I want to remind everyone that Advisor groups will meet remotely through Google Hangouts Meet for a brief Advisory meeting tomorrow, Thursday April 1 at 9:00 am. Students will get an invitation to the meeting through their Advisory Google Classroom or their email.

 

These meetings are intended to get the students in our Advisory groups face-to-face, for the first time since March 13. At Rising Tide we often speak about Advisory groups being the essential small communities within our Rising Tide community as a central part of a structure of supportive relationships. Our Advisors have missed our students, and we have heard that our students have been missing one another and school through this extended closure.

 

These meetings are also intended to pilot the use of Google Handouts Meet, the video conferencing platform within the G Suite for Education. Our teachers have been getting together this week through this conferencing platform with various collaborative teams to prepare for our updated plan for distance learning. We expect that there will be some challenges and obstacles to all of this working smoothly, and we ask our students and families for continued patience and understanding as we completely shift our approach to implementing teaching and learning.

 

As we begin to rely heavily on technology for interactions between members of our school community, I would like to remind students to review the Technology and Network Acceptable Use Policy on pages 39-40 of the Student Handbook.

As I mentioned in my update on Sunday evening, courses will move forward with curriculum for each course, starting next week, through a combination of posted assignments and support through Google Classroom along with a modified weekly schedule that will enable teachers and students to connect remotely during specific times through Google Hangouts Meet. This updated plan will be guided by the following two goals:

• To prioritize safety, support, wellness, and understanding for the entire school community.
• To implement Rising Tide’s Key Design Elements, providing a strong academic program with an emphasis on skills, a connection to the Plymouth region, and a strong school community

Mr. Post and Mr. Simons each shared a general overview of our transition to the updated plan for distance learning with students on Monday:

By the end of the day this Friday, we will share the details of the schedule and the expectations for students that will begin next week.