"Being Together"
3/28/2020
This is an unprecedented, emotional time. The majority of humans in the world are having to make decisions they didn’t plan on making. As teachers, we've been asking questions and trying to come up with answers nonstop. However, there is no magical, “one size fits all” answer for distance learning. The most important question we asked ourselves is, “What is best for our students?” Our Middle School has decided that our over-arching priority is to give our community an opportunity to “be together” in a time when isolation is a mandate. Relationships above all. While our current lifestyle is anything but normal, if we can provide students with an opportunity to feel normal a few times a day, that is something special. If we can give parents the assurance that their child’s education is not roaring to a halt, we will do whatever we can. We are shifting our instructional priorities from our typical curriculum to more relevant, real-life skills, in hopes that our students will better understand what is happening around them. Academically, students are putting together personal archives of primary documents they create and collect, depicting the history the are currently living. In science, students are starting to learn about viruses. Recording videos, writing journal entries, and having small-group discussion are ways students are demonstrating their learning. Socially, students are leading games during morning meeting, including their pets and siblings in their video creations, and bonding with their dinosaur friends. Whether we all eat our breakfast “together” or play a round of Jeopardy “together”, students are laughing and smiling and we couldn’t be more proud. The one thing we know for sure is that we have a choice to wake up every day and try to find some glimmers of positivity through this difficult time. Seeing our classroom community “be together” each day is certainly a silver lining. We want to make sure our students feel loved and included. We want to do enough educational activities (which span far beyond continuing with our curriculum) that enrich their lives, stimulate their brains, and occupy some of the down time they may be looking to fill. We are thankful for our students’ and families’ support as we all band “together” during this time in our lives.
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Sarah Mariner
Ms. Mariner earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science from Colorado State University, and was awarded a teaching certificate through the University of Alaska, Southeast. Her varied background includes being an environmental education field instructor in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Baja, Mexico. She also served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. Archives
April 2021
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