Hello to our Plains Community,

I would like to begin by thanking all of you for your support during the past weeks in this most difficult time. I have heard from many of you, as you wrote to express gratitude and appreciation to the Plains School Staff as they provide support and important connections to your children -- either by sending email messages, delivering work packets, or providing suggested school work via various electronic messaging systems.

Staying CONNECTED is the most critical factor and certainly is helpful in keeping personalization a top priority. We now begin a new phase of Remote Learning dedicated to resources, academic work tasks, and project-based activities consistent at each grade level.

What can I communicate now to provide you with the most accurate and sound advice when approaching this phase of learning at home?

First and Foremost ... you need to be informed that Remote Learning is different at the various schools and even will differ at Plains by Grade Levels. As you are aware, our youngest learners cannot sustain long periods of school work. They require breaks, a variety of activities and, most of all, positive feedback.

When you access the Plains Portal, you will be provided with suitable grade-level and age-appropriate tasks that can be completed. We urge you to do whatever will work best for your family.

Please reach out to your teacher with questions and concerns knowing that your input is very important in this learning journey. Also, please know that modifications can be made to meet the needs of each learner.

Our philosophy working with this plan is based on sound educational expert advice for early childhood learning. It is important to not only focus on core academic subjects but also areas such as: physical activity, arts-based enrichment, exploration of nature, building, creating, and reading and writing stories.

Here are some suggestions that you may find helpful as you experience this new phase:

READ -- Teachers ask that reading happen often, as well as activities around story-telling. You are most likely doing that now at bedtime or at other parts of the day. That counts in the plan!

PLAY GAMES, DO PUZZLES, WORK WITH LEGOS, etc. -- all great activities as we do those during the school day.

EXPLORE NATURE while outdoors -- that is Science.

Be Sure to have outdoor and indoor Free Play -- we do it at Plains.

Do Simple Cooking Projects ... I know making cookies is great --very helpful in math, following directions, etc.

Have your child Pick Up and Organize their bedroom -- very good and useful to help when learning content as they grow up.

Finally, please Stay Connected with the teacher. There is no need to worry about Pass or Fail at this level. Teachers who are communicating with you are reassured that you are making every effort to support this plan. AND REMEMBER THAT PRESCHOOL learning will look different from Kindergarten, and Kindergarten differs from Grade 1.

We are in this journey together. Your family’s needs are priority. Stay safe and let us hope we will soon be back in the regular school routine with those yellow busses arriving at Plains, and all your children happy to be reunited with their teachers and friends.

Thank You,

Hank Skala