Buzz-tastic Reminders!
Greetings MB families –
Another week down and another Beemail update coming your way. Virtual learning can be tough and for some reason the weeks still seem to be flying by. Can you believe we are already in our 6th week? And we only have one month left in this school year. While I know this can be tough for our community, I continue to be impressed with our teachers’ planning, our students’ hard work and our parents adaptability.
This sixth week of virtual learning brings several key updates that I want you to be aware of. We had a great GoTeam meeting to close out last week as several people joined in on the discussion. Be sure to look for a summary on the Morris Brandon website HERE.
The Superintendent also hosted two Facebook live sessions discussing the state of Atlanta Public Schools virtual learning. Lots of items were discussed including High School graduation ceremonies, promotion and retention and grading. These are some items that were directly related to our school:
- School will end 5/22, and not earlier
- All grades are final as of 3/13 however anything entered into the gradebook after this date can only help a students final grade
- Between 3/13 and 5/22 a minimum of 5 grades per core subject will be entered into the gradebook
- PowerUp and all summer programs are canceled
It’s also important to note that progress reports aren’t mailed and final report cards cannot be distributed until we return to school. Please access these final grades via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. See HERE for instructions on how to register. It’s disappointing that we will not be able to have our traditional summer camps at Brandon, including our rising K camp but we will be ready for all incoming students when school begins. All incoming Morris Brandon students should register HERE.
Aside from those important points, we are busy planning class lists and addressing staffing needs for next year, making sure all textbooks and digital resources are ready to go and even working on planning another school dance, a HIVE rally, and an awesome end of year culminating activity. I’m also meeting with 5th grade teachers this week to discuss some ways we can celebrate and recognize our outstanding 5th graders for all of their hard work and dedication before they move on to middle school. Much more info on this to follow. Additionally, I’m excited to share that we have received digital class pics that should be coming your way soon and will have yearbooks to distribute as soon as we are able to. We are also working on finalizing another food drive to help our newest food pantry in the North Atlanta cluster, Passion City Church. I want to also give a plug for my final Principal CoffeeTalk of the year on Friday, May 8. I will host a recorded session around virtual learning and answer parent questions that can be submitted prior. Tune in to next week’s BeeMail for information on how to submit questions and the time of this meeting.
Every time I get down thinking about not returning this year or missing my students and teachers, I think about how lucky I am to spend additional time with my loved ones, at home, in a safe environment. Our teachers and staff are doing what we can to relieve as much burden from you as we can. Remember, when it’s all said and done, our students will not remember how they spent their time learning from home, but rather how comfortable and loved they felt during this difficult time. Let’s continue to value social emotional health and personal well being. As the state Superintendent recently said, it’s time to value “compassion over compliance”.
Please continue to watch our AM announcements EACH day! We work very hard on these and love highlighting student work and bringing in special guests. It’s a great way to start your day!
Talk soon
J