:30 – 11:10 AM

11:15 AM – 12:00 PM

6th 7th 8th

Social Studies 8 (G)

6th

Spanish 6 (M)

7th 8th 6th 7th

Social Studies 7 (D) PE – 8 (Mon/Fri) Social Studies 6 (G) Technology 7 (Tues/Thurs) Spanish 8 (C)

12:00 – 12:40 PM 12:45 – 1:25 PM

1:30 – 2:10 PM

8th 2:15 – 3:00 PM

Extra Help by appointment or invitation: Math and Science

Remote Lessons, Assignments, Activities

Students can expect a remote lesson, assignment, or activity for Math, Science and Religion on Mondays

Science 6 (G) Math 7 Honors Math 7 Honors Technology 8 Religion 8 (C) Social Studies 8 (G) (Tues/Fri) Lunch and Recess Have a healthy lunch and enjoy some relaxed time. Try to get outside or do some physical activity away from screens. Group Guidance 6 (G) Religion 6 (M) Social Studies 6 (G) PE 6 ( M) Spanish 6 (G) Science 7 (G) PE 7 (Mon/Fri) PE 7 (Tues/Wed) Math 8 Art 8 (Fri) Math 8 Technology 6 (M) Art 6 (M) Science 7 (H) Religion 7 (E) Social Studies 7 (D) Spanish 8 (G) Extra Help by appointment or invitation: Social Studies, English, Spanish Students can expect a remote lesson, assignment or activity for English, Social Studies, and Spanish on Tuesdays

Extra Help by appointment or invitation: Religion, Science, and Technology Students can expect a remote lesson, assignment or activity for Math and Science on Wednesdays

Art 7 (Wed) Religion 8 (C) Science 8 (B) Religion 6 (M) Science 6 (G) Group Guidance 7 (Fri)

Science 6 (M) Religion 7 (G)

PE – 6 (G) Science 7 (G) Religion 8 (H) Religion 6 (G) Science 7 (H) PE – 8 (Tues/Wed)

Extra Help by appointment or invitation: Math, Social Studies, and English. Students can expect a remote lesson, assignment or activity for English, Religion, and Spanish on Thursdays

Students can expect a remote lesson, assignment, or activity for Math, English, and Social Studies on Fridays

*The prayer, pledge, and general announcements will be recorded for each day and available in a Google Class. Teachers will play it for their classes on a Meet so the students can participate. In addition to the live classes for Art, PE, and Technology student should expect a remote lesson, activity, or assignment during the week for each class.

Acknowledgment of Receipt and Understanding: We______________________________________________, and our son,_______________________________________, acknowledge that we have received, read and understand the policies contained in the Iona Prep Lower School Distance Learning Guide.

Signed:____________________________________________ Date:___________________