What is Still True?

As we turn the corner towards our third month in remote learning, things are moving in a positive direction. We just finished parent-teacher conferences, and teachers and students have shown flexibility and resilience. Everyone seems to be overcoming challenges and finding positives. Learning is happening. 

While the beginning of this school year has been very different than past years, the pace, tone and energy are somehow still recognizable. This familiar energy sparked some reflection on the nature of teaching and learning. How different is the dynamic in remote learning versus in-person learning? In this online world, what remains? What is still true?

Our teachers shared the following:

 Lisa Byrne, Drama and 8th Grade Advisor

  • Be it a colleague, administrator, or student, there is always someone available who is willing to help you when you are struggling. When I was struggling to take attendance, run the zoom meeting, get out morning announcements, and lead prayer, and 8th grader stepped up right away and started leading prayer for me.
  • We meet the children where they are at - both literally and metaphorically. If we need to spend 20 minutes working on how to use a new app, that's fine. If we need to talk through why they can't record on their iPad because it's too loud in their house, that's fine. If we need to just breathe together, that's fine.
  • Our values remain the foundation of all we do - faith, community, kindness, compassion lead all our lessons. Every Zoom meeting with students and adults begins with prayer, continues with building community in games and grounding activities, and ends with a check-in to make sure we are all doing okay.
  • There will always be distractions - "May I use the bathroom?" still comes up as one of the top asked questions. 
  • Mayfield students still love to be seen and heard. They find ways (videos, photos, comments on posts, emails) to make their opinions known and to show appreciation for the work of their classmates.
  • Parents are still super embarrassing to middle school students, especially when they kiss you in the middle of class!
  • Teachers are cheesier than ever with their bitmojis and morning announcements: "It's an A Day - Let's Make it an A+!" "Happy Bee-Day! Keep it sweet!" "What's a pirate's favorite letter? Not RRRR, it be the C- Day!"
 
Janet Hale, Kindergarten Teacher

  • Morning Meeting: In kindergarten we start out the day looking at the calendar, how many days we've been in school and the weather. Even over Zoom we have found a way to share this information with interactive digital calendars. A lot of learning happens in this simple morning meeting from patterns, place value discussions and skip counting on our 100 chart -- we're counting to our 100th day of school.
  • In addition to our regular curriculum we are providing various projects that we would normally do in class to provide hands-on interaction and extend learning. We've planned out a couple of months in advance and sent home the following: an Apple Craft; Sock Monster; Voting Bracelet -- with many more to come. They are using their hands and being creative even during remote learning.
  • About every 15 minutes or so young children need to get up and move -- this is especially true when learning via Zoom. We've worked to coordinate our curriculum to these brain breaks.  For example, while learning about Cass, our Superkid who loves to cook, we danced to the "Cookie Boogie".
  • Building community is extremely important and this continues to happen. Each child takes turns doing a job for the class such as prayer helper, calendar helper, meteorologist, stretch helper (they are used a lot!) and assistant. We also highlight a child each week as our Superstar, which gives us a chance to get to them and their families better. Lunch Bunch has been a big hit. This allows the kids to take turns eating lunch with the teacher and a few friends. They all have so much to share and this creates an environment for casual conversation and connection.
  • Building independence is huge in kindergarten and is something that we stress even virtually. We encourage the kids to do things for themselves. (And we encourage their parents to let them do things themselves.) The kindergartners have learned that it's okay to make mistakes -- we all do and that's how we grow and learn. One of our classroom rules is that we never give up. We keep trying till we can do it! (Growth Mindset) We always say prepare the child, not the path.
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Mayfield Junior School

Located in Pasadena, California, Mayfield Junior School of the Holy Child Jesus is a K-8 Catholic coeducational private school. Our kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school experience best prepares students for high school education and beyond.