January 14, 2021-Continuing to Navigate and Motivate

I've promised that my blog will always be a place of realness for teachers who teach middle school singers, and this is my next deposit on that!

Here is where my district is at the moment:

1). We were supposed to start with students Tuesday, January 19.  Our superintendent decided to postpone based on the Covid numbers...highest deaths, highest positivity, highest cases per 100,000 in the history of the pandemic.  I think she is trying to move toward in-person learning option because of parent pressure, but she is watching the science for the sake of the staff and community spread.  

2).  She's gradually transitioning us (teachers/staff) toward getting back to normal, but she is doing it with compassion.  She's offered "hardship waivers" to teachers who need it (childcare issues, health issues, etc.).

3).  Districts around the Atlanta metro who have been "in person/hybrid" are losing teachers to death and the press is on it.  Yesterday, our largest school district went all virtual for next week only.  Private schools are hiding their cases from the press because the parents pay, and they think they should be able to send their kids to the building.  Public school districts in GA are trying the "close this school because we had 20 cases" approach, and it's not working well.  

4).   It appears that my district is leaving the virtual learning schedules (even though we are still virtual) and we are headed toward mimicking the regular daily schedule the students will encounter when they return.  

The situation is obviously dynamic and evolving...thus is life during a pandemic.

What matters to me is the kids.  They are children.  

We have to give them the comfort they deserve by providing structure in a world that isn't structured at the moment.  

So, I sent this to my them today via the Google Classroom because today is Thursday, and I have no idea what Tuesday holds because I don't have the information.

Here is what I wrote:

Hey chorus kids! I am thankful for all of you and how hard you've worked to navigate all of the unpredictability we are all experiencing. And if you haven't done such a great job at navigating it all, do not beat yourself up. We are all doing the best we can. If you aren't happy with how you have done so far, then wake up tomorrow and try to do better. I believe there are some changes coming next week to the schedule which will impact our meeting times. I don't know exactly what they are yet, so I placed a general "zoom" link in everyone's classes to cover my bases since I don't actually know when we will meet next week. You will use that link for now when we find out when we are actually going to meet. Here is what I think/know about next week- Tuesday-I think we will all meet at the times you would normally have my chorus class if you were in school rather than at the times we've been meeting...but I don't know that for sure. Wednesday-I think Wednesdays will stay free of scheduled meetings. I am pretty sure about that. Thursday and Friday-I think we will all meet at the times you would normally have my chorus class if you were in school (similar to Tuesday). But again, I don't know for sure. I will get more information today and tomorrow, but I can tell some of you are stressed and worried about missing something so I wanted to send this out. My advice-Keep up with the HMS Parent Newsletters that the PTSA sends out. That is a reliable source of information. Ask your parents about that or go here: http://www.hendersonms.dekalb.k12.ga.us/ I'll add the link as an attachment as well. I have completed all of my lessons for next week. They are ready for you...I just don't actually know when you'll get to do them. Miss you all...Let's keep hanging in there and meeting the daily challenges.