Family Overview
SAES SADL Family Overview March 2020
INTRODUCING: ST. ANNE’S DISTANCE LEARNING (SADL) What is SADL? SADL (“saddle”) is the newly developed St. Anne’s distance learning program designed to accommodate the social-emotional and academic needs of our Preschool-8th grade students during an extended period of time when on-campus learning is unavailable. The purpose of SADL is to provide authentic learning experiences through thoughtful curriculum planning, flexible scheduling, and consistent connections with peers and teachers. At the center of SADL is the belief that St. Anne’s remains committed to educating minds, enriching hearts, and expanding horizons.
SAES SADL Family Overview March 2020
EDUCATING MINDS On a typical day on campus, students travel to and from our campus buildings engaging in learning and conversations across a variety of disciplines - literacy, math, music, art, and everything in between. D istance learning cannot replicate this in-person experience. It can, however, provide continuity in learning in each of these subjects. Through an intentional approach guided by student-centered learning, our faculty is curating distance-learning programming that will ensure continued student growth. Our mission states that we “make decisions based on what is best for each child.” SADL is an opportunity to deepen that commitment through innovation. In as many ways as possible, we will continue to honor the choice and voice that are central to great learning for our Preschool through 8th graders. ENRICHING HEARTS In addition to the curricular structures laid out above, our priority as educators is to care for the social-emotional well-being of our students. To that end, we are making space and time in our weekly schedules to connect students and teachers in a consistent and supportive structure. These check-ins will allow for the celebration of growth, nurturing of questions, and, most importantly, the strengthening of our class communities. Through the vehicle of technology, students will be able to bond with peers and seek out support from teachers. Teacher-established guidelines will provide the framework to engage in fruitful conversation and encourage students to productively voice needs. Self-advocacy is a key skill embedded in the fabric of SADL. Teachers will instill and develop this skill in our students so that they are appropriately supported and generously empowered in their learning. EXPANDING HORIZONS While the Sisters of the Order of St. Anne started their work caring for children with polio, a vaccine allowed them to reimagine their mission. In 1950, they decided to devote their lives to starting the very school we love and cherish today. Now we, too, are seeing an opportunity to e xpand our horizons as learners, educators, families, and a community. With the unveiling of SADL comes the chance to branch into new ways of knowing and learning. As part of this launch, we aim to explore different outlets for student creativity, leadership, and innovation in the weeks ahead. We are excited for the possibilities that await our students.
SAES SADL Family Overview March 2020
LOWER SCHOOL Curricular Expectations In the lower school, we have set out learning expectations for the start of SADL. Two priorities have guided our curricular planning: daily assignments that meet students where they are as well as consideration for available adult support. With such a wide range of grades and needs, the SADL curricular expectations are designed with flexibility and capacity for independence in mind. Using our practice of powerful mini-lessons to lead into independent work, teachers are creating lessons that quickly teach the skill to be learned, leaving plenty of time for self-paced practice. The time allotments below include both teaching and practice time. These lessons will be pre-recorded so as to give students and families a choice about when and how often they are watched. The tools, activities, and assignments are designed for independence with the support of technology, though not to the exclusion of low-tech, high-engagement learning. We are planning mindfully to balance screen time with hands-on, offline learning. The times outlined below reflect consideration for both age-appropriateness and stamina for independent work. These are flexible guidelines rather than enforced requirements. We will be closely monitoring our students’ successes and challenges with this model. Your feedback will be crucial for the further development of SADL. Things to note: - Literacy, math, and PE are daily assignments. - There will be a r otation of different co-curricular lessons each week that include science, art, music, world language, and library. -E xtensions will provide opt-in opportunities for students to go above and beyond the curriculum through passion projects, creativity, and student leadership.
SAES SADL Family Overview March 2020
LOWER SCHOOL SADL Schedules
In line with our philosophy that regular conferencing with students is pivotal for growth, the lower school SADL check-in schedule encourages small groupings, frequent feedback, and healthy relationship building. Below you will find our synchronous (“live”) check-in schedule for the lower school corresponding to two grade bands: Preschool-2nd and 3rd-5th grades. Preschool-2nd Students will have an opportunity to connect with homeroom teachers t hree days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). During the morning check-in, students will be able to join ONE of the available times (8:00-8:20; 8:30-8:50; 9:00-9:20). During the afternoon check-in, students will be able to join ONE of the available times (1:40-2:00; 2:10-2:30; 2:40-3:00). 3rd-5th Students will be able to check-in daily with homeroom teachers. Given their increased independence and ease with technology (relative to younger students), they will be able to check in more frequently. The check-ins alternate between morning and afternoon times. Students will likely need more feedback on their academic work given potentially increased complexity in their assignments. Similar to Preschool-2nd, check-in times are designed for smaller groups and flexible scheduling for families. Why multiple check-ins in lower school? The purpose of these staggered times is to allow for flexibility in family and student schedules. Additionally, in the first week, the schedule provides families with multiple students some choice in non-conflicting times should there be a need for adult tech support. Finally, small groups allow for a more intimate experience. As comfort increases and routines are established, this schedule and structure may be amended.
SAES SADL Family Overview March 2020
MIDDLE SCHOOL Curricular Expectations
The Middle School SADL curriculum is intended to reflect a commitment to all disciplines as part of the whole-child experience, and it generally mirrors the time students spend in different subjects. Daily assignments will be pushed out with supporting resources for independent work at home. Middle School faculty will be using a variety of media to offer instruction and exploration asynchronously (not live) in their classes to provide flexible support and choice for families given the different schedules that will be maintained during our school closure. The tools, activities, and assignments are designed for independence with the support of technology, though not to the exclusion of low-tech, high-engagement learning. In addition to the asynchronous instruction, synchronous (live) Virtual BLOC time is available daily for students to ask questions of teachers and gain support for their learning. Overall, we are planning mindfully to balance screen time with offline learning. At the bottom of this page, you’ll find a snapshot of the approximate time allotments for each subject per day. Those time allotments are intended to reflect the time for teaching and practice. In addition to the work assigned in subjects, we strongly urge middle school students to read at least 30 minutes a day. We also will be providing a menu of extension projects and opportunities for students who are interested. These will be sent with the daily assignments. These extension opportunities may be interdisciplinary or extend outside the scope of traditional classwork. They likely would be worked on over a period of time rather than each day. Some classes will offer optional extension work within their subjects, too.
SAES SADL Family Overview March 2020
MIDDLE SCHOOL SADL Schedules What will the daily schedule of Distance Learning look like in the middle school? 8:30 AM DAILY ASSIGNMENT PUSH: At approximately 8:30 AM every day, an email will be sent from grade level coordinators (Ms. Bishop-6th, Ms. Boroughf-7th, Mr. Amend-8th) to parents and students (who will have a St. Anne’s email account activated). The email will include links for each teacher’s page, which might be a Google Classroom, Veracross page or Google site where information on assigned work will live. C lick here to see a sample of the daily assignment page. Knowing that every student and family has a different situation at home, there is significant flexibility on when students complete their work in a given day. In addition, there are a variety of extension assignments available for students to explore on their own if they so choose. MORNING CHECK-INS/GREETINGS All middle school students will have advisory check-ins three mornings a week at 9:30 AM, where attendance will be taken. We are working on exploring additional community touchpoints and will be in contact when we have more information on these. 9:30 AM ADVISORY (M-W-F) At 9:30 AM on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, students will join a Zoom meeting for a 15-20 minute advisory group check-in. Opportunities for connection, tech support and troubleshooting distance learning issues, socio-emotional wellness check-ins, and fun are all primary goals for advisory. AFTERNOON VIRTUAL BLOC Each grade will have a 30-minute Virtual BLOC (office hours) EVERY DAY to join a Zoom session with teachers to ask questions and gain support for math, English, social studies, world language, and science (depending on the day). Notes from the Virtual BLOC session will be uploaded onto the respective teacher sites. Students are always able to email faculty with questions but are also encouraged to reach out to classmates and consult the resources available to them on teacher pages. See the below schedule for Virtual BLOC times:
MON
TUES
WED
THURS
FRI
1:00-1:30 6th Grade
Math, English
SS, Sci, WL
Math, English
SS, Sci, WL
Math, English
1:35-2:05 7th Grade
Math, English
SS, Sci, WL
Math, English
SS, Sci, WL
Math, English
2:05-2:35 8th Grade:
Math, English
SS, Sci, WL
Math, English
SS, Sci, WL
Math, English
For students in L earning Enrichment, Angela Moreira will be available for 15 minutes before the grade level BLOC time every day to support her students. This is in lieu of an LE Virtual Bloc. 6th Grade: 12:45-1:00 7th Grade: 1:15-1:30 8th Grade: 1:45-2:00