ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

ROLE OF PARENTS

As Junior School students are still developing their independence, a teacher-parent partnership is necessary for students to engage in Distance Learning tasks and to access online resources. The designed learning tasks and activities will provide direction and support to families with the understanding that task completion depends on each individual family’s circumstances. We recognize that parents may have more than one child to guide and we have framed the support for the learning experience with this in mind.

We ask parents for the following support:

• Read all email updates from your child’s teachers.

• Provide an environment conducive to learning (access to technology, designating a place in your home, or wherever you are temporarily located, so that your child can work independently on his/her assigned tasks and complete independent reading each day).

• Increase your familiarity with Seesaw as our primary instructional tool: Seesaw is our primary platform for home learning during school closure. The Seesaw Class app and the Seesaw Family app are two different platform applications. We ask that parents focus on the Class app, already used by our students on a regular basis. It gives full access to the learning as compared to the Family app.

• Beginning at 9:00am every day you and your child can connect using Seesaw to attend Morning Meeting and review directions for the day on Seesaw. Use the QR code provided by the school. Read home learning tasks and activities posted on Seesaw with your child.

• Engage in conversations on posted materials and assignments.

• On a daily basis complete the Attendance/Check-in Form, once your child has completed their activities for the day.

• Email your child's classroom teacher if you or your child has questions and/or if your child needs extra help and support. Our faculty will be present on-line to help and support during normal school hours, and they will respond in a timely manner.

What you will need:

• Laptop or tablet connected to WIFI

• Access to your child’s Seesaw Account

• Access to your email account

• Chrome browser (for laptop and desktop), Google Meet will be used for video conferencing

• Google Meet App for iOs or Android based on the tablet’s Operating System

All students are expected to participate in off-campus school. Students are expected to (with the guidance of parents/guardians/tutors):

• Participate in the face to face instruction with all teachers (homeroom and specialists)

• Complete the activities provided by all of the teachers (homeroom, specialists, counselors, ELL and learning support if relevant)

• Submit their work on Seesaw or Schoology in any form or shape designated by teachers

• Read every day

Homeroom teachers are the point persons for students and parents in their Distance Learning experience.

Their role covers and is not limited to:

• Collaboration with colleagues to design Distance Learning experiences for students in accordance with the Junior School curriculum

• Develop high-quality synchronous student learning experiences

• Communicate with and provide timely feedback to students.

• Communicate with parents, as necessary.

Teaching Assistants provide assistance to homeroom teachers on a daily basis to create content, find resources, etc.

Specialist teachers' role covers and is not limited to:

• Collaborating with colleagues to design Distance Learning experiences for students in accordance with the Junior School curriculum

• Developing high-quality synchronous student learning experiences

• Communicating with and provide timely feedback to students.

• Communicating with parents, as necessary.

Learning Support Teachers and ELL teachers continue to support students in their online journey through their learning. They will:

• Collaborate with colleagues to design Distance Learning experiences for students in accordance with the Junior School curriculum

• Develop high-quality synchronous student learning experiences

• Communicating with and provide timely feedback to students.

• Communicating with parents, as necessary.

Counselors and the School Psychologist are available for parents and students. The reasons for the school providing a distance, and not on-site, learning experience to the community may affect our students too.

• • Second Step Lessons: All grade level counselors and the school psychologist are teaching on a weekly basis, synchronously, Second Step lessons.

  • Newsletter: Each week the counselors and school psychologist provide tips, resources, activities and parenting advice on maintaining social emotional well-being and supporting your child at home. This will be found in the weekly JS Newsletter sent out by the JS Principal.

  • Individual support:

    • Students: Counselors and the school psychologist maintain ongoing contact with students who receive regular school counseling sessions in school. Parents and students will be notified about these scheduled check-in times via email. These check-ins will be facilitated via Zoom.

    • Parent Contact: Counselors and the school psychologist are also available for individual meetings with parents, as needed. These meetings can be scheduled by email and will take place via Zoom during school hours.

    • Teacher Consultation: Counselors and the school psychologist are available to consult with teachers to help support student concerns during Distance Learning. Teachers can email the counselor and school psychologist, and a meeting can be scheduled via Zoom.

The Principal and Assistant Principal are available to assist and support teachers, staff, students and parents. They can be contacted by email at jsoffice@unis.org and reply in a timely manner.

Their responsibility is to oversee the Junior School Distance Learning experience for students, parents and teachers, in collaboration with the Curriculum Department and the leadership of the school.