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Student Houses
Student Houses
As a microschool, we are passionate believers in small, personable classrooms. When our student body began to expand rapidly, we realized that we needed an infrastructure to maintain an environment that cultivates close bonds and fosters collaboration among teachers and students. Therefore, we implemented a “House” system.
Brilliant Microschool is subdivided into multiple Houses, and the number of these Houses will continue to grow, as will our student body. There are approximately 10 to 15 teachers in each House, and assistant principals serve as House Leaders. Slack channels dedicated to each House allow teachers to interact and collaborate within a smaller community, ensuring that all teachers’ voices are heard.
Each House celebrates diversity while developing its own inclusive, unique culture. They are named in alphabetical order after a place of myth or fantasy. The first Houses formed were Atlantis, Bright Tree, Camelot, and Dagobah. Students have opportunities throughout the year to contribute to their House's unique culture, such as by creating class symbols that collectively form the House’s coat of arms. There are also several House-wide assemblies in which students gather to share work and socialize.
We encourage you to dive deep into your House's culture! Doing so will inspire your students and help increase engagement across the entire school.
Slack Channel Explanations
Slack Channel Explanations
Different Slack Channels
Our Teacher Support Channels in Slack were created for you to communicate primarily with Parent Support and Admissions. Each house has a dedicated Teacher Support Channel.
They constitute our “front office,” so it's critical that you are aware of this channel throughout the day. Since they monitor the phones and directly communicate with parents, you will receive messages from them about parent meetings and situations with students in your class, some of which will be time sensitive. For example, a parent may call to tell us that their child will be absent, leaving early, or is struggling with using an application in class. Parents often act as our real-time eyes and ears of class at home, so it's important to stay in touch with them via the Teacher Support Channel. Here is a video explaining how to adjust your Slack notifications.
You can also use this channel to communicate with Parent Support. For example, if a student has been absent for three consecutive days and you have not heard from the family, Parent Support should be notified so they can initiate contact. This is also the channel you would use to notify us when you can’t teach, to request logistical help, or to get messages to parents quickly. If you wake up to an emergency and can't teach, use this channel to inform us of the issue and request a substitute. If you're having trouble logging on, ask for help in this channel. If something happens with a student that you feel constitutes an emergency, you can request a call home here. Here is a link to the procedure for high stakes emergency situations. We have a lot of students with medical issues, and though these students usually have parents beside them, we still need to be aware of them and must communicate quickly if help is needed at home.
Please note: All parent meetings must be scheduled through Parent Support. Teachers should not schedule meetings with parents directly. Parent Support manages the scheduling process to ensure consistency, proper documentation, and to avoid conflicts
Non-examples:
The teacher support channel, however, is not used to discuss student progress or mild behavior issues, as these don't require immediate communication. You should address these issues to parents directly via Toddle, and if you want support in these matters from the school, please fill out the appropriate form in Toddle under MTSS Resources, although you should start by speaking with your Assistant Principal for quick advice and direction.
This channel is not used for requesting help about minor logistical issues. For example, if a student is having difficulty with using basic functions in Google Docs or is having trouble connecting their new graphics tablet, do not ask for Parent Support to call home. Instead, please communicate with parents directly about these issues. For more on parent communication, check out this guide.
Our house channels were created for you to have a place to communicate directly with your Assistant Principal and other colleagues within your specific house about meetings, projects, events and concerns that are specific to your house. These channels also provide a place to celebrate and build your house culture. You should adjust your settings for this channel to “get notifications for all messages” as well.
The Teacher Channel
This channel differs from the House Support Channels in Slack, it is used to discuss academic issues that Parent Support or Admissions are not involved with as well as anything you would like to share or discuss with the entire Brilliant Microschools community. For example, if MobyMax isn't working properly, you can post a question here to see if others are experiencing the same before contacting your House Support Channel. You can also ask questions about curriculum, seek advice about protocol use, or discuss community wide issues/events. Ideally, you will also use this space to share student work and successful (or failed!) lessons. In general, we believe in the teachers' autonomy in the classroom, so please do your best to manage your class yourself. You are the ones connecting with the students and their parents regularly, which makes you the most informed and most able to affect change. There are numerous supports available if you need help, and we want you to use them if you do require it, but it's always best if you can resolve issues with students and parents yourself.
Slack Teacher Lounge Channel
This is our casual virtual “break room” where teachers can socialize. Feel free to discuss whatever you'd like, but please be respectful and considerate of others. You should not discuss important work related matters here, nor is this the space to share stories of students or their work–instead, post these in the Teacher Channel, as they are inspiring, informative, and beneficial for everyone's practice. The Teacher Lounge is reserved for more casual, non-work related interactions, although it's also a good place for catharsis and moral support!
Please watch this video where Katie goes into more detail about the Teacher lounge channel.
Specific Grade Band Channels
Grade band channels consist of all teachers who are leading classes in a specific grade band. Currently, there are four: Elementary, Middle, High, and ESE. Use your grade band channel to discuss issues or share stories related to your specific grade band, such as successful (or failed!) class lessons, questions about curriculum, or to organize and/or communicate about special events.
Please watch this video where Katie goes into more detail about Specific Grade Band Channels.
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