PS/MS 71 Rose E. Scala School

Please encourage your children to take ownership of their learning and to be active participants in the classroom, both in person and remotely. Check in with your child daily and communicate

regularly with your child’s classroom teacher to ensure that he or she is up to date with assignments and is meeting grade specific expectations for each class. One of our goals is to empower all students to be leaders in their own learning and to encourage students to become independent thinkers, problem-solvers, and life-long learners. We ask parents to partner with us and promote a sense of independence at home during synchronous learning time for our blended and remote learning students.

Here are some suggestions and ways to promote independent work habits:

• Be Prepared: Set up a work space in the home that is quiet and away from distractions. Students should be sitting at a desk, table, with a chair.

• Charge device daily and have supplies ready.
• Use schedules and checklists to stay focused and to keep track of Google Meet times.
• Encourage your child to get dressed like they would if they were back at school.
• When students are on their live Google Meet, it is important for them to have their CAMERAS ON. Teachers need to see your child’s face in an effort to connect with students, get to know them, and to help build a positive teacher to student relationship. Please remind your children that they are expected to leave their cameras on throughout the lesson. When students turn their cameras off, it becomes difficult for teachers to truly know if your child is fully engaged and attending to the lesson. • We respectfully ask, that parents refrain from joining the Google Meet sessions with their children and engaging in conversation with the classroom teacher during instructional time. This is not the time or place to address the teacher about your child’s individual needs or progress. You may set up a private, virtual conference with your child’s teacher during office hours to discuss questions or any concerns you may have.
• When students are back at school in the classroom, they will not have their parents sitting next to them, participating in the lesson, and coaching them with answers. Our goal is to empower your children to think critically, ask questions, and to show what they know without the support and assistance from the parent. This will allow teachers to assess each individual child and provide them with the most appropriate instruction for their needs

The third key to your child’s success is PERSERVERANCE. The ability and willingness to take on a challenging task and keep trying without giving up is so important. We want to encourage all of our students to do their very best, even when things are challenging. Having the ability to persevere is how they will accomplish great things! Our most successful students continue to work hard when things are challenging. We hope you will encourage and inspire this at home.