Happy Friday Div.18 Families!
I wanted to check in and see how the first week of learning opportunities went. Feel free to email me with any feedback you have. Some students have been sharing their Google Docs with me and some have been posting on FreshGrade student. I can see many are engaging through Reflex, Prodigy, and Epic. If I haven’t heard from you that’s okay. I understand some may be following their own programs and routines at home and that is okay too.
This upcoming week I want to invite students to a group video chat using Microsoft Teams. MS Teams is a safe platform our school district has a license for and is fully hosted in Canada. I will be emailing families an invite with a time and day for a group chat. If your child cannot make the day/time I’ve invited you for or they do not wish to participate, do not worry. I am currently thinking about hosting ‘office hours’ where students can drop in. These office hours will most likely be at different times on different days so I’m hoping students will be able to connect if and when they’d like to. For next week I have put together smaller groups of 3-4 students from our class. MS Teams is limited in the way that you can only see 4 screens at a time so starting small will be helpful as we get used to the platform. Saanich staff have been using MS Teams for the last couple of weeks now and have noticed some glitches so having a parent nearby to help troubleshoot during video chats is recommended. Often we find audio works but the video may not. Sometimes this can be fixed by leaving the meeting and trying again. Also making sure that you have given permission to use your device’s video and audio is helpful. Lastly, you do not need to download the MS Teams application onto your device, however it does offer a better experience. If you decide to download MS Teams please note that you do not need to sign up or sign in. Simply click on the link I’ve emailed to you and it will prompt you to open in the web browser or open in the application you’ve downloaded. There is a video below on how to join a MS Teams meeting.
One note for sharing work. Using FreshGrade student and Google Classroom is the best way. Some students shared a Google Doc with me, which is fine, but going through Google Classroom is a better way to keep things organized in one place. I posted a video last week to help you navigate how to do that and will include it again below.
Signing in to Google or watch this video from a teacher in our school district
FreshGrade Student - how to add something new, upload, and comment
I think that’s all for this week. The learning opportunities PDF is attached to this post. I look forward to connecting with students virtually next week through video chats and giving feedback on their shared work via Google Classroom and FreshGrade. Also keep your eyes on the Lochside website - I think something fun is being planned for the Lochside community on Wednesday 11:45am!
-Sherisse
P.s. Grade 5 families: I sent an email about the Grade 5 yearbook questionnaire this week. Please send the filled-out questions to me asap so I can pass these along to Heidi.
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