It’s MAY, in the Home Stretch!
Greetings Parents and community members!
As we roll into week 8 of virtual learning, I want to remind everyone of some important updates. While the final semester of school has not been an easy one, I have been so impressed by the hard work our students have put into virtual learning. My favorite part of each day is highlighting the great work our students are doing on Flex Fridays, from making chocolate mousse and homemade lava lamps, to outdoor scavenger hunts and STEM projects. I also love highlighting our 5th graders each morning, focusing on their favorite memories at Brandon. I’ve made a commitment to jump on several virtual class meetings this week and love seeing our student’s faces when the Principal appears on the screen! Remember, an archive of all announcements can be found HERE. Keep accessing these cool materials and posting videos so we can share and tag everything to #MBflex.
While this may not be the way our 5th graders envisioned leaving Brandon, we want to make sure they have the send off they deserve! On Thursday 5/21, we will be hosting the first ever Morris Brandon Hive Drive! We will publish a detailed route, have a police escort and a car parade that’s sure to be a sight to remember. We will be starting and finishing in a large parking lot, with the final hour dedicated to a special 5th grade drive thru. Our students will be able to see ALL of their teachers and their thoughtful messages and letters to those that influenced their education while at Morris Brandon. While all safety guidelines set forth by the CDC will be followed, we are hoping for this event to be a great culmination to our year with students and teachers coming together in person one last time before summer break. We will encourage all families to join the route somewhere, making sure we are practicing social distancing at all times. More info to follow.
This week we are also celebrating National Teacher Appreciation Week. Each day our admin will be celebrating our staff in unique ways. Thank you to the over 300 teacher appreciation emails, pictures and video shout-outs you emailed to us to feature in the MB Teacher Appreciation video that will premiere on Friday. Remember, our teachers have been hard at work, outside of their virtual classrooms, preparing for our IB reauthorization in the Fall, planning classroom end of year activities, making class lists and of course, planning in their professional learning communities, so we want to acknowledge them this week!
I’m also excited to announce that virtual field day is a go! Coach Wyman and Coach Patton have put together a wonderful plan where they will lead classes through easy to navigate field day activities, in a whole class format beginning next week. Each homeroom will have a dedicated 30-45m “field day” hosted by our PE teachers. Information on materials needed (we are keeping it simple), as well as class times will be shared by your teacher this Friday. Stay tuned!
Lastly, I want to give a plug for my final Principal Coffee Talk of the school year taking place this Friday at 10am. My other talks this year have centered around, testing, assessment, student services and the Sutton experience. This time I hope to have a great meeting focused on virtual learning. My goal is to answer any question parents may have (please keep in mind that I may not have ALL the answers) with a focus around our rising Kindergarten families. I will be discussing virtual learning glows and grows, highlights, summer plans, enrollment, DLI, class lists and what remediation may look like. Please see the link below to submit your questions as well as the unique Zoom link for joining. The meeting will be recorded and shared upon completion.
As we begin to roll into the summer months, I promise I will keep you updated on everything I learn from APS. This will include info about rising KK camp in July, how the start of the school year will look, and what student textbook retrieval and drop off procedures will entail. While we are definitely in a state of limbo, with many unanswered questions, I can assure you that all information will be delivered as I receive it. My focus now is finishing the year strong, and making sure our students are taken care of!
Please give them all a big hug from me!
J