Welcome to Home Learning

Dear Parents, Teachers and Students:

Today is a day to have a great day! We launched our Home Learning Plan in order to continue our teaching – learning process online. All our teaching staff have worked hard to provide students and parents with the strategies and technical support they need to have a first innovative Home Learning experience. We know there are many challenges ahead and this is not an easy task for anyone. We want to make sure our families are safe, practice Integral Health at home and profit from the benefits of our Home Learning program, in order to continue fulfilling our Institutional Purpose: Inspiring and Educating Students to  take Charge of their lives with the World in Mind. The world is currently facing a public health challenge and we all must follow the rules that the local and global authorities indicate us, so in a few weeks we can return to our regular lives. Our Highest Priority Goal tells us that Every student feels safe, loved, learns all that is expected, and his / her parents perceive it that way. By remembering these two Guiding Principles, we can remain calm, offer trustworthiness and work hard towards the common goal of continuing our learning process in the safe environment of our homes. Our students and families are our number 1 priority! Therefore, we would like to provide you with some tips that might be helpful:

1. VIDEO CONFERENCING PLATFORM – We selected the use of Zoom. Please make sure that all students and families use the links provided for each session stated on each grade schedule. We recommend the use of earplugs to avoid unnecessary noise. Videos will be used only if recommended by the teacher, otherwise it will take a lot of the bandwidth you have.

2. FIND AN APPROPRIATE PLACE TO STUDY  -  Please make sure that students have a comfortable chair and desk to study and attend daily zoom meetings hopefully in the same place to foster a daily routine. Maintaining a healthy back and posture while working is relevant to the learning process.

3. PROVIDE CALM AND HOPE TO STUDENTS – Help students see that we’re still a class. Yes, we’re in a different space, but there’s still some familiarity to what we’re doing. And then as we move forward, we start thinking about how we leverage those live online times we have together—and what are some meaningful, creative ways that they can create work. Remember that a lot of the work is going to be independent so reassure them that every student will succeed, if we all have a growth mindset, keeping calmness in order to be able to produce what is expected.

4. QUESTIONS TO START ONLINE LEARNING – What’s happening live collectively? What’s the schedule? What technology is going to be used when? Those are only a few of the questions we all ask ourselves. We are all putting the pieces of the puzzle together in place to make sure, learning can happen.

5. STAFF IS INVOLVED TO SOLVE PROBLEMS – Expect connectivity issues, microphone problems, sound interferences, difficulties locating materials, energy can crash in a household, Internet can go down and some students can’t find the meeting easily. Working as a team within the Educational Actors, such as Level Directors, Students, Parents, Family Coordinators / Mentors and Teachers, we can identify the most common tech issues that are going to come up and put those in a table, finding the appropriate solutions for each case. We are here to help and rely on each other to solve problems! Our IT Staff have created a live chat and a support mail to help you, along with all the the teaching staff we mentioned. 

   1. soporte@rochester.edu.co (mail) 

   2. http://rochester.edu.co/soporte (online chat, 7:00 a.m. a 4:00 p.m.)

Along with this message, we are attaching the Parents Home Learning Guidelines, in English and Spanish. We would like to give thanks to all the parents, teachers, administrative staff, students and fellow workers, for providing hope in difficult times, for believing that we are able to do anything if we stay together and for being a lighthouse where we can all reach for the stars. Stay calm. Stay healthy. Eat well with lots of vitamin C. Sleep enough. Stay together. 

You can find more information about our Home Learning plan by clicking in the buttons below or by visiting our web page.

“The biggest thing is to work together—to find communities of educators in spaces where you can collaborate, where you can share resources and share ideas.  My other advice is for everyone please to practice self-forgiveness. You’re going to make mistakes in the platform, things aren’t going to work the right way, you’re going to try to do something that you think will be very fun and interactive, and the kids will get confused. There’s going to be a level of frustration, but as long as the choices we’re making are what’s in the best interests of students and their learning in this time of crisis, then we’re making the right decisions, even if they don’t work out perfectly. Forgive yourself. We’re all learning and we’re all going to get better.”

Some parts of the tips and quote were taken from the article “Transitioning to Online Learning: Pro Tips on What you Need to Knowâ€, written by Mike Flynn, Mathematics Leadership Programs Director in Mount Holyoke College de Massachusetts

With appreciation and gratitude,

Educational Directors Team Executive Committee

Resumen: 

Queridos padres, docentes y estudiantes:

¡Hoy es un dÃ

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