Dear Middle School Families,
It has been a pleasure connecting with your middle schooler. Whether it has been through Fully Virtual, or Hybrid in-person instruction, seeing your children has brought a much-needed sense of normalcy during a very uncertain time. It has always been Hudson Falls Middle School’s commitment to providing enriching, engaging, and purposeful learning for your child. We realize for this to be successful, we must pause at times and gauge the effectiveness of our implementation and adjust where necessary. This is one such opportunity. Therefore, with the partnership and support of our parents, we are looking to make the following programmatic changes that will take effect on Monday, November 2, 2020, in the Middle School.
Instructional Changes for remote/virtual students:
- The Middle School will adopt a student-centered “live” instructional model.
- Remote students and all Virtual Academy students will be required to join live Google meets at the start of each class. Students will be required to follow their daily schedule with the exception of PE, Study Hall, Independent Reading, and Support Period.
- The Google Meet instructional durations may vary from class to class or period to period, depending on the lesson and/or classwork that follows.
- Google meets will allow remote or virtual students to ask questions and receive assistance in real-time as if they were in the class with their teacher.
Attendance Changes for remote/virtual students:
- Daily Attendance is mandatory and will start in Homebase/Advisory at 8:00 am. Teachers will also be taking attendance every period throughout the day with the exception of PE, Study Hall, Independent Reading, and Support Period.
Access Changes for remote/virtual students:
- Links for Google Meets will be found in the banner/heading at the top of the google classroom that corresponds with the teacher/class/subject.
Virtual Friday Changes for all students:
- November 6 will serve as the first abbreviated Friday schedule (attached) where students will then follow their typical 8-period schedule with 15 minute periods for the exception of lunch, study halls, PE, lab, and support periods. Just as Monday through Thursday would look, the structure of that time may vary depending on the lesson or activity. All students are required to attend.
We realize this is a change from our fully asynchronous instruction, but it is our goal to provide more live teacher contact time and a consistent schedule for our students to follow. We are confident that these changes will increase student engagement and allow students to build meaningful connections with their teachers and peers. We have attached below our bell schedule, virtual behavioral expectations and employee contact information to further assist you in this transition. We appreciate your continued support and we encourage you to contact us directly if there are further ways we can support the learning of your child.
Sincerely,
Principal John Godfrey & Assistant Principal William Whitty
Click to access M-TH-Bell-Schedule-by-Team.pdf
Click to access Friday-Bell-Schedule.pdf