03/13/20ACHS Original Learning Plan

Good morning,

Yesterday’s announcement was not an easy one, but we truly believe it was in everyone's best interest, especially with the many announcements that have come out since.

To help stem the spread of the virus, families should ensure that social distancing is the norm for the coming weeks. Students should, however, certainly be free to see small groups of friends if everyone in all households involved is healthy and those gatherings do not take place in crowded places. Please pay close attention to recommendations by local, state and federal authorities in this matter. 

As mentioned in the previous email, remote learning will begin on Monday, March 16. Even though we are not physically together, we will remain connected electronically in order to provide instruction, consistency and routine as much as possible. While other schools are choosing not to continue learning in this way, we want to make this work so that we are not potentially forced to extend the school year. 

We will, for these two weeks, continue with our rotating schedule of periods. When we return to school we may adjust the day to realign with the middle school, that has chosen not to continue the rotation of periods during this time. The day in the rotation is always in the main calendar page of the Family Portal and will be communicated each day to families.  

Here are the school-wide expectations between March 16 and March 27. Please note that March 20th, originally scheduled as a professional development day will be an academic day to compensate for today’s (3/13) day off.

For students/parents:

• Log in to Google Classroom/check email at 9am (or as close to 9am as possible) each day for the classes that would meet that day (for example, 3/16 will be B Day- Mods 6-7-1-2-3 will be required to post and complete work).  

• Assignments should be submitted by 6pm on the day they are due.  If an extension is needed, please contact the teacher to make the request between 9am and 2pm.

  • Students, as always, are to do their own work unless specifically allowed to collaborate

  • Submissions may be through Google Classroom, TurnItIn, or some other forum deemed best by the teacher

  • VHS students should continue in their course as usual

• Time expectations:

  • Approximately 45 minutes of work per class will be provided

  • AP courses may post slightly more work as students work towards the national exam

Expectations for teachers:

• Provide work that is:

  • Reasonable

    • To reflect work that would have been done in the classroom (reading, viewing video, producing written work, completing assessments)

  • Meaningful

    • These structured assignments are not busywork but will be meant to move the curriculum forward while we are out of school. The material will not be retaught when we return to school. 

• Use our existing Google tools and TurnItIn as much as possible

  • Students will not be required to purchase any app/software to complete work

• Post on Google Classroom no later than 9am each day.

• Check email regularly in order to respond to student/parent questions; all emails will be answered by 3pm each school day.

• As is the normal policy, have a minimum of one graded assessment (other than homework) each cycle

• At least once a week, interact with students through a pre-recorded video lesson or an interactive forum like Google Hangout. This would need to take place but would not be mandatory for students. 

Certainly, we understand that unforeseen circumstances might impact your family's schedule and routine in the weeks ahead.  We ask that you communicate with teachers and teachers will be as flexible as possible.  All support staff and administration will also be checking and responding to email Monday-Friday; all emails will be answered by 3pm each day.  Please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you need anything.

We will provide information in the coming days about: course registration and enrollment for next year as well as update senior families about tentative plans for activities and any other information as it becomes available. Spring sports, per the MIAA, are postponed; tryouts are now scheduled to begin on March 30th, subject to change. 

We also, again, ask you to provide us with any information that will help us evaluate this situation and keep everyone as safe as possible.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we all work together to continue to keep our students safe and academically engaged at this unprecedented time.

The Arlington Catholic Administrative Team