As you know, distance learning has been extended to the end of the year. I can't imagine the tears and disappointment yesterday - from students and our staff. As much as we'd love to return to "normalcy" and end our year (physically) together, it's not going to happen. I knew this was coming - but it only slightly softened the blow when I heard the official word. I immediately went to our 5th Graders - our teachers who are leaving/retiring - our seniors at OHS. All of the experiences they will miss in May.
However, will they miss experiences? Or will the experiences change? I came across this quote that made me think differently about this experience. This "storm" is making our roots stronger. We will become stronger people after all the learning and new challenges we have encountered. Our "roots" will be deeper, stronger, and ready for new challenges. Our students' roots will be the same.
We've got this. We will continue to support, love, and encourage our students - and each other! We are a McKinley Family and nothing can stop that!
Ramadan:
Don't forget, Ramadan starts today. Ramadan is a month of fasting for Muslims all over the world. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the “five pillars” of Islam, and is performed to learn compassion, self-restraint, and generosity. The Muslim calendar is a lunar based calendar, so the dates of holidays change every year. This year, Ramadan begins on the evening of April 23rd or 24th and ends with Eid al Fatir May 23rd (dates vary depending on location). Here is a good article that answers some basic questions about this important holiday. http://www.mprnews.
Considerations for prayer times throughout the day should be taken into account with our distance learning adventures. If you have a class that has a scheduled time to meet, please make appropriate accommodations for students if they need to be at prayers. Prayer obligations differ by family and age of student, so don't make assumptions based on one or two students. If you click HERE you will be taken to the prayer time calendar website. Use this tool to help know when students and families will most likely be at prayer.
Many of our students and their families celebrate this holiday so it is important to be aware of the traditions and ceremonies that take place during Ramadan.
Student Input:
This week, I came across a few tweets that reminded me of the power of getting student input on how distance learning is going. Both of these below activities were led by a teacher on what students enjoyed about distance learning. One of the teachers decided that any of the things students listed needed to become the changes he was making next year to his classroom. What a powerful mindset shift - thinking of this as a learning experience and a way to grow as an educator!
Building Weekly Newsletter:
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Have a great weekend!
-Justin
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