May 11th, 2020

When students are in school with their peers, there are a lot of things that help keep them on track. They have a teacher and support staff helping them when needed and prodding them along when necessary. There is also the powerful motivator of positive peer pressure. Kids of any age do not want to stand out in a negative way. This helps them stay on track in a classroom setting. School also provides structure and routines that children desperately need.

I have attached this article from Edutopia about Distance Learning that I think is worth a read. Do not be put off by the subtitle “Why Are Some Kids Thriving During Remote Learning?” This is not an article meant to make you feel bad if you do not feel like your own child is thriving, but instead, it offers some concrete ideas of how you can play to your child’s strengths to help them learn given the circumstances we all find ourselves in.

While I completely understand the obstacles involved in Distance Learning, in person school also has its limitations. For many students, school can be very distracting. There are so many things pulling our students off track. While learning how to focus and block out distractions is an important skill to learn, it is also nice to have a quiet place to concentrate. In addition, many kids seek attention at the wrong time in the wrong place. We might euphemistically refer to these kids as the ”class clown”, however, they can get other students off track and take up too much of a teacher’s time. Lastly, school hours do not always work for your particular child. Some kids find it impossible to get out of bed while others can’t get anything done by the time 6th period rolls around.

I always like to look for silver linings in any given situation. Keep in mind that there are some advantages to Distance Learning that in person school cannot offer. The good news is that it might be easier to address the many challenges going to school presents to our students. Play to your child’s strengths. You know better than anybody else what motivates your student. Use that as a carrot to get them to do some work. In the same manner, adjust to your student’s needs. It is okay if your child is not following school time. Let your child sleep in or take frequent breaks.

Another thing that resonated with me in this article is how we may want to rethink how over extended our children are. In communities like San Carlos, kids tend to be in over their heads with activities both in and out of school. I am always surprised about how busy our students are after school. Some kids’ schedules are so full after school that they have no time to do homework. I understand the desire to have our children take part in as many experiences as possible, however, over- extending our student’s time cannot be healthy.

I hope this article helps give you some strategies that might work in your household. Or maybe even some excuses to take a break to enjoy a slower pace of life and time with your family.

Differentiate Learning and How to Thrive

Tom Domer

Principal

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A Note from Your Teachers:

Teachers want to give a big shout out to all the students who continue to do their best; who are attending all the zoom meetings, who are running break out sessions, and who are remaining engaged. There are students who are helping other students learn. There are students who are helping their siblings learn. We have students reaching out to teachers to offer support. Not to mention all the work being done on Google Classroom.

Keep up the good work and please stay connected!!

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4/27/20

Hello CMS,

I read a post about the circumstances we all find ourselves in right now that made me think about school. Throughout this ordeal, we have all heard the aphorism, “We are all in the same boat.” While we are all experiencing similar things, in truth, we are not all in the same boat; we are all in the same storm, but not the same boat. I thought this is the perfect analogy because each of us have our own circumstances in which we are trying to weather this storm. I have repeatedly stated that every family is faced with its own unique set of challenges. While we are all in this together, we all have different resources at our disposal and we all have our own limitations. Having said all this, I am amazed at how well we seem to be holding it together. I am particularly touched by the way the San Carlos community has come together to support one another.

I have spoken and written to many people over the last month and there is something I feel I need to say. You are all doing a great job. You are all trying your best and working your hardest to give your children the best experience you can under these circumstances. Being a parent is hard enough, but now you are asked to be educators - experts in every subject. Counselor - supporting the emotional needs of children and teenagers. Day care, food service provider, entertainer, time manager, house cleaner, best friend and the list goes on and on. Parents - you have all stepped up and it has not been easy.

My hope is that we will all try to give ourselves a break. Let’s all step back and take some perspective. We are dealing with an unprecedented situation. Please do not worry if an assignment is missed; we will give you time to make it up or let it go. I personally think that staying connected is equally as important as getting the work done. I know it is a lot to keep track of, but if you can, try to have your child attend the zoom meeting times our teachers, counselor and paraeducators are offering. We have found that students are benefiting greatly from attending these meetings.

I have a few other ideas that might help alleviate some of the pressure Distance Learning is placing on families.

1. Make sure your student takes the time to read the directions. We are noticing that some students are doing extra work, or having to redo assignments because he/she has not read the directions. This is a good habit to get into anyway, so please stress to your kids how important it is to take a few seconds to read the directions.

2. Have your children check their email. Teach them how to organize their inbox and to delete old messages. Have your child email their teachers regularly. This is also a very important habit for students to get into. Research demonstrates that students who communicate with their teachers and professors, both in person and through email, do significantly better in school. I have included a link to a few websites that can help teach your children why email is important and how to send an appropriate email.

3. I mentioned this earlier, but it is worth repeating. Make sure your child is participating in Zoom meetings with teachers. This is an important way to stay connected and stay motivated. Students who do not feel personally connected with their teachers and classmates do not maintain the kind of intrinsic motivation it takes to be successful in school. Help them stay connected.

4. Make sure that you are monitoring your children’s online time and activities. The internet offers an unlimited amount of distractions. Students may be at the computer but not actually doing school work. Also try to make sure that your child has turned in their work when they say they have. Let’s call this: Trust but verify.

These ideas may seem like additional work for you as parents, but I think these tips can help save your family some time and frustration in the long run.

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4/18/20

Hello CMS Families,

You probably know by now that we will not be returning to school for the remainder of the school year. While this was not unexpected, it has been very difficult news for all of us that we are still trying to wrap our heads around. I know how challenging these last few weeks have been. The thought of a prolonged shelter in place order is a hard pill to swallow. At Central, we would like to assist in any way possible. Please reach out if you need anything. We remain available through email, so please do not hesitate to send a message to connect.

Teachers continue working on Distance Learning curriculum and finding ways to stay connected to their students. Monday and Tuesday were professional development days dedicated to finding solutions to the challenges presented to us by not seeing our students on a daily basis. Teachers did amazing work, putting our heads together to find creative, innovative ways to help our students. This is difficult work and we are learning as we go.

Please be patient with us. This is new for us too, and there has been a steep learning curve with virtually no time to prepare. I have received a great deal of feedback and I want you to know that we are taking your concerns seriously. Our biggest struggle has been in providing personalized and differentiated instruction from afar. Just as every student is different, every household is different with its own unique set of challenges. For some families we are not doing enough, for others it is too much. The best solution that I can think of is to keep the lines of communication open. Please let us know how things are going in your household. You can email teachers or other staff members with whatever you need. We will also be reaching out to anybody that we think may need assistance.

I also mentioned in a previous communication that parents have the authority to “end school”. If you child has had enough, make him or her stop work for the day. Our mental health is the most important thing right now. While we want our students to remain engaged with school work, we do not want to be adding undo stress to your lives. Please let us know what we need to be doing to help - we promise that we will adjust.

Thank you to everybody who donated to help out families in need. Also, thank you to everybody who has reached out to me with kind words of support and encouragement. I have been so proud of the way San Carlos and the Central community has come together to support one another through these tough times.

As always, stay safe, healthy, engaged and sane. And practice social distancing!

Tom Domer

Principal

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4/5/20

Hello CMS Families,

I miss being at school more than you can imagine. I hope you all had a good spring break despite everything that is going on. I was able to spend some time at my cabin which I enjoyed immensely. Back home, I have been getting long overdue projects done (or at least started). I am hoping you all got to relax and have some fun with your family as well.

In an effort to prepare for the remainder of the year, Monday and Tuesday are Professional Development days for teachers. The idea is to give our educators time to plan and prepare for distance learning for the foreseeable future. We will also be developing our distance learning vision and goals. Nothing is official for San Carlos; we are still holding out the littlest bit of hope that we can come back for at least part of the year. We do, however, know that this is going to be a long haul.

Thank you to all of you who took part in the Thought Exchange activity Dr. Harmeier send out. It is helpful for us to know how things are going at home. As part of our Professional Development, we will be addressing your needs. There were some pretty consistent takeaways that we will do our best to problem solve.

We are asking that you have your children engage in some school work on Monday and Tuesday as this is not a “holiday” for them. Teachers will be preparing material for students as usual, but will not be available for conferences or to respond to email messages.

As always please keep the lines of communication open. Stay safe, healthy and engaged.

Tom Domer

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3/25/20

I hope you are all beginning to become comfortable navigating our Distance Learning Portal and Google Classroom. Behind the scenes, teachers have been hard at work creatively providing the highest level of instruction possible given the circumstances. Teachers are learning new ways to connect with students using new technologies. I know that there has been a large learning curve for all of us, so please reach out for help with anything you may need. I have included a few links for tutorials for Google Classroom for Parents. These are some of the tutorials that I like, but you can search Youtube for several resources that you may find useful.

Please make sure that your student is regularly checking their SCSD email account and checking in on Google Classroom. Given the fact that we are communicating entirely through digital means, please make sure both you and your children are logging on, checking in and engaging on a regular basis.

As always, please stay safe.

Google Classroom for Parents

Google Classroom for Parents and Students

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3/20/20

We have made it through our first week of Distance Learning. Thank you to the families who have reached out to let me know how it is going. I think this new reality is finally starting to sink in for all of us. This is going to be difficult, to say the least. I plan on sharing out as many ways as possible for all of us to stay connected and ways in which we can take care of one another - from a distance.

Please remember to have your student log in using their SCSD Gmail account so that we can track attendance and give credit for work completed. In addition, please reach out to me (tdomer@scsdk8.org) if you need any assistance. We are also providing tech support for families who need it. Should you run into any difficulties with our devices or accessing any of our online learning platforms, please first try to solve the problem with your child’s teacher, then principal, and if support is still needed, email HomeSupport@scsdk8.org from your child’s scsd.org email account.

I have also received input about the amount of time students are spending doing school work. We have provided guidance in our Portal, copied below, on the amount of time your child should be spending doing school work. We understand that every child learns and works at their own pace. We really need to rely on parents to help us find a healthy balance. Teachers are doing a great job posting work to keep their students engaged, however, given the circumstances, we are depending on parents and guardians to monitor the amount of work students are doing. You have the authority to end the “school day”, give breaks, and stretch legs. As educators, we understand that every child will find their own stride.

Teachers will adjust assessments and workloads as we go. Please keep the lines of communication open. Teachers have asked that you email them with any questions or concerns you may have. We have had a very steep learning curve, and we should all be proud of the work we have done, the new things we have learned and the accomplishments we have made.

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No more than:

ELA: 45 minutes

Social Studies: 45 minutes

Math: 45 minutes

Science: 45 minutes

Electives + PE: 60 minutes

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Tom Domer

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Welcome to our Distance Learning Portal. If you have any questions or needs, please call the Central office, 650-508-7321 or email Mr. Domer, Mrs. Vizier, or Mrs. Gamez. You can expect to receive emails and updates from the principal at least once a week. All teaching, learning and assignments will go through Google Classroom. For detailed information, read the letters below.

Take care of yourself and stay healthy.

Tom Domer

Important Dates:

March 30 - April 3 No Instruction or assignments

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3/18/20

Hello Again CMS,

I hope everybody is staying safe and healthy during these unprecedented times. Our primary concern is the health and welfare of our community. We also want to help keep our students engaged and learning while at home. Our goal is to provide as much relevant curriculum as possible for our students through this portal. We are not looking to provide “busy work” but instead want our students to continue to learn through thoughtful activities. Our teachers have been hard at work preparing lessons and activities for their students. We are also learning new ways to communicate and stay connected. I am extremely thankful for the dedication and integrity our teachers have shown through this difficult time.

We are getting a lot of questions about how to sign in to Central’s Distance Learning Portal. We have blasted out to students an email with the link. The most important thing is that our students are the ones logged in. If parents access the portal, you will not be able to log in for attendance. The Google daily attendance form will only allow students logged into school gmail accounts to fill out the form.

Given the fact that things are changing so rapidly, I will be updating this page regularly.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me at any time. While I may not be at school everyday, I will be checking email regularly. If you would like to have a conversation, please let me know and I can give you a call.

Below I have listed 5 tips for surviving distance learning.

Top 5 Tips for Distance Learning:

1. Create a dedicated workspace

2. Establish working hours

3. Make sure students are logged into the Portal - not parents

4. Take a balanced approach

5. Stay connected and collaborate - at a distance

Please stay healthy, active and engaged.

Tom Domer