"THANK YOU!" "Maraming salamat!" "¡Gracias!" "谢谢" "תודה!"

Expressing our gratitude to our presenters: Sherry Wood, Megan Murphy, Pam Reynolds, Lea Wulfkuhle, Nikki Henderson, Amanda Linzi, Jen Luciano, Amanda Helgerson, Linda Gordon, Lizz Yurkevicz, Megan Bendiksen, and Katie Hopp is definitely the most appropriate way to close these three days. But because we are, thanking co-teachers who have expressed their continued desire to build and share with all of us, then we can't really say that we are closing these doors, are we? In fact, we've just taken the first steps into this new adventure of remote teaching. And have no doubt, that what our first steps' highest objective was not to provide you "technology training", but to allow us to build our community of learners. The first steps in recognizing that we are better off working together towards rebuilding a school and overcoming the devastations of a pandemic with our resilience and camaraderie. I believe the most obvious lesson of these three days is that we like learning from each other.

Our presenters have been video-recording their lessons and posting it on our website, which will remain up as requested by many. We are also constructing new spaces such as our Resources page and Playground with a Sandbox page. The Resources page will continue to house the material and tools that you encountered during our three day course. The Playground will be a space opened to everyone else to who would like to share and present their own adaptations of their best practices into this new environment we find ourselves in. The Sandbox will be a space for all of use to put in our "craig's list" requests -- so that others who may have knowledge and skill that can help, may respond. Again, nothing stops here...and the dare continues.

We continue to dare this new normal. And to you, our valued teachers, I dare you to take what you've learned and discovered -- and grow it. Make it blossom into your teaching; make it produce fruits of learning; and make it the fertile soil by which we are ALL growing TOGETHER. Continue to dive into the online resources provided in this website such as Google's Teach From Anywhere -- and up your game! Up those skills, so that you can support each other. Connect with Katie Hopp while you build your online resources. Discuss with our Presenters how they learned what they learned -- 4 hours of YouTube videos, trial and error, asking a friend, connecting with different support groups. And WITH your AdminTeam -- that group that has been here since March -- who has weathered all these changes to make sure that you do have a school to come back to.

COPY TO GOOGLE TRANSLATE: Ipinagmamalaki kong pinaglingkuran ko kayo nitong tatlong araw. Nawa’y hindi ito ang huling oras na magkikita tayo.

Tina Mahaney, Director of Technology, Digital Learning, and Educational Data Services
at GILL-MONTAGUE REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT