Larchmont Fairfax Weekly Update | 11.7.20
IMPORTANT DATES
November 9 - Monday Morning Video Message | 8 am
November 10 - Grab n Go Meals | 12 - 3 pm | FFX Campus
November 11 - NO SCHOOL | Veteran's Day
November 12 - Prospective Parent Info Session | Signup - www.larchmontcharter.org
November 13 - World Kindness Day
November 23-27 - NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)
You can also subscribe to iCal HERE and have dates imported to your iCal. ALL DATES are available on LARCHMONT SCHOOL ONLINE CALENDAR
FROM YOUR SCHOOL LEADER
Hello Larchmont Fairfax Families,
Hopefully you are all well and enjoying the start of this fall weekend with much cooler weather!
As you know, there was no school this past Wednesday due to a scheduled Professional Development session for over 130 of our LCS TK-12th grade teachers. In a separate, dedicated email I will share with you the results of our Fairfax Fall Parent Satisfaction Survey and trends in strengths and challenges with distance learning, but as we reflect on those results, we wanted to share a bit with you about our takeaways from this PD about how to continue our growth in making distance learning as strong as it can possibly be.
Our presenter, Angela Maiers, spent the day sharing with teachers various methods to achieve a remarkable virtual experience, including the top strategies and techniques that
lead to deeper engagement and increased participation, more meaningful conversations, and the fostering of deeper connections. Ms. Maiers highlights for an enhanced distance learning experience emphasize several factors:
1. Learning how to maximize the value of digital tools: A broader repertoire of digital tools like Zoom Annotation, Whiteboard, Breakout Rooms, and Chat along with the use of other digital platforms (Jamboard, Peardeck, Padlet, Seesaw, Fliprid, document cameras, and others) can significantly enhance participation and engagement with online learning, particularly for younger learners for whom attention and focus can be challenging because of their age.
2. Exploring participation-based activities that make virtual experiences compelling:
Interesting techniques like Sticky Note Voting, Polling, turning cameras On and Off to respond to the teachers questions, and Cue Cards to remind students about
muting or cameras without disrupting the flow of class were just a few of the tips we
took away for keeping kids involved & engaged in this more challenging medium.
3. Discover strategies to encourage connection: It's certainly harder to build connections with students virtually, especially if it's a brand new class not continuing
a loop. Ideas such as "Beautiful Questions" (ways to get beyond "How are you?")
encourage more meaningful and thought provoking discussions by asking students
questions such as - "What made you smile this week?", "What are you most grateful for?", and "What do you still wonder about?" Using the Language of Mattering by telling students what we admire about them, what we value about them, and what we're thankful for about them, we can forge deeper connections. And finally, by giving reflection time to think about what they "Like, Wish and Wonder."
This week, all of our teachers also met with Techabee (the tech firm we've contracted with) to research and learn about new tech options for their classes.
While our satisfaction survey results were very strong as you'll see later this weekend, and our teachers are already utilizing many of these strategies, I am certain that our professional development work and work with the tech firm this week will continue to help us improve! We are so thankful to work with such a talented group of whole-child educators that are thoughtful, curious, dedicated, and caring!
Finally, a HUGE thank you to our Larchmont FFX community for your generosity with our Annual Giving Drive. We're at almost 92% participation for our campus!!!!!!! We can't thank you enough for all of your support!
Please read below for more school updates, and please look out for my dedicated email blast with satisfaction survey results and academic data from the Beginning of Year Data.
Thank you!
Andi, Mersedeh, & the LCS Faculty and Staff
LCS FAIRFAX SITE COUNCIL MEETING
We held our first Site Council meeting this week!
Site Council reps for each grade level will be reaching out to you soon to introduce themselves and share with you the notes from our first meeting. You can also reach out to your grade level Site Council rep with any questions, suggestions or concerns prior to our monthly site council meetings.
SCHOOL SING ANNOUNCEMENT
School Sing will resume November 18th after the Veteran's Day holiday.
We will be trying out School Sing on Zoom instead of Instagram on November 18th!!!!! Join us at Jenny's music link at https://zoom.us/j/5212396436
Meeting ID: 521 239 6436
Passcode: music
Please remind students of expectations for keeping mics muted during the School Sing presentation. Thank you.
LARCHMONT TECH SUPPORT FOR YOUR FAMILY
We have an exciting development on the tech front!
Larchmont has contracted with a tech firm called TechaBee. We have hired this firm to help support families and teachers by answering your tech-related questions, supporting your technology, and managing your devices. TechaBee is here to help with tech issues regarding Chromebooks, Zoom, technology apps, and much more! We have taken this action to be as responsive as we can as a school to your tech needs during this distance learning period.
The help desk is available 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Monday through Friday. During COVID-19 families are also free to email the help desk at any time!
Email all requests to techabee@larchmontcharter.org, CC belinda@techabee.com & terence@larchmontcharter.org
This email address (techabee@larchmontcharter.org) forwards straight to the TechaBee help desk so we can more quickly resolve your tech issue. Please be sure to cc Belinda and Terence so we can keep track of your tech request.
FAIRFAX PHONE LINE
Our Fairfax phone line is currently down, but we're continuing to work with the phone company to resolve the issue. In the meantime, if you need to reach the office during the school day between the hours of 9 am - 3 pm, please call the following number for assistance: 213-505-4711. Thank you, and we apologize for the inconvenience.
OUTREACH & PROSPECTIVE PARENT TOURS
Our Virtual Tours have launched! Please spread the word!
We are looking for families that are willing to help us broaden the circle of Los Angeles families that know about our school. We would like to harness our diverse group of parents and their unique set of connections to help us! We are hosting several prospective parent tours over the next two months and it is a great opportunity for new families to learn about our school. Please feel free to share the flyer below about our upcoming tours with any other parent communities who have children that might want to learn more about our school and our upcoming lottery!
We have online info sessions scheduled from 9-10 am on the following dates:
Nov. 12, 2020
Nov. 19, 2020
Jan. 28, 2021
Please pass along this sign-up link to all interested friends and family!
https://www.larchmontcharter.org/tour
FAIRFAX ATTENDANCE REMINDERS
Teachers will be taking attendance every day in their live Zoom classes. On Wednesdays, the completed independent work will indicate that your child is present asynchronously and your child will be marked present accordingly. If your child is going to be absent (both synchronously and asynchronously) for any reason, please email your teacher and ffxattendance@larchmontcharter.org.
To receive credit for attending asynchronously (not live/zoom) students/parents must both:
Log into Seesaw or view the teacher's assignments via their websites to access and complete assignments AND
Complete the Distance Learning Attendance Certification Form.
Please notify your teacher & email ffxattendance@larchmontcharter.org when you know your student cannot attend synchronously or asynchronously.
Questions about attendance? Email our office manager, Tess, at maritess.trillo@larchmontcharter.org.