School News

This week was Staff Appreciation Week. We are proud of all of our staff members who have really stepped up to the challenge of schools being closed and conducting distance learning. Our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of them.

While we are not able to celebrate in the traditional manner by having a fantastic luncheon hosted by the PTA and students bringing gifts and flowers to staff members, we hope that you will take a moment to reach out to those staff members that you appreciate with a kind note or email to thank them.

Each year, we also hold a district event to celebrate award winners from each school. We are unable to do that this year. However, we want to give a shout out to them here for their contributions to Marshall Lane.

• Teacher of the Year-5th grade teacher Heather Rose

• Classified Employee of the Year--Night Custodian David Avelino

• Parent Volunteer of the Year--Marc Mantelli

Congratulations to all of them! We are very grateful for their work at our school!

Marshall Lane Parents, 

Dear Parents,

We have been out of school for just two weeks, but it seems like at least a month, doesn’t
it? We understand how difficult this is for all of you. Students are really missing their
friends and the routine of their school days. Parents are struggling with doing what they
need to do to keep their families afloat. The struggle is real!

As for your teachers, they are working harder than ever to meet the needs of their students.  Not only are they planning lessons, as always, but they are also learning to navigate the challenges of presenting them online to their students. They are completely aware of trying to ensure that the students can be as independent as possible with their assignments but they are also trying to continue to move them forward academically.

Since we have recently found out that we will be unable to return to school until at least
May 1 st , our approach in assisting you to help your students to learn at home is now pivoting from our optional flexible learning plan to expected distance learning. With as much time in school that we now know that our students will be missing, we feel the need to “step it up”.

All of the employees on our staff are working hard every day to meet the needs of the
students. They are our main focus. We are asking for your help and cooperation in
partnering with us in this effort to benefit your child/ren.

Beginning today, all of your students’ assignments will come to you directly from your
child’s teacher. This will avoid having you receive redundant communications about the
same thing. Please check on the platform that you have been using throughout this year to communicate with your teacher. If you or your child have questions, please direct them to your child’s teacher.

Our best wishes to you and your family as we move through this unprecedented period of time. We will get through this together—while social distancing!

Regards,
Priscilla Spencer

March 20, 2020

Dear Marshall Lane Community Members,

I hope that this message finds you and your families safe and healthy. These are
unprecedented times which have put additional stress on all of us. By now, you have
hopefully been using the flexible learning opportunities that we have shared with all
of you to help your children continue to learn at home. They are available to all on
our school and district website under the COVID-19 resources.

Over the past week, the teachers and I have been meeting via Zoom and other
electronic means to create more targeted learning plans for each grade level at
Marshall Lane to help you to determine activities that are the most beneficial for
your children. They are available at:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_pBeqAdgz...
InyABKA/edit?usp=sharing

Some suggested activities require a Google login and password. Older students
login onto Google frequently at school, so they should know their information.
Younger students may not know these since the use a “badge” at school to access
their account. If you need to look up your child’s login and password, you can do so
on PowerSchool. Login to your parent account and click on “Student Account
Information”. This will open a page with your student’s name and password.
In general, it is very important for you to create a schedule for your family overall
and for each individual child. This will help to provide direction and consistency to
your days. Suggested schedules are included in the resource above. Take a look at
them and revise them based on your own context.

Specific activities that are being shared are suggested, but not required. One of the
most important activities that you can do with your child is to read. Various kinds of
reading should be done—you can read books to your child that they will
understand, but may not be able to read themselves; you can read books with your
child, taking turns with a text at their instructional level that they may require some
assistance to read; and you can spend time listening to reading by your child. All three different kinds of reading are important and essential to move children forward.

Practice in writing is also important. In the younger grades, working on neat
printing, writing their names, and writing sight words will help them. Once they are
able to express their thoughts, having them write letters to family or friends, or write
stories will help them to develop their ability to express themselves in written form.
They can also research a topic and write an informational piece about something
that interests them.
One of the foundations of math is automaticity with math facts. For young children,
this may be number recognition and counting. As students get older, learning
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts is very important. You can
have students use flash cards that you already have at home or allow them to make
their own and practice until they are fluent. Make it into a game and challenge each
other.

Family activities such as playing board games and/or card games, doing puzzles,
cooking, building with Legos or blocks, doing art projects, playing with Playdoh or
clay, and helping with chores around the house will provide purpose and connection
with each other.

Social and emotional learning are also very important at this difficult time. A
resource recently became available that you might find helpful. It is called Home
Chats and it is being created to encourage parents to discuss important topics with
their children during this difficult time:

Home Chats: A Parents Guide to Healthy Conversations During the Coronavirus
Outbreak

We hope that you will take time to review the suggestions and use what you believe
is most beneficial with your children and families. Please stay safe and take care.

Sincerely,
Priscilla Spencer and the Marshall Lane Staff