Principal Update on Distance Learning, 2020
Dear Parent(s) & Guardian(s),
I am overwhelmed with your positive response, patience, not only with us, but as you work and the dedication and focus you have had on supporting your child’s remote learning. We know this is not an easy time and appreciate your efforts. We are grateful to have such an amazing Stingray family.
Updates & Reminders about Remote Learning:
Students need to login to Edmodo through the Clever portal to find out about daily expectations and assignments. Your child’s teacher(s) will be posting assignments for the day by 8a.m. and your child will be expected to complete daily assignments. Some of these assignments will be physical assignments that they do with paper/pencil, and some will be virtual with online assignments.
Attendance:
When your child submits a daily assignment to show they are "at school" and working, the teacher amends the attendance to show "present" - For middle school, just like at the physical school, attendance is taken each period. If a child is only doing their math assignments as that might be their favorite subject, then they will only be shown as "present" for math class.
Teachers will amend attendance up to one week to accommodate families sharing devices, working in the evenings or weekends to complete assignments because they are with a caregiver without internet during the day.
Grading:
Teachers are finalizing 3rd quarter grades today and tomorrow, and we will have directions on how to view the 3rd quarter report card in Powerschool on Monday 4/13 in the newsletter.
All new assignments are for the 4th quarter. Teachers will assign practice and mastery grades. As we strive to ensure your child is still receiving a robust and rigorous education, I want to remind you that it is important to allow your child to complete assigned work independently. This will allow us to truly assess your student’s level of mastery of each standard.
Instruction: Teachers have been conducting whole class lessons and pre-recorded lessons in which students can self pace. As we move forward we will be incorporating small group zoom sessions for remediation as well as differentiating the assignments to meet your child academically where they are and ensure they continue to grow.
Communication:
Let’s continue to ensure that we are all on the same page as advocates for your child’s academic success by keeping communication strong and positive. Please reach out if your child needs any extra support.
Your child’s teacher(s) will have daily office hours for student questions/assistance and parent conferencing on Zoom. Office hours should be posted in Edmodo.
If you are unable to reach a teacher, or have not received a response within the expected 24 hour turnaround, please call the help desk and we will get the teacher to reach back out to you. The front office phones are routed to help desk lines for you from 8am-3pm.
We hope that everyone stays safe and healthy.
Thank you,
Amanda Sauer
Principal
Help Desk
New Book Club
The book I will launching our new book club with is "I survived the American Revolution, 1776" - I am sending that out, so that if you want to buy it on Amazon or download it for kindle, get it for e-book through public library or find it on Audible you will have time. Mine arrived from Amazon in 2-3 days still and it was $3.90
Book Club through Edmodo with Zoom read alouds, etc. will start Monday the 13th. https://edmo.do/j/pdn4he - Edmodo group code 682amr - Must use student name to join.
The battlefield was soaked in blood. Screams of injured soldiers rang through the air.
Eleven-year-old Nathaniel Knox knelt behind a rock, his gun clutched in his shaking hands. Nate had been heading to New York City to find his father. But now he was trapped in a terrible gunfight between American and British troops. This Revolutionary War had started as a thrilling fight for freedom. The 13 American colonies were breaking apart from England, away from King George III. The colonies would band together to become a brand-new country: The United States of America! But King George was like a snake with America gripped in his fangs - and he didn't want to let go. So now it was war - brutal, bloody war. And America was being crushed by the mighty British army. Thousands of American troops were either dead or dying in filthy British prison ships. General George Washington's army was in tatters. All Nate wanted was to find his father...and to get out of here alive.
Join me (Mrs. Sauer) for book club next week! You don't have to have a copy to join. I can post pages in the group as well only during Covid-19 closure.
Dancing Alone Together
Dance Classes!
Every day there is some kind of dance class all over the world that is being live-streamed while most of America is on lock-down. This is a treasure trove of online classes every day of the week (many of them free) from Beginner Hip Hop to Ballet—more than 13 forms of dance. Platforms range from Instagram Live to Zoom. FMI: dancingalonetogether.org/classes
Art Museums and More - Travel with your kids and explore
These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch (Video)
Art Museum at the Lovre / Paris, France: https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne
Doodling Break
Doodles With Mo:
Sometimes we all just need to take a break and doodle. Kennedy Center's Artist-in-Residence Mo Willems invites us to do just that. Everyday at 10:00 our time students can grab some paper and something to write with and join Mo for a creative adventure in doodling. Here's the link to join the stress-reducing fun of doodling. Even better, click here for one of the archived episodes.
Is your child passionate about animals...
Animal Cameras
Live Cams at the San Diego Zoo
Monterey Bay Aquarium live cams
Georgia Aquarium has Jellyfish, Beluga Whales, and more
Nature Walks - Get Outdoors
The weather is getting nice and although many of our favorite places are temporarily closed, the great outdoors is still open! Consider a family field trip to a local nature trail or even in your neighborhood. It's easy to practice social distancing when outdoors. Here are some resources to help you make the most of your outdoor time.
Public Library E-Books
DCSS Familes - charter school students do have DCPS student numbers. It is the Focus account student number that starts with an "S" - we have begun to assist many of you in getting your Parent Focus Account portals set up. In the meantime, if you need your child's focus ID number, email bmerryman@southsidecharter.org. She can call you on our verified contact numbers and then provide you, your child's Focus/DCPS student number.
See below from Jacksonville Public Library
While you, your kids, your students, your friends are keeping your distance from others, don't forget that all DCPS students have access to tons of digital books, movies, tv shows, graphic novels, comics, videos and more with your Focus - Student ID.
Just use your DCPS Student ID number (without the S) as your library card number and PIN for any Jacksonville Public Library digital service.
If you have any trouble, email us at jplpromotions@coj.net and our team will get you fixed right up.
But I'm not a DCPS student! What can I do? (adult, college, private school, etc.)
The library offers e-cards that can be used to access digital content for anyone who doesn't already have a library card. If you already have a library card from Jacksonville Public Library, you're all set!
If not, go to www.jaxpubliclibrary.org/get-library-card to fill out an e-card application and in less than one business day you'll receive your card number and PIN in your email.
Free Classes for Crafts, Sewing, Cooking and more
I saw cooking, crochet, cake decorating, sketching, watercolor and so much more.
Give kids a project to work on and learn too!
Make your own face masks, or even more to donate!
https://www.mybluprint.com/article/diy-face-masks
If you family makes some to donate, take a picture for us! We love seeing our stingrays give back!
Cards of Encouragement to Virus Heroes!
One of my friends works at Mayo, and this is from the Mayo Clinic Florida CAO who is allowing us to share. If you want to have your kids draw pictures, notes, they will share with our front line medical staff and others. ❤️❤️
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
I just got the ok from our infection experts so am asking that you send in letters of support, resilience and appreciation to our incredible employees who are working to keep our patients and community safe. In the past few weeks, I have witnessed courage, humility and selflessness by many. We should all be incredibly proud of our Mayo Clinic in Florida team!
You can have your kids draw pictures, have your parents write stories, have your neighbor write poems or you can send in any written positive wishes to our teams. We have physicians, nurses, techs, therapists, administrators, APPs, desk staff, assistants, housekeepers, researchers, schedulers, educators, food service workers and many others all here making a difference.
Please address your works of art to my attention:
Christina Zorn
Mayo Clinic Administration
4500 San Pablo Rd
Jacksonville, FL 32224
I will make sure that these notes of support are distributed throughout MCF so our frontline teams know they are supported. Please share and thank you so much in advance for your help!
Please all take care of yourselves, stay home if you can and be kind to each other (even if your place is feeling much smaller than it used to.)
We are all in this together. We are Mayo Clinic.
Hardship Resources
We have moved the long list of resources over to a separate link: https://www.smore.com/71a3z
Food for children/Food pantry resources:
Families needing assistance during school closures with feeding children - see link https://www.feedingnefl.org/feeding-assistance/ for a detailed list of food distribution places for Duval.
Also Monday-Friday, a “grab and go” school lunch and snack will be available for students, with pick up curbside at Duval County traditional public schools from 11am - 1 p.m. *Note DCSS is NOT a distribution site* these would be most neighborhood Duval locations (see update below), but all Duval chidren will be served.
Note - Update on Free Lunch pick up from DCPS Website:
Meal service continues; five sites closed
Executive orders from Mayor Curry and Governor DeSantis still allow for student meal service to be distributed through the school district. However, to conserve resources and manage staff, service at five low-demand Duval County school sites will conclude this week.
Atlantic Coast High School, Palm Avenue Exceptional Student Center, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, and Landon Middle School are all serving fewer than 10 meals each day. Friday, April 3, will be the last day of service at these schools. Families are being informed of nearby alternative sites. Fletcher Middle School was serving just over 10 meals each day, but it is also being closed because of its low demand and proximity to Fletcher High School.
Lunch and breakfast will continue to be served at more than 150 school sites and hundreds of bus stops along neighborhood elementary school bus routes. Dinner is also available at more than 70 sites. Students can get meal service at any remaining location. They do not need to go to their school of attendance. The closure of the five low-demand sites enables staff to support sites with much greater needs.
Pickup procedures the same but students no longer required to be present
Meal are still delivered in curbside, grab-and-go fashion. Meals can be picked up between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at school sites and at specified times on the bus routes. Families pick up all their student meals for the day at the same time. The meals are for students age 5-18. Students are no longer required to be present. However, parents must have proof of age to receive a meal for student who is not present.
Educational Apps/Software utilized at DCSS
We have moved our comprehensive list of programs, apps and softwared used at D.C.S.S. to a seperate page - https://www.smore.com/dxqct
Click to learn more about powerschool, clever, edmodo, school mint, Lexia, and more!
Need Volunteer Hours?
Log your volunteer hours on a computer in your Powerschool account (option does not appear on the App)
1 hr: Leave a positive review on Facebook, Yelp, or Great Schools - let shopping families know what you LOVE about Duval Charter at Southside. This helps our marketing team!
Coke Rewards
Boxtops
SchoolStore.com
Duval Charter School at Southside
Website: https://www.southsidecharter.org/
Location: 8680 A C Skinner Parkway, Jacksonville, FL, USA
Phone: 904-4235348
Facebook: facebook.com/DuvalSouthside
Twitter: @DCSSouthside