To our Plan B teachers and singleton teachers...

 

The title of this post does not refer at all to marital status. 😁 There are teachers on staff who are the only ones who teacher their subject in the school. A lot of planning will be going into what it will look like for our Plan B teachers, specialists, ESL, Special Educators, Intervention, Speech language, OT, PT. We know that having students back in the building is a daunting thought for all of you. We promise that we will do everything in our power to make this as manageable as possible for you. Nothing has been decided about dividing the workload, or what this will look like. Please try not to stress. I have another principal meeting next week and I am collaborating with other principals to provide support and to think through the details of our new reality. I meant what I said in our meeting yesterday. I have absolutely no doubt that we will rise to this occasion and do it better than anyone .

Let's also remember that at the end of all of this are children who cannot wait to see you and to see their friends. That is what makes the hard work worth it. Thank you Mr. Chaplin for letting me come to your "Poetry Tea"

Here is my try at a "cherished item" poem

More Kudos from parents!

"Hi Principal Walker,

I wanted to write and thank you for making our transition to Green Hope a fantastic one! We had been at Highcroft since 2012 and we were nervous with our new school assignment. However, our daughter Annie has been thriving in Mr. Denman’s class! She hated the last online school experience, and now she is learning so much and is totally engaged. He has been phenomenal!!

Good morning!

I hope this email finds you all well. I know this has been an extremely busy and challenging start to this new school year, so I wanted to take the time to thank you and give my boys' teachers a huge kudos to all they are doing! I have thanked them endlessly already, but it dawned on me that you should hear it as well. I'm sure you are dealing with and hearing about many challenges, so I thought a piece of good news might be nice to hear! (I apologize in advance for the super long email!)

My two boys are in 4th grade and 1st this year and are signed up for the Virtual Academy for at least this first semester. My 4th grader, --------has Mrs. Myers. Right off the bat, I was thrilled he was placed in her class! The time I spent working with her in CCR last year allowed me the opportunity to get to know her both personally and as co-workers, so I knew she would be the perfect match for ----.  ----- is my shy kid who takes a while to open up and become comfortable with new people. Virtual learning can be a huge challenge and a somewhat stressful environment for him because he does not always feel comfortable speaking out. The first few weeks of school, he did not want to keep his camera on, and would come to me panicking with questions during class instead of directly asking Mrs. Myers. I quickly realized that he prefers to ask questions privately with a teacher as opposed to saying it in front of his peers, which is usually impossible in a virtual setting. I reached out to Mrs. Myers to let her know what was going on, and she has been working with him since then to make him feel more comfortable, and allowing alternate ways to ask questions. I am SO thankful for her willingness to be sensitive to his shyness. It has made a huge difference in his attitude towards school and learning in general. On top of that, Mrs. Myers sends out a weekly report each weekend with a detailed description of -----'s classwork and independent work, with both corrections and praises. She simply is amazing! 

My 1st grader, ---- has Mrs. Wilson this year. ---- is my chatty, more outgoing kiddo. Mrs. Wilson has been so patient listening to -----s' endless stories and comments! She has the sweetest attitude and somehow always manages to stay positive, upbeat, and enthusiastic all day! I can only imagine how challenging virtual teaching is with 1st graders, but her creativity and willingness to stay positive has truly made it successful for him. Last night, she met with us parents (virtually) for a little bit to answer any questions we might have, which was so thoughtful of her to do. Again, she is amazing! 

With all that being said, I cannot say enough how much all three of us miss being in the school building. It is not the same seeing and learning virtually, but I will be forever thankful for our teachers for making the most during this pandemic. We are so thankful to be a part of GHE! 

Thank you for everything you are doing to help and support our teachers! As a former educator, I know how much your leadership impacts their success. I know you are doing a lot of "behind the scenes" work that we as parents do not always see, but please know we are thankful for you as well! 

I am sending lots of positive vibes your way as students begin transitioning back into the building in the next month.  Have a great rest of the week! 

Have a wonderful weekend!!!