Message from Mr. Krebs - First Days of School & Bell Schedule

Warrior Community

Next week we start the 2020-2021 school year.  Although it is starting under unusual circumstances, it is a year that I am increasingly confident will finish with a series of events and celebrations our students will remember.  

Per the Governor’s guidelines, we will start the year in distance learning, transitioning to our hybrid model after we have been off the county watch list for 14 days.  We have devised a bell schedule and instructional model that will support both distance learning and the safety guidelines necessary to bring students on campus in hybrid cohorts.  The information below should help your family understand the structure of the school day, and make plans for the start of the year.  

THE FIRST TWO DAYS OF SCHOOL

Below is the bell schedule for the first two days of school.  Students will access course information through Canvas, and participate in “live” instruction for each class on their schedule.  We will be sending a more detailed email to families on 8/19 to help new students find their courses on Canvas and links to access “live” instruction for the first day.  During “live” instruction, teachers and students will be together online for instruction, discussion, and other synchronous activities for the duration of the period.  You will notice a time for Office Hours during both days.  This will occur in our schedule each week and will be a time that teachers will be accessible to all of their students.  It is very similar to our Tutorial from last year, but is optional and not required.  

Click here for a PDF version of the schedule for August 20-21.

A TYPICAL WEEK OF SCHOOL IN DISTANCE LEARNING

Starting Monday, August 24, we will have our first typical week in Distance Learning.  On Mondays, students will access their course schedule for the week through Canvas, but will not meet for “live” instruction for each period.  Teachers will be available by department during designated times (see table below).  The only “live” requirement for students on Monday will be for Homeroom from 1:30-2:00 pm.  This year your student’s 4th period class will also be their Homeroom.  Attendance will be taken during Monday’s Homeroom, so participation is mandatory.  On Mondays, teachers will provide a calendar for the week, initial tasks for students, targeted interventions for those in need of support, and opportunities for re-teaching.  

Tuesday through Friday will be on a block schedule with students meeting with their odd periods on Tuesday and Wednesday, and even periods on Thursday and Friday.  One of the two interactions will be “live” requiring the students be online and engaging in synchronous instruction throughout the entire 85 minutes.  The other will be an “independent” lesson, with the whole class meeting online for the first 10 minutes for attendance and instruction, then students working independently on tasks, assignments and projects for the rest of the time.  This sequence may occur in either order (live then independent, or independent then live), and teachers may increase the amount of live instruction on the independent day beyond the 10 minutes.  

TRANSITIONING TO THE HYBRID MODEL

Once Orange County has been off the watch list for 14 days our school will be eligible to transition into hybrid learning.  In this model, students will engage in distance learning 3 days a week, and in-person learning two days a week.  At that time, we will divide the student population into two cohorts based on their last name (the first 50% being cohort A, the last 50% being cohort B).  The Monday schedule will stay the same, as well as having odd periods on Tuesday and Wednesday, and even periods on Thursday and Friday.  

Cohort A will attend school in-person on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and cohort B will attend school in-person on Wednesdays and Fridays.  Each class will start with a 10 minute, all class meeting that includes both those students who are online and those students who are in-person.  Attendance will be taken for all students during this time.  The in-person experience will be the student’s “live” instruction, and the at-home experience will be the student’s “independent” day.  The cohorts will switch the next day, doing the opposite lesson.  

Lunch will occur after periods 5 and 6 to minimize the amount of students who need to stay on campus.  A grab-and-go lunch will be available for students.  Those students enrolled in athletics will have their practices scheduled later in the day to allow for a lunch at home.  Those few students with a period 7 or 8 class requiring them to stay on campus will be assigned a designated location to eat lunch to ensure appropriate social distancing and supervision.  Based on our current schedule between 90-95% of students will not need to remain on campus for lunch, leaving a small and manageable number of students remaining.  A more detailed email will come out prior to our transition to the Hybrid model, outlining safety guidelines and procedures for staff and students.  

We realize that this is a lot of new information for families and want to thank you in advance for your flexibility, trust and support during this complex and challenging time.