Elementary School Report

Matthew Woodward

Elementary School Principal

Ryan Hopkins-Wilcox

Elementary School Assistant Principal

The 2020-2021 school year has been unlike any other before. Understandably, we faced many challenges with COVID-19 and its impact on building a schedule and program to support all learners. Our teachers worked to build responsive units, connect both virtually and on campus, and gather materials to send home, just to name a few things. Our students attended numerous Zoom meetings and longed to be sitting alongside their peers in the classroom. Yet through it all, resilience was evident from our students, teachers, and community. We continued to gather feedback, listen to suggestions and adjust where it would help position us to better support learners. We prioritized the student voice in our communications this year, as well as by allowing them to have ownership over their learning, such as on Day 8/Wonder Wednesday. There is so much to celebrate and be proud of in the elementary school. We would like to take this time to highlight a few of these.

As we prepared to launch the school year, we leaned on the great feedback that students, teachers and parents had provided from the previous year. Knowing that we would launch in our DDL program, we developed a set of guiding principles by which to plan.

Guiding Priciples Goals

ISK’s DDLP is guided by our Mission, Vision and Educational Aims: creating, communicating, soliving, learning and acting. We ask all of our community to remember we are all here to support children and the communities they (and we) live in. We aspire to craft distance learning experiences that continue to encourage experiential, integrated and personalized learning. When our DDLP is activated die to a community crisis requiring school closures, we must also be mindful of and responsive to the diverse challenges that our educators and families may be experiencing. o Provide engaging, meaningtul & equitable learning experiences for all learners that fosters independence

o Cultivate a sense of belonging, connectedness and wellbeing

o Create simple and predictable routines for our students and families

o Design an approach that is responsive to our students’ and families’ needs in this unique context

o provide the flexibility that our current context calls for, including communication of units and materials, and helping provide tools for our learners

o Be mindful of screen time, and deliver a distance learning experience that incorporates core (reading, writing, math and inquiry), specials and personal discovery (learning to play an instrument, STEM, outdoor play, etc)

The Dynamic Distance Learning plan that David Henry shared in early August included enhancements that focused on “inspiring and nurturing passion, creativity and ambition in pursuit of a better world.” Our new schedule aimed to foster independence and provide a balance of online and offline engagement. It also created time for teachers to connect with students and support their social and emotional learning needs as well as facilitate 3-4 core subject lessons and specialist lessons each week. We began sending monthly newsletters and materials to support learning. We also increased the number of synchronized small group sessions and had all grade levels use Seesaw. These initiatives were well received by families. However, the thing that perhaps helped us best kick the year off with students was our family conferences. These conferences helped to launch the vital home/ school partnership that would be necessary to support all children. This new conference is something we envision using for years to come.

October arrived, and once again we were preparing for a shift. Students in certain grade levels were able to return, while other grade level students remained at home to learn in our Dynamic Distance Learning platform. We first discussed the challenges with the schedule: how could students on campus and at home continue to receive a balanced schedule that was mindful of screen time? For consistency and independence, we continued with a predictable schedule that gave students ownership over their learning. On Seesaw, students received feedback and engaging lessons while also building their own portfolio of learning to celebrate their growth throughout the year. Just as we were about to head into our midyear two week break, the Kenyan Government stated that as a country, learning would return to on-campus for all students. Change was becoming the name of the game. Once again, we brought our elementary leaders together to discuss possible schedule options. We reimagined our schedule to allow for larger chunks of instruction, rotating days for specials, and a Day 8, which would serve as a day to follow passions and explore our inquiry units or project based learning. The longer blocks helped us dig deeper into learning while also having time to better follow our COVID protocols. Plus, the rotating schedule meant that there was an equal balance for all specials classes.

There were, however, some challenges to the 8-day schedule. First off, a rotating schedule meant that communication for elementaryaged children would need to be accurate and timely to help the kids be ready for each day. With our COVID-19 protocols, we needed to have a staggered recess schedule, lunches needed to be delivered, and we had to figure out how to have enough people on duty but also getting lunch. We quickly learned that we didn’t have enough materials/options for kids to play, and so four square became both an exciting space and a hotbed for conflicts between kids. Our answer to the recess issue was to have the students themselves think of what a COVID-compliant recess experience could be, bringing more playful options and fewer behavioral issues. While we are still in the development of this work, the ideas that students are bringing to the table are beyond what our team of teachers was originally thinking. Our spring semester included student-led conferences that involved utilizing a day 8 to support reflection and set the students up for success while guiding their parents through Seesaw and portfolio documentation. It was truly a celebration from the lenses of the students. Teachers and parents both revealed that they had noticed the leadership and confidence of their children increase, which we are proud to hear. From PK to grade 5, students were invested in preparing their documentation and areas of celebration/ growth. In our early years, we piloted holding the conference during the day so that it was more developmentally appropriate. Parents let us know that this was indeed a better window into what their day-to-day experience is like. Intercultural (IC) Trips have always been a highlight for our Grade 3-5 students, and we did not want to lose that excitement for learning. Laura Schutter helped us redesign the trips during the time of COVID to allow for safe and healthy excursions. Students went hiking in Ngong, made lunch at Mlango Farm, visited Karen Adventure Farm, and explored Karura forest while also planting trees. Laura has also helped us form partnerships with organizations in Kenya to help build our experiential learning goal. In fact, Grade 4 is working with Fun Kidz to make lamps from repurposed and recycled materials.

We worked to offer parent sessions around technology, social emotional content, and academics throughout the year. The focus for a few of the sessions was on supporting families during this pandemic. Counselors planting trees. Laura has also helped us form partnerships with organizations in Kenya to help and Principals hosted an evening session build our experiential learning goal. In fact, Grade 4 is working with Fun Kidz to make l that discussed strategies aimed at building amps from repurposed and recycled materials. independence, voice and choice, growth mindset, and the power of connection. Parents that attended had great suggestions in terms We worked to offer parent sessions around technology, social emotional content, and of ways to try to sustain motivation. Giving academics throughout the year. The focus for a few of the sessions was on supporting families children choice and responsibility seemed to be a big takeaway. One way that we saw during this pandemic. Counselors and Principals hosted an evening session that discussed to support students as a school, based on strategies aimed at building independence, voice and choice, growth mindset, and the power of connection. Parents that attended had great suggestions in terms of ways to try to sustain parent feedback from the session and other communications, was having a screen free day that allowed kids to explore passions, make motivation. Giving children choice and responsibility seemed to be a big takeaway. One way choices, and move. Our counselors helped that we saw to support students as a school, based on parent feedback from the session and build a choice menu, and teachers worked with kids to have a plan. Grade 5 students on other communications, was having a screen free day that allowed kids to explore passio campus had a screen-free day and were able ns, make choices, and move. Our counselors helped build a choice menu, and teachers worked to select varied activities outside. We hope that with kids to have a plan. Grade 5 students on campus had a screen-free day and were able to students did in fact have the opportunity to regain some positive momentum to take them select varied activities outside. We hope that students did in fact have the opportunity to regain through the semester. Here was the choice some positive momentum to take them through the semester. Here was the choice menu: menu:

The parent sessions we held include: o September 14-16: Tech and Seesaw o September 29: Counselors - Parenting, Routines, & Finding Balance during DDL o October 6: DDL and Math

o October 27: Counselors - Creative Ideas for Keeping Kids Connected with Peers o November 10: Top 10 Ways to Support your Child o November 24: Counselors - Community Hot Topics / What’s on your mind? o December 8: Assessment and Report Cards o February 9: Counselors: Social/Emotional Support o April 15: Ending the Year Well

We want to take this opportunity to thank our ES PTO. Kristie Lambert once again spearheaded the few events that were allowed either on-campus or off-campus. In particular, her leadership with our Holiday Bazaar, supported by Isabella Padua, brought some much-needed joy and appreciation within our community. We are thankful for her leadership and commitment. We also want to say thank you to our many homeroom parents and volunteers that spent hours communicating between teachers and parents. Our entire world has been impacted by COVID-19. We could never have predicted how this was going to go. There have been many failures and moments of learning. And yet, reflecting on the past year, it has been the resilience of our students, teachers, and families that has led us through with such strength. We firmly believe that by continuing to strive for a student-centered learning experience, we were able to make decisions and look back on them with confidence that we had students’ interests in mind, and that the students themselves often had the creative process and thoughts that led to better processes and outcomes. We thank our community for the incredible support, partnership, and trust in working with your children. We do not take this responsibility lightly. We wish all families a wonderful end-of -year break.

Your partners in education,

Matt Woodward

Elementary School Principal

Ryan Hopkins-Wilcox

Elementary School Assistant Principal