3/18
that as winter was winding down so nicely with 50 degree days, with annual spring parent/teacher/student conferences scheduled for this week, with Red's Dairy open - that we would all be learning how to have school at home? No one. None of us, at least not until last week. This exponentially more bothersome Series of Unfortunate Events than Lemony Snicket might have dreamed up has sent us searching for the new normal that is right now a lot like Disney's Expedition Everest coaster - which is closed, too. Buckle up!
Since this blog has just got started, having been down the list of essential things to do to get Mahoney From Home up and running for the whole Raiders community, I'm not going to try to detail everything that has led to this point. But for the sake of history, here's the outline:
It wasn’t completely out of the blue or the dark or wherever. During the week ending on Friday the 13th, which also included a full moon btw, there was a lot of talk and some furtive planning going on. Administrators met and teachers started thinking about how they might keep the Ship of Learning sailing along if everyone had to be in their own lifeboats.
Sunday was frenzied. We tuned up every bit of distance learning technology we have ever tried while we read news from other states and countries where schools had already closed.
Monday teachers at Mahoney came to our brick-solid 1922 fortress to put our heads together from the safe distance of six feet. We had our first ever online staff meeting, which was tremendous. Everyone was there, wherever they happened to be, and ideas were shared and plans made to launch our new semester-within-a-semester. Our focus: Community and Communication. We need to first establish the lines of contact through the networks we already use, and do our best to assure students and parents that we are moving ahead together even if somewhat more slowly than usual. No new learning for a bit. Connect and create distributed classrooms giving kids routine and the reassurance that we won’t be giving away precious time just because things need to be different. Make it happen Wednesday morning.
Tuesday we set records for numbers of emails exchanged and hours logged in Google Hangout Meets ironing out all manner of fiddly bits. Things began to really take shape. Screentime headaches popped up, and we all suddenly knew what those folks with headsets doing customer support for everything from the bank to Spectrum to JG Wentworth (“I need my money and I need it now!”) feel like every day. (Note: not a great second job option.)
Today, we got up and went to work in our jammies. (Except Mr. Nee put on a shirt and tie that matched his slippers.) And so far it’s all working, mostly. Busted that recent record for emails (by about 9 am). And saw kids check in through Classroom, email and even Meets. Most gratifying of all were the kind and glowing comments of parents who truly appreciate the hard work we are doing. And tomorrow, we will do it again. Then we will get really got at this as we practice and perfect and persevere and just do what teachers do all the time.
3 days down.
Post by Skoelker
spk
><>
that as winter was winding down so nicely with 50 degree days, with annual spring parent/teacher/student conferences scheduled for this week, with Red's Dairy open - that we would all be learning how to have school at home? No one. None of us, at least not until last week. This exponentially more bothersome Series of Unfortunate Events than Lemony Snicket might have dreamed up has sent us searching for the new normal that is right now a lot like Disney's Expedition Everest coaster - which is closed, too. Buckle up!
Since this blog has just got started, having been down the list of essential things to do to get Mahoney From Home up and running for the whole Raiders community, I'm not going to try to detail everything that has led to this point. But for the sake of history, here's the outline:
- Somewhere in a land far, far away, a pernicious bug appeared and slowly the world started to watch it morph into a rotten house guest for too many people.
- Soon, Covid-19 was knocking on the door in the US and entering unbidden with a very unkind swipe at the great Northwest.
- In no time, everyone figured out that we had better do something besides wring our hands drenched in the last of our sanitizer. So schools in much of Maine followed the lead of those in many other states and called a serious Tom Brady audible: "You go out deep, but you can't come back in for at least 2 weeks." (Then he took his ball and went....somewhere....not good news either.)
- Saturday night, March 14 at 8 pm, Superintendent Kunin, along with a number of other superintendents around the state, announced that we would be closing our school doors until March 26, for a start.
It wasn’t completely out of the blue or the dark or wherever. During the week ending on Friday the 13th, which also included a full moon btw, there was a lot of talk and some furtive planning going on. Administrators met and teachers started thinking about how they might keep the Ship of Learning sailing along if everyone had to be in their own lifeboats.
Sunday was frenzied. We tuned up every bit of distance learning technology we have ever tried while we read news from other states and countries where schools had already closed.
Monday teachers at Mahoney came to our brick-solid 1922 fortress to put our heads together from the safe distance of six feet. We had our first ever online staff meeting, which was tremendous. Everyone was there, wherever they happened to be, and ideas were shared and plans made to launch our new semester-within-a-semester. Our focus: Community and Communication. We need to first establish the lines of contact through the networks we already use, and do our best to assure students and parents that we are moving ahead together even if somewhat more slowly than usual. No new learning for a bit. Connect and create distributed classrooms giving kids routine and the reassurance that we won’t be giving away precious time just because things need to be different. Make it happen Wednesday morning.
Tuesday we set records for numbers of emails exchanged and hours logged in Google Hangout Meets ironing out all manner of fiddly bits. Things began to really take shape. Screentime headaches popped up, and we all suddenly knew what those folks with headsets doing customer support for everything from the bank to Spectrum to JG Wentworth (“I need my money and I need it now!”) feel like every day. (Note: not a great second job option.)
Today, we got up and went to work in our jammies. (Except Mr. Nee put on a shirt and tie that matched his slippers.) And so far it’s all working, mostly. Busted that recent record for emails (by about 9 am). And saw kids check in through Classroom, email and even Meets. Most gratifying of all were the kind and glowing comments of parents who truly appreciate the hard work we are doing. And tomorrow, we will do it again. Then we will get really got at this as we practice and perfect and persevere and just do what teachers do all the time.
3 days down.
Post by Skoelker
spk
><>
RSS Feed