Message to Jr/Sr High Students Tuesday, April 14 |
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Note from Dr. Gandhi - End of School Year
Richland #44 Parents,
This email will (hopefully) be my last major one to you all this school year and during our school closure. You and your students have made it – the school year ends tomorrow! I have had a lot of questions about what the fall will look like, but we just don’t have those answers now. I told our 7th-12th grade students yesterday in our class meetings that I am hopeful we will be back in August, but it will be dependent on how the virus grows or declines this summer. As always, as soon as I have updates, I will send them to you.
Back to School Night: Thursday August 20
1st day of school: Wednesday August 26
Please read below for the final updates this week!
Materials Drop Off
Tomorrow is Materials Drop Off Day from 9am-3pm! Avoid sending anyone who is sick or has been recently exposed to someone else who has been sick. If we do not receive materials back, we may have to charge accounts and will not release report cards. Attached is the materials list and maps.
Procedures
Graduation Livestream
We are hosting our in-person graduation ceremony this Sunday; up to four immediate family members are permitted for each graduate. Senior parents, I will send you an email tomorrow or Saturday with final reminders, including the instructions on handing the diploma.
We welcome our families and public to watch the graduation ceremony. It will be livestreamed on Sunday May 24 at 2pm on Red River Communication’s YouTube channel and Channel 3. Access the YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/KkPtQvhoiUA
PTO Family Support Program over Summer
PTO will be continuing their Family Support Program over summer to provide personal and household items. I will send out a biweekly email throughout summer to sign up, and these items will be provided biweekly. Items will be picked up from the front of the elementary school in Abercrombie (I will send additional details to families who sign up). To sign up for next week’s items, please click here. Pickup will be next Tuesday May 26 from 9am-7pm.
Mental Health Providers
If parents are seeking mental health providers for children/adolescents over the summer, see Mr. Potter’s website for local providers under “Parent Resources.” His website can be access from the R44 district website.
Outstanding Payments
If you’ve received an invoice for any outstanding payments, please submit by May 31.
Thank you for a great school year, despite the unexpected and major challenges! We are so grateful to work with such wonderful kids and parents. Have a fantastic summer!!
Warmly,
Dr. Gandhi
This email will (hopefully) be my last major one to you all this school year and during our school closure. You and your students have made it – the school year ends tomorrow! I have had a lot of questions about what the fall will look like, but we just don’t have those answers now. I told our 7th-12th grade students yesterday in our class meetings that I am hopeful we will be back in August, but it will be dependent on how the virus grows or declines this summer. As always, as soon as I have updates, I will send them to you.
Back to School Night: Thursday August 20
1st day of school: Wednesday August 26
Please read below for the final updates this week!
Materials Drop Off
Tomorrow is Materials Drop Off Day from 9am-3pm! Avoid sending anyone who is sick or has been recently exposed to someone else who has been sick. If we do not receive materials back, we may have to charge accounts and will not release report cards. Attached is the materials list and maps.
Procedures
- For health and safety, no admittance into the school building will be allowed.
- Organize student materials into a bag for each child and label with the child’s name (if you have the Gate City bags from pick-up day, use that bag).
- When you arrive, please follow the traffic flow noted on the attached map.
- When your car comes up to the pickup door, please take the bag(s) out of your vehicle and set on the table outside.
- Return to and wait in your car while collection staff inventories your materials. Once all materials are confirmed, collection staff will give you a “thumbs up,” and you are free to leave. If we are missing something, we will let you know at that time.
Graduation Livestream
We are hosting our in-person graduation ceremony this Sunday; up to four immediate family members are permitted for each graduate. Senior parents, I will send you an email tomorrow or Saturday with final reminders, including the instructions on handing the diploma.
We welcome our families and public to watch the graduation ceremony. It will be livestreamed on Sunday May 24 at 2pm on Red River Communication’s YouTube channel and Channel 3. Access the YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/KkPtQvhoiUA
PTO Family Support Program over Summer
PTO will be continuing their Family Support Program over summer to provide personal and household items. I will send out a biweekly email throughout summer to sign up, and these items will be provided biweekly. Items will be picked up from the front of the elementary school in Abercrombie (I will send additional details to families who sign up). To sign up for next week’s items, please click here. Pickup will be next Tuesday May 26 from 9am-7pm.
Mental Health Providers
If parents are seeking mental health providers for children/adolescents over the summer, see Mr. Potter’s website for local providers under “Parent Resources.” His website can be access from the R44 district website.
Outstanding Payments
If you’ve received an invoice for any outstanding payments, please submit by May 31.
Thank you for a great school year, despite the unexpected and major challenges! We are so grateful to work with such wonderful kids and parents. Have a fantastic summer!!
Warmly,
Dr. Gandhi
Materials Drop Off Information
Happy Monday and last week of school! This week should be pretty light unless your child is missing assignments. There will be final class meetings for elementary students and final class meetings on Wednesday for Jr/Sr HS students. The purpose of today’s email is to review procedures for Materials Drop Off Day this Friday…
This Friday, May 22, is Materials Drop Off Day from 9am-3pm. If you cannot make this time, you can pre-register to drop off on Thursday May 21 from 3-4pm. To pre-register, you must email me today by 1pm. If we do not receive materials back, we may have to charge accounts and will not release report cards.
The materials list sent last week is attached again to this email. The only additional item is milk cartons from food delivery… please bring them back if you have them!
Procedures
I will send out another email later this week with final updates. Please let me know any questions as we wrap up this last week and head into summer!
-Dr. Gandhi
This Friday, May 22, is Materials Drop Off Day from 9am-3pm. If you cannot make this time, you can pre-register to drop off on Thursday May 21 from 3-4pm. To pre-register, you must email me today by 1pm. If we do not receive materials back, we may have to charge accounts and will not release report cards.
The materials list sent last week is attached again to this email. The only additional item is milk cartons from food delivery… please bring them back if you have them!
Procedures
- For health and safety, no admittance into the school building will be allowed.
- Organize student materials into a bag for each child and label with the child’s name (if you have the Gate City bags from pick-up day, use that bag).
- When you arrive, please follow the traffic flow noted on the attached map.
- When your car comes up to the pickup door, please take the bag(s) out of your vehicle and set on the table outside.
- Return to and wait in your car while collection staff inventories your materials. Once all materials are confirmed, collection staff will give you a “thumbs up,” and you are free to leave. If we are missing something, we will let you know at that time.
I will send out another email later this week with final updates. Please let me know any questions as we wrap up this last week and head into summer!
-Dr. Gandhi
May 6, 2020 - UPDATE
Hello Parents,
I hope this email finds you all doing well this week. Please read below for our weekly CONNECT #44 update.
Last Few Weeks of School
Our last day of school is Friday May 22, meaning we have just 2.5 weeks left in our school year. Next week (May 11-15) will be our last week of regular assignments and classes. The final week of school (May 18-22) will be Wrap Up and Review Week. Teachers will communicate expectations to students, but parents and students should not plan on new assignments. If a student has everything turned in by next Friday May 15, there should not be any new work the last week.
The purpose of the Wrap Up and Review Week is to close out the year in a fun, stress-free way while allowing our teaching and administration teams to assist students who need to catch up before the year is over. Elementary classes will have final Zoom meetings; at the Jr/Sr HS, there will be mandatory class Zoom meetings on Wednesday, May 20. Zoom meeting links will be sent later.
Jr/Sr HS Class Meetings Wed. May 20
Materials Drop Off Day
Our Materials Drop Off Day will be Friday, May 22 from 9am-3pm. Just like families picked up materials for CONNECT #44, we need all families to drop the materials back off. This will include electronic devices, textbooks, uniforms, and more. We will send a detailed list soon organized by grade level that will include the specific items we need back. Please mark your calendars for May 22, 9am-3pm!
Graduation and Other Events
On Sunday had a virtual senior class meeting with students and parents. The group decided to keep the original May graduation weekend in order to include every senior. We expect guidelines from the governor’s office later today or this week; as soon as we receive the guidelines, we will communicate out graduation plan. Graduation will take place either May 23 or May 24, depending on the plan we create according to state guidelines.
Senior Recognition Night will be held virtually on Tuesday May 19 at 7pm and will be livestreamed. We will be sending seniors a form to communicate any scholarships they have earned so we can honor them at the event.
The Athletic Banquet will be held virtually on Thursday May 21 at 7pm and will also be livestreamed. More info to come!
A final decision on prom is forthcoming.
Virtual Childcare
Virtual Childcare Support is still available through the last day of school, Friday, May 22nd. See the attachment for more information.
Meals Signup
We are now up to 70 families and 167 children receiving meals each week! Next week will be our last week of food delivery. There will be enough food delivered next week to last through the final day of school, May 22. If you have not signed up and would like to for the final week, please sign up here. You must sign up by Thursday evening to be counted for the next week. If you have been receiving meals, you are automatically on our list and do not need to sign up again.
PTO Support Signup
If you are in need of personal and/or household items next week, sign up for the PTO support program here.
After-School Program (ASP) Update
Elementary parents, we are happy to announce that we have hired an After-School Program facilitator for next year, meaning ASP is a go! We had an internal deadline of the last day of school to hire, so we are very happy to have met this deadline and to continue offering this important service to our families. We will send a signup later in summer for ASP next school year.
Hendrickson Scholarship Due May 15
Senior Parents: the Hendrickson Scholarship application is due Friday May 15! Several seniors have applied already, but many have not. Please check with your senior on this – we hope all 26 apply!
Those are all of our updates for now; thank you for your continued patience and support of our distance learning throughout this 4th quarter. We are ready to end the year strong!
Warmly,
Dr. Gandhi
I hope this email finds you all doing well this week. Please read below for our weekly CONNECT #44 update.
Last Few Weeks of School
Our last day of school is Friday May 22, meaning we have just 2.5 weeks left in our school year. Next week (May 11-15) will be our last week of regular assignments and classes. The final week of school (May 18-22) will be Wrap Up and Review Week. Teachers will communicate expectations to students, but parents and students should not plan on new assignments. If a student has everything turned in by next Friday May 15, there should not be any new work the last week.
The purpose of the Wrap Up and Review Week is to close out the year in a fun, stress-free way while allowing our teaching and administration teams to assist students who need to catch up before the year is over. Elementary classes will have final Zoom meetings; at the Jr/Sr HS, there will be mandatory class Zoom meetings on Wednesday, May 20. Zoom meeting links will be sent later.
Jr/Sr HS Class Meetings Wed. May 20
- 9am – 7th grade
- 10am – 8th grade
- 11am – 9th grade
- 1pm – 10th grade
- 2pm – 11th grade
- 3pm – 12th grade
Materials Drop Off Day
Our Materials Drop Off Day will be Friday, May 22 from 9am-3pm. Just like families picked up materials for CONNECT #44, we need all families to drop the materials back off. This will include electronic devices, textbooks, uniforms, and more. We will send a detailed list soon organized by grade level that will include the specific items we need back. Please mark your calendars for May 22, 9am-3pm!
Graduation and Other Events
On Sunday had a virtual senior class meeting with students and parents. The group decided to keep the original May graduation weekend in order to include every senior. We expect guidelines from the governor’s office later today or this week; as soon as we receive the guidelines, we will communicate out graduation plan. Graduation will take place either May 23 or May 24, depending on the plan we create according to state guidelines.
Senior Recognition Night will be held virtually on Tuesday May 19 at 7pm and will be livestreamed. We will be sending seniors a form to communicate any scholarships they have earned so we can honor them at the event.
The Athletic Banquet will be held virtually on Thursday May 21 at 7pm and will also be livestreamed. More info to come!
A final decision on prom is forthcoming.
Virtual Childcare
Virtual Childcare Support is still available through the last day of school, Friday, May 22nd. See the attachment for more information.
Meals Signup
We are now up to 70 families and 167 children receiving meals each week! Next week will be our last week of food delivery. There will be enough food delivered next week to last through the final day of school, May 22. If you have not signed up and would like to for the final week, please sign up here. You must sign up by Thursday evening to be counted for the next week. If you have been receiving meals, you are automatically on our list and do not need to sign up again.
PTO Support Signup
If you are in need of personal and/or household items next week, sign up for the PTO support program here.
After-School Program (ASP) Update
Elementary parents, we are happy to announce that we have hired an After-School Program facilitator for next year, meaning ASP is a go! We had an internal deadline of the last day of school to hire, so we are very happy to have met this deadline and to continue offering this important service to our families. We will send a signup later in summer for ASP next school year.
Hendrickson Scholarship Due May 15
Senior Parents: the Hendrickson Scholarship application is due Friday May 15! Several seniors have applied already, but many have not. Please check with your senior on this – we hope all 26 apply!
Those are all of our updates for now; thank you for your continued patience and support of our distance learning throughout this 4th quarter. We are ready to end the year strong!
Warmly,
Dr. Gandhi
April 29, 2020 - Update
Hello Parents,
It’s hard to believe that this Friday will be May and we have been distance learning since March 26, five weeks ago. Starting next week, we have just 3 weeks of school left (our last day of school is May 22). While the governor is looking to reopen some businesses soon, there has been no additional update on schools reopening. It’s possible that he will give schools an option to reopen with strict guidelines. With just three weeks left, we will have to consider the impact of a possible reopening and the pros/cons. While we want to give students closure to the school year, we must prioritize their safety… as soon as I have updated information for you on this, I will communicate it.
Graduation
Thank you to senior parents who have given feedback on possible alternate graduation dates. We hope to have a clear date for graduation soon but have not given up total hope on our May 24 date yet. We know this is very challenging for parents to try and plan, so hopefully we will have further guidance from the governor very soon to be able to make a final decision. We do plan to honor the original May 24 date in some way. I have spoken with many other superintendents, and most (if not all) school districts are in the same boat regarding making a decision on graduation.
Hendrickson Scholarship
Hopefully you saw the great news last week that all of our Richland #44 graduates (starting with the 2019 class) will be eligible for a $10,000 scholarship thanks to Darrel Hendrickson’s generous donation. What a gift! This is an incredible opportunity for our graduating Colts for many years to come.
CONNECT #44 Survey
Thank you to the over 100 parents who responded to our first survey about CONNECT #44... we want to gauge how things have been going since then. Please click here to take the survey. Thank you in advance for providing us your feedback!
Meals Update
We saw a big increase in our meal distribution last week, which is fantastic! This week, our kitchen team delivered weekly meals to 62 families representing 145 children. Due to an increase in numbers, Monday deliveries will now be moved to Wednesdays; Tuesday deliveries will stay on Tuesdays.
If you have not signed up yet and would like to, please click here. Please sign up by end of day tomorrow, Thursday, to make it into next week’s delivery.
PTO Family Support Program
If you need assistance with essential personal and household items, please click here. Deliveries will be made next week.
Coffee with Kids
Join us Friday, May 1st from 9:00 – 9:30 on Zoom for the final Coffee with Kids event of the 2019-20 school year! Mrs. North Dakota International, Melanie Iverson, will be joining us to read a book to everyone. A Zoom Link will be sent to your email Friday morning, and a flyer is attached. We hope to see everyone there!
Elementary Spirit Week
Richland Elementary will have a Virtual Spirit Week May 4-8; see the attachment for a description of each day. We would like to see pictures of your child(ren) participating. Email pictures to the classroom teacher or [email protected].
It’s hard to believe that this Friday will be May and we have been distance learning since March 26, five weeks ago. Starting next week, we have just 3 weeks of school left (our last day of school is May 22). While the governor is looking to reopen some businesses soon, there has been no additional update on schools reopening. It’s possible that he will give schools an option to reopen with strict guidelines. With just three weeks left, we will have to consider the impact of a possible reopening and the pros/cons. While we want to give students closure to the school year, we must prioritize their safety… as soon as I have updated information for you on this, I will communicate it.
Graduation
Thank you to senior parents who have given feedback on possible alternate graduation dates. We hope to have a clear date for graduation soon but have not given up total hope on our May 24 date yet. We know this is very challenging for parents to try and plan, so hopefully we will have further guidance from the governor very soon to be able to make a final decision. We do plan to honor the original May 24 date in some way. I have spoken with many other superintendents, and most (if not all) school districts are in the same boat regarding making a decision on graduation.
Hendrickson Scholarship
Hopefully you saw the great news last week that all of our Richland #44 graduates (starting with the 2019 class) will be eligible for a $10,000 scholarship thanks to Darrel Hendrickson’s generous donation. What a gift! This is an incredible opportunity for our graduating Colts for many years to come.
CONNECT #44 Survey
Thank you to the over 100 parents who responded to our first survey about CONNECT #44... we want to gauge how things have been going since then. Please click here to take the survey. Thank you in advance for providing us your feedback!
Meals Update
We saw a big increase in our meal distribution last week, which is fantastic! This week, our kitchen team delivered weekly meals to 62 families representing 145 children. Due to an increase in numbers, Monday deliveries will now be moved to Wednesdays; Tuesday deliveries will stay on Tuesdays.
If you have not signed up yet and would like to, please click here. Please sign up by end of day tomorrow, Thursday, to make it into next week’s delivery.
PTO Family Support Program
If you need assistance with essential personal and household items, please click here. Deliveries will be made next week.
Coffee with Kids
Join us Friday, May 1st from 9:00 – 9:30 on Zoom for the final Coffee with Kids event of the 2019-20 school year! Mrs. North Dakota International, Melanie Iverson, will be joining us to read a book to everyone. A Zoom Link will be sent to your email Friday morning, and a flyer is attached. We hope to see everyone there!
Elementary Spirit Week
Richland Elementary will have a Virtual Spirit Week May 4-8; see the attachment for a description of each day. We would like to see pictures of your child(ren) participating. Email pictures to the classroom teacher or [email protected].
Wednesday, April 22 - Update |
Good Morning Richland #44 Parents,
Happy Wednesday! I hope CONNECT #44 is getting smoother each week for you and your kiddos. We are calling homes each week to check in (unless you’ve requested that we do not continue calling), so if there is anything you need please communicate that during the call. You can also email our administrative team or counselors if there is something your kids or household needs. We have a little over 4 weeks of school left and while we are holding onto hope that we may be back for part of that time, we are also preparing for the possibility of finishing the school year virtually. Next week I plan to send another survey to you all to gauge how CONNECT #44 is going. Below are a few updates for the week.
Virtual Childcare Support Program
To help support those of you who are at home with elementary aged children, we are announcing the Virtual Childcare Support program, a pilot project coordinated by our school counselors, Mr. Potter and Ms. Baker, and our high school Family and Consumer Science teacher, Mrs. Braunberger.
Four high school students have volunteered to host virtual sessions with children to help with homework, engage in activities, play games, or just talk. We know your schedules have been turned upside down, so even a 30-minute respite can make a big difference in a parent or caregiver's day. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to any of the VCS supervisors.
Grades for Jr/Sr HS Students
Grades are posted for Jr/Sr HS students in PowerSchool by Mondays at 12pm. Parents, if you are signed up for weekly emails from PowerSchool, you are probably receiving them Monday mornings. Please check back later that day since grades may not be updated by then and we want to ensure you are seeing accurate grades.
We are using Google Classroom to deliver instruction in grades 3-12 and many parents signed up last week for Parent Updates through Google Classroom. This is a great resource and I encourage all parents to sign up! It gives a summary of assignments each day or week, depending on your preference. Please email Sheila Gunness to sign up: [email protected].
Meals
We now have over 80 students receiving meals each Tuesday – this is great! We are able to add more and would love if all of our families took advantage of these meals (with kids home all day we know the grocery bill is getting bigger!). Please sign up here by Thursday evening if you would like to be added to our delivery next week. Once you sign up, you are on our list moving forward unless you request to be taken off. As a reminder, this is not income-based; all families are eligible.
PTO Family Support Program
To sign up for personal and/or household items from PTO, please sign up here by 12pm tomorrow. Delivery will be next Tuesday.
Teacher Video
Our teachers are missing the students of Richland #44. Be sure to check out this video for short messages from the teachers to their students.
Have a great week!
Warmly,
Dr. Gandhi
Happy Wednesday! I hope CONNECT #44 is getting smoother each week for you and your kiddos. We are calling homes each week to check in (unless you’ve requested that we do not continue calling), so if there is anything you need please communicate that during the call. You can also email our administrative team or counselors if there is something your kids or household needs. We have a little over 4 weeks of school left and while we are holding onto hope that we may be back for part of that time, we are also preparing for the possibility of finishing the school year virtually. Next week I plan to send another survey to you all to gauge how CONNECT #44 is going. Below are a few updates for the week.
Virtual Childcare Support Program
To help support those of you who are at home with elementary aged children, we are announcing the Virtual Childcare Support program, a pilot project coordinated by our school counselors, Mr. Potter and Ms. Baker, and our high school Family and Consumer Science teacher, Mrs. Braunberger.
Four high school students have volunteered to host virtual sessions with children to help with homework, engage in activities, play games, or just talk. We know your schedules have been turned upside down, so even a 30-minute respite can make a big difference in a parent or caregiver's day. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to any of the VCS supervisors.
Grades for Jr/Sr HS Students
Grades are posted for Jr/Sr HS students in PowerSchool by Mondays at 12pm. Parents, if you are signed up for weekly emails from PowerSchool, you are probably receiving them Monday mornings. Please check back later that day since grades may not be updated by then and we want to ensure you are seeing accurate grades.
We are using Google Classroom to deliver instruction in grades 3-12 and many parents signed up last week for Parent Updates through Google Classroom. This is a great resource and I encourage all parents to sign up! It gives a summary of assignments each day or week, depending on your preference. Please email Sheila Gunness to sign up: [email protected].
Meals
We now have over 80 students receiving meals each Tuesday – this is great! We are able to add more and would love if all of our families took advantage of these meals (with kids home all day we know the grocery bill is getting bigger!). Please sign up here by Thursday evening if you would like to be added to our delivery next week. Once you sign up, you are on our list moving forward unless you request to be taken off. As a reminder, this is not income-based; all families are eligible.
PTO Family Support Program
To sign up for personal and/or household items from PTO, please sign up here by 12pm tomorrow. Delivery will be next Tuesday.
Teacher Video
Our teachers are missing the students of Richland #44. Be sure to check out this video for short messages from the teachers to their students.
Have a great week!
Warmly,
Dr. Gandhi
Wednesday, April 15th UPDATE
Good Afternoon Richland #44 Families,
I hope you had a nice Easter and a long holiday weekend!
We are in week 4 of CONNECT #44, which is so hard to believe. None of us expected us to be here this year, so I will again thank you for your flexibility in moving to this new model. Every child, parent, family and staff member are handling this crisis differently, and that is ok. Please continue to communicate with us what we can do to make this process smoother for you and your children.
Below are a few updates for you this week…
Parent Access to Google Classroom
Parents of students in grades 3-12 can choose to sign up for daily or weekly email summaries for your child’s Google Classroom. In the email it will give you a summary of the assignments your child had and if they have been completed. If you would like to take advantage of this option, please email Sheila Gunness at [email protected] After signing up you will be sent an email from a classroom teacher inviting you to join your child’s/children’s Google classroom(s). Any further questions – email [email protected].
Grades and Attendance
This is a friendly reminder that attendance is being input into PowerSchool each week. Grades for Jr/Sr HS students are input into PowerSchool each Monday. Please review those and let teachers or me know if there are any questions. Thankfully our kids are still getting credit for distance learning, and these grades count! We want to help them be successful even in a different teaching and learning model, so please reach out if there are specific challenges we can help with.
Meals Update
We have more and more families signing up for meals each week – this is great! If you would like to take part of this option, please sign up here. It is not based on free/reduced lunch status and we are glad to see so many families taking advantage of this. Once you sign up, you will be on our recurring weekly list and do not need to sign up again.
PTO Supplies
Sign up here for personal and household supplies for PTO next week. They will be delivered next Tuesday.
Have a great rest of the week; we miss you, Colts!
Warmly,
Dr. Gandhi
I hope you had a nice Easter and a long holiday weekend!
We are in week 4 of CONNECT #44, which is so hard to believe. None of us expected us to be here this year, so I will again thank you for your flexibility in moving to this new model. Every child, parent, family and staff member are handling this crisis differently, and that is ok. Please continue to communicate with us what we can do to make this process smoother for you and your children.
Below are a few updates for you this week…
Parent Access to Google Classroom
Parents of students in grades 3-12 can choose to sign up for daily or weekly email summaries for your child’s Google Classroom. In the email it will give you a summary of the assignments your child had and if they have been completed. If you would like to take advantage of this option, please email Sheila Gunness at [email protected] After signing up you will be sent an email from a classroom teacher inviting you to join your child’s/children’s Google classroom(s). Any further questions – email [email protected].
Grades and Attendance
This is a friendly reminder that attendance is being input into PowerSchool each week. Grades for Jr/Sr HS students are input into PowerSchool each Monday. Please review those and let teachers or me know if there are any questions. Thankfully our kids are still getting credit for distance learning, and these grades count! We want to help them be successful even in a different teaching and learning model, so please reach out if there are specific challenges we can help with.
Meals Update
We have more and more families signing up for meals each week – this is great! If you would like to take part of this option, please sign up here. It is not based on free/reduced lunch status and we are glad to see so many families taking advantage of this. Once you sign up, you will be on our recurring weekly list and do not need to sign up again.
PTO Supplies
Sign up here for personal and household supplies for PTO next week. They will be delivered next Tuesday.
Have a great rest of the week; we miss you, Colts!
Warmly,
Dr. Gandhi
Thursday - April 9, 2020 - Update
Hello Colt Country,
Please read below for updates going into the weekend. I hope you have a wonderful long weekend and Easter with your families!
Schedule for Next Week
We are still on vacation Monday, so classes will resume Tuesday. We will follow our regular CONNECT #44 academic schedule that indicates…
Food Service Program Update
We will continue delivering meals through on food services on Tuesdays. Several more families signed up last week; once signed up, you stay on our list! If you would like to have meals delivered for your students, please sign up here! All students qualify, regardless of Free & Reduced status.
Thank you to our elementary food service employees, Karen Krump and Faylin Myhre for working during the school closure to prepare these meals for delivery, and to Lenny Krueger for also delivering.
Graduation and Prom Update
I was able to virtually meet with seniors yesterday about graduation. We hope that we can be back in time to have our traditional graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 24. However, if we cannot it is important that we have our seniors’ input into an alternate plan. They agreed yesterday that they would prefer to wait and have a traditional graduation ceremony later in the summer rather than a virtual ceremony. If that is what we end up doing, we would plan to do something small virtually on May 24 also to recognize the original date. Then we would plan a full ceremony later in summer.
Our original prom date of April 18 is being postponed, but not cancelled. Our juniors are planning to host prom when we are able to return, whether in mid or late May, or even in summer.
Other planned events are also to be determined; we have to wait until we know when we can return to reschedule or cancel other events.
Yearbook
It’s Yearbook time! There is nothing like getting your copy of the Richland #44 Yearbook in the fall and looking back at all the fun times from the previous year! Our schooling might look different for a portion of this year, but we promise to provide a book FULL of memories and events documenting this unique experience. Don’t let your student miss out on sharing and reliving the big events that will make this year special! NEW EVEN LOWER PRICE - $20/ea Deadline to order: May 8, 2020. To order, go to: https://forms.gle/BzmZ11icxxUFHzK56
Message from ND Department of Public Instruction
Finding services in your area can be challenging. As we work together as a state to slow the spread of COVID-19, we know that social distancing is an important strategy. Social distancing can also be confusing, isolating, and frightening for some. We do not have to go through this alone.
FirstLink can provide assistance finding food, paying housing bills, accessing free childcare, or other essential services for our students and families during this critical time. They also have a database of community resources that is an excellent resource.
Ndkids.org has developed a statewide map of services to help you find services in your area. Check out their website and view the service map here.
We are very fortunate in North Dakota to have other support agencies and they are included below:
-Dr. Gandhi
Please read below for updates going into the weekend. I hope you have a wonderful long weekend and Easter with your families!
Schedule for Next Week
We are still on vacation Monday, so classes will resume Tuesday. We will follow our regular CONNECT #44 academic schedule that indicates…
- Elementary: new content for science/social studies and music only
- Jr/Sr HS: No new content on Tuesdays; students should be working on assignments due next week and should log into office hours.
Food Service Program Update
We will continue delivering meals through on food services on Tuesdays. Several more families signed up last week; once signed up, you stay on our list! If you would like to have meals delivered for your students, please sign up here! All students qualify, regardless of Free & Reduced status.
Thank you to our elementary food service employees, Karen Krump and Faylin Myhre for working during the school closure to prepare these meals for delivery, and to Lenny Krueger for also delivering.
Graduation and Prom Update
I was able to virtually meet with seniors yesterday about graduation. We hope that we can be back in time to have our traditional graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 24. However, if we cannot it is important that we have our seniors’ input into an alternate plan. They agreed yesterday that they would prefer to wait and have a traditional graduation ceremony later in the summer rather than a virtual ceremony. If that is what we end up doing, we would plan to do something small virtually on May 24 also to recognize the original date. Then we would plan a full ceremony later in summer.
Our original prom date of April 18 is being postponed, but not cancelled. Our juniors are planning to host prom when we are able to return, whether in mid or late May, or even in summer.
Other planned events are also to be determined; we have to wait until we know when we can return to reschedule or cancel other events.
Yearbook
It’s Yearbook time! There is nothing like getting your copy of the Richland #44 Yearbook in the fall and looking back at all the fun times from the previous year! Our schooling might look different for a portion of this year, but we promise to provide a book FULL of memories and events documenting this unique experience. Don’t let your student miss out on sharing and reliving the big events that will make this year special! NEW EVEN LOWER PRICE - $20/ea Deadline to order: May 8, 2020. To order, go to: https://forms.gle/BzmZ11icxxUFHzK56
Message from ND Department of Public Instruction
Finding services in your area can be challenging. As we work together as a state to slow the spread of COVID-19, we know that social distancing is an important strategy. Social distancing can also be confusing, isolating, and frightening for some. We do not have to go through this alone.
FirstLink can provide assistance finding food, paying housing bills, accessing free childcare, or other essential services for our students and families during this critical time. They also have a database of community resources that is an excellent resource.
Ndkids.org has developed a statewide map of services to help you find services in your area. Check out their website and view the service map here.
We are very fortunate in North Dakota to have other support agencies and they are included below:
- Community Action Agencies. Each of the seven CAAs across ND offer a wide variety of programs to serve those in need. Eligibility is based on state and/or federal income guidelines which vary amongst programs. Contact the CAA in your region for additional information.
- ND Department of Human Services. DHS administers public assistance programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Childcare Assistance, Medicaid, and Healthy Steps Children's Health Insurance. The application guide book can be found here. Eligibility guidelines vary amongst programs. Contact DHS directly for additional information.
- Food Pantries in North Dakota. Visit this comprehensive list to access information by county.
-Dr. Gandhi
Tuesday-April 7, 2020 - Information
Good Morning Parents,
I hope you are doing well today and enjoying the nicer weather outside! Below are some updates for you for this week…
Parent Survey
Thank you to those who responded to the parent survey on Friday; we had 95 responses representing 174 students. In response to the question, “How is the workload?” you responded this way:
Attendance and Grades
Teachers are taking attendance every Monday for the previous week in PowerSchool; this is for grades K-12. Attendance is based on work completion. If you see an absence, that means your child has not turned in work for that class. If you see a tardy, that means your child turned in the work late. If your child has all “Present”, then he/she has turned in all work for that week. Right now, PowerSchool should reflect attendance for last week (March 30 – April 3).
Jr/Sr HS grades will be input into PowerSchool every Monday. Yesterday was the first day that teachers input grades; please check PowerSchool to view student grades. If you cannot get into PowerSchool, please let Kendra Dockter know ([email protected]). Teachers are working hard to reach out to students with missing assignments or low grades. If you have concerns about any grades, please contact the teacher directly.
Response Time
During the school day, teachers will respond to student questions within a few hours, if not less. However, if the question is sent outside of a typical school day (i.e. in the evening or over the weekend), the response may not be as quick. We want our teachers to find balance between their work and personal lives also. If you have concerns about response time, please let me know.
PTO Family Support Program this Week
If you are in need of any personal or household supplies this week, please fill out this survey by tomorrow at 12pm. Deliveries are made the following Tuesday.
As a reminder, we only have class through tomorrow, April 8; Thursday, Friday and the following Monday are regularly scheduled vacation. We will follow that plan and resume class next Tuesday, April 14.
I hope you can enjoy a long holiday weekend with your families; as always, please reach out if you need anything.
Warmly,
Dr. Gandhi
I hope you are doing well today and enjoying the nicer weather outside! Below are some updates for you for this week…
Parent Survey
Thank you to those who responded to the parent survey on Friday; we had 95 responses representing 174 students. In response to the question, “How is the workload?” you responded this way:
- About right: 84%
- Too much: 13%
- Too little: 3%
Attendance and Grades
Teachers are taking attendance every Monday for the previous week in PowerSchool; this is for grades K-12. Attendance is based on work completion. If you see an absence, that means your child has not turned in work for that class. If you see a tardy, that means your child turned in the work late. If your child has all “Present”, then he/she has turned in all work for that week. Right now, PowerSchool should reflect attendance for last week (March 30 – April 3).
Jr/Sr HS grades will be input into PowerSchool every Monday. Yesterday was the first day that teachers input grades; please check PowerSchool to view student grades. If you cannot get into PowerSchool, please let Kendra Dockter know ([email protected]). Teachers are working hard to reach out to students with missing assignments or low grades. If you have concerns about any grades, please contact the teacher directly.
Response Time
During the school day, teachers will respond to student questions within a few hours, if not less. However, if the question is sent outside of a typical school day (i.e. in the evening or over the weekend), the response may not be as quick. We want our teachers to find balance between their work and personal lives also. If you have concerns about response time, please let me know.
PTO Family Support Program this Week
If you are in need of any personal or household supplies this week, please fill out this survey by tomorrow at 12pm. Deliveries are made the following Tuesday.
As a reminder, we only have class through tomorrow, April 8; Thursday, Friday and the following Monday are regularly scheduled vacation. We will follow that plan and resume class next Tuesday, April 14.
I hope you can enjoy a long holiday weekend with your families; as always, please reach out if you need anything.
Warmly,
Dr. Gandhi
Friday - April 3, 2020 Information
Happy Friday Colt Country! Please read below for updates for the end of this week.
Parent Survey - Parents, we have completed the first full week of CONNECT #44 and want to hear from you! Please fill out this anonymous survey by this Sunday at 6pm to give us feedback on how CONNECT #44 has been going. We will use this information to guide student workload.
Food Service Program Update - The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a federally funded, state-administered program. SFSP reimburses providers who serve free healthy meals to children and teens in low-income areas during the summer months when school is not in session.
Due to COVID-19, all schools now qualify for this program. Richland #44 School District has submitted the application and is offering this program to families. Breakfast and lunch meals will be provided Monday-Friday through the remainder of the school year or until school is back in session, whichever comes first. These meals are provided FREE of charge. All students in our school district qualify, regardless of Free & Reduced status.
In order to participate, you must sign up to receive the meals. Meals will be prepared for the week and delivered each Tuesday. (Please note: guidelines and details of delivery will be shared once you sign up.) You can sign up at any time and will continue receiving meals until the program ends or we hear from you to cease delivery.
Sign up here! If you have already signed up and have been receiving meals, you do not need to sign up again.
Thank you to our elementary food service employees, Karen Krump and Faylin Myhre for working during the school closure to prepare these meals for delivery.
Calendar Reminder - Since CONNECT #44 has been approved by the governor and state superintendent, we are following our calendar as usual. The days we were out of school were waived by the governor, so we do not have to make them up. You can access the calendar on our website here; next week would have been the start of a break, so please note that there will not be class or assignments posted next Thursday, Friday, and following Monday (April 9, 10, and 13).
Colt Connection - April’s edition of Colt Connection is out! We will not be sending home this month due to COVID-19, but you can read it here.
Grounds/Playground Use - All of our school buildings and grounds are closed; this includes fields and playgrounds. Please do not permit your children to use any of the facilities; they are closed for safety purposes due to COVID-19.
Virtual Childcare Program - Parents and caregivers may be feeling overwhelmed and just need a short break. The FCCLA and Career Development CTE programs will be piloting the Richland #44 Virtual Childcare Support (VCS) program very soon. Mr. Potter, Mrs. Braunberger, and Ms. Baker will be supervising and supporting select volunteer students in grades 9-12 who will be available meet virtually with elementary students for online activities and mentoring. More information will be coming next week, please stay tuned!
Have a wonderful weekend, and here’s to hoping our winter storms are over!
-Dr. Gandhi
Parent Survey - Parents, we have completed the first full week of CONNECT #44 and want to hear from you! Please fill out this anonymous survey by this Sunday at 6pm to give us feedback on how CONNECT #44 has been going. We will use this information to guide student workload.
Food Service Program Update - The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a federally funded, state-administered program. SFSP reimburses providers who serve free healthy meals to children and teens in low-income areas during the summer months when school is not in session.
Due to COVID-19, all schools now qualify for this program. Richland #44 School District has submitted the application and is offering this program to families. Breakfast and lunch meals will be provided Monday-Friday through the remainder of the school year or until school is back in session, whichever comes first. These meals are provided FREE of charge. All students in our school district qualify, regardless of Free & Reduced status.
In order to participate, you must sign up to receive the meals. Meals will be prepared for the week and delivered each Tuesday. (Please note: guidelines and details of delivery will be shared once you sign up.) You can sign up at any time and will continue receiving meals until the program ends or we hear from you to cease delivery.
Sign up here! If you have already signed up and have been receiving meals, you do not need to sign up again.
Thank you to our elementary food service employees, Karen Krump and Faylin Myhre for working during the school closure to prepare these meals for delivery.
Calendar Reminder - Since CONNECT #44 has been approved by the governor and state superintendent, we are following our calendar as usual. The days we were out of school were waived by the governor, so we do not have to make them up. You can access the calendar on our website here; next week would have been the start of a break, so please note that there will not be class or assignments posted next Thursday, Friday, and following Monday (April 9, 10, and 13).
Colt Connection - April’s edition of Colt Connection is out! We will not be sending home this month due to COVID-19, but you can read it here.
Grounds/Playground Use - All of our school buildings and grounds are closed; this includes fields and playgrounds. Please do not permit your children to use any of the facilities; they are closed for safety purposes due to COVID-19.
Virtual Childcare Program - Parents and caregivers may be feeling overwhelmed and just need a short break. The FCCLA and Career Development CTE programs will be piloting the Richland #44 Virtual Childcare Support (VCS) program very soon. Mr. Potter, Mrs. Braunberger, and Ms. Baker will be supervising and supporting select volunteer students in grades 9-12 who will be available meet virtually with elementary students for online activities and mentoring. More information will be coming next week, please stay tuned!
Have a wonderful weekend, and here’s to hoping our winter storms are over!
-Dr. Gandhi
March 30 - Update from Dr. Gandhi
Hello Parents,
It was great to see so many of you and the students during the parade on Friday! Thank you to those who came out and waved us on.
We are happy to announce that Superintendent Baesler and Governor Burgum have reviewed and approved the District Distance Learning Plan for Richland #44 School District called CONNECT #44. This means that CONNECT #44 classes will count as school days. Click here to review our plan.
There will be weekly announcement videos posted for each building by Mondays at 10am on the CONNECT #44 information website; this week’s announcements are posted now. Students will also have them posted in their teachers’ sites.
Sheila has been following up with students who have not logged onto classes or are having issues getting in. We think we have identified all of those, but please submit a help desk ticket if your child is having technology challenges.
We have learned that some students are not consistently checking their email; parents, please encourage your children to check their Richland email accounts throughout the day as this is where updates are coming.
That’s it for today! We hope you all are doing well.
Sincerely,
Dr. Gandhi
It was great to see so many of you and the students during the parade on Friday! Thank you to those who came out and waved us on.
We are happy to announce that Superintendent Baesler and Governor Burgum have reviewed and approved the District Distance Learning Plan for Richland #44 School District called CONNECT #44. This means that CONNECT #44 classes will count as school days. Click here to review our plan.
There will be weekly announcement videos posted for each building by Mondays at 10am on the CONNECT #44 information website; this week’s announcements are posted now. Students will also have them posted in their teachers’ sites.
Sheila has been following up with students who have not logged onto classes or are having issues getting in. We think we have identified all of those, but please submit a help desk ticket if your child is having technology challenges.
We have learned that some students are not consistently checking their email; parents, please encourage your children to check their Richland email accounts throughout the day as this is where updates are coming.
That’s it for today! We hope you all are doing well.
Sincerely,
Dr. Gandhi
Richland #44 Distance Learning Plan APPROVED - CONNECT #44
Governor Burgum has directed school districts to develop plans for age-appropriate distance learning plans based on guidance from the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Superintendent Baesler and Governor Burgum have reviewed and approved the District Distance Learning Plan for Richland #44 School District called CONNECT #44. This means that CONNECT #44 classes will count as school days. Click here to review our plan.
Superintendent Baesler and Governor Burgum have reviewed and approved the District Distance Learning Plan for Richland #44 School District called CONNECT #44. This means that CONNECT #44 classes will count as school days. Click here to review our plan.
Friday, March 27 - Updates
Parent Email 3/27/2020
Hello Families,
We hope this email finds you well and CONNECT #44 going smoothly for you. We’ve worked out some minor issues over the past day and a half and are glad to hear that students are able to log in and get started.
Starting next week, I will not plan to send a daily email since we will not have as many updates. I will send updates as they come in.
Updates for Today
Hello Families,
We hope this email finds you well and CONNECT #44 going smoothly for you. We’ve worked out some minor issues over the past day and a half and are glad to hear that students are able to log in and get started.
Starting next week, I will not plan to send a daily email since we will not have as many updates. I will send updates as they come in.
Updates for Today
- We now have a tech support spot on our Richland #44 homepage; if a question or concerns arises about anything technology-related, please click that link and fill out the information. Our technologist Sheila Gunness will respond to the questions/concerns each weekday.
Parents, thank you for being our partners now more than ever. Please let us know if there are areas in which we can support you with your kids through CONNECT #44 or additional resources we can provide.
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Dr. Gandhi
- Principal Hofmann and I will each be creating a weekly Announcements Video that will be posted Monday mornings for each building. It will be posted on our CONNECT #44 Information Page as well as in teachers’ online classrooms. For elementary classes, each teacher will post it in either SeeSaw or Google Classrooms. For Jr/Sr HS teachers, Mr. Timm will post it in his classes and Mr. Neagbour will post it for his 9th grade class.
- Report cards for 3rd quarter will be mailed home next week for students in grades K-12.
- Our staff car parade will be out in the community this afternoon! See yesterday’s email or Facebook with the parade route.
Parents, thank you for being our partners now more than ever. Please let us know if there are areas in which we can support you with your kids through CONNECT #44 or additional resources we can provide.
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Dr. Gandhi
CONNECT #44 PARADE - Friday, March 27
Good Morning Richland #44 Families,
CONNECT #44 classes started today! We hope it is going smoothly so far for your kiddos. We’ve had a couple of calls today as we continue to work out minor tech items. Please continue to reach out to us and to the teachers as questions arise. We will soon have a Help Desk Ticket link on our website that students or parents can fill out when technology issues arise. Our technologist Sheila Gunness will be receiving those Help Desk tickets and responding to those tech issues.
Our counselors will be working to connect with kids during this time away from our school buildings. Please visit our CONNECT #44 Learning Portal to click on and view their schedules. Ms. Baker’s schedule is posted directly on the link listed and Mr. Potter’s schedule is on his website that is linked to the Learning Portal.
Starting next week, families and patrons can still call our district office in Colfax; our buildings will be closed (please don’t come in), but we will have office staff answering phones Monday – Thursday from 10am – 2pm. This is in Colfax only (not Abercrombie) at (701) 372-3713.
Now for the fun news! To kick off CONNECT #44, our staff will be hosting a car parade through the community tomorrow afternoon! Please see the information in the image below and the attached parade routes. We look forward to “seeing” many of you tomorrow!
Have a great day!
-Dr. Gandhi
CONNECT #44 classes started today! We hope it is going smoothly so far for your kiddos. We’ve had a couple of calls today as we continue to work out minor tech items. Please continue to reach out to us and to the teachers as questions arise. We will soon have a Help Desk Ticket link on our website that students or parents can fill out when technology issues arise. Our technologist Sheila Gunness will be receiving those Help Desk tickets and responding to those tech issues.
Our counselors will be working to connect with kids during this time away from our school buildings. Please visit our CONNECT #44 Learning Portal to click on and view their schedules. Ms. Baker’s schedule is posted directly on the link listed and Mr. Potter’s schedule is on his website that is linked to the Learning Portal.
Starting next week, families and patrons can still call our district office in Colfax; our buildings will be closed (please don’t come in), but we will have office staff answering phones Monday – Thursday from 10am – 2pm. This is in Colfax only (not Abercrombie) at (701) 372-3713.
Now for the fun news! To kick off CONNECT #44, our staff will be hosting a car parade through the community tomorrow afternoon! Please see the information in the image below and the attached parade routes. We look forward to “seeing” many of you tomorrow!
Have a great day!
-Dr. Gandhi
Jr/Sr High Parents - March 25
Jr/Sr HS Parents,
I've been getting 2 specific questions from several families so wanted to share those with you...
Structure of the Day / Lesson Order
We've been getting several questions around the requirements students have to structure their day, specifically, "Do I have to complete my work / watch lessons in a specific order? Do I have to follow my daily schedule starting with 1st period?" The answer is no; students can choose the order in which they complete lessons and the time of day as long as they meet the assignment deadlines. However, it is highly recommended that students create and follow a schedule. Kids needs structure! Therefore, I think it's a great idea to follow the order of their classes, or to figure out another schedule that works for them. Bottom line: no, they do not have to complete work in a specific order.
I've summarized this information in a video which make be easier for kids to understand: watch it here and pass along to your child(ren).
NDCDE Courses
We have many upperclassmen enrolled in online NDCDE courses; most of these courses require passwords for exams. Parents, NDCDE is permitting us to make you one of the test administrators, meaning you will enter the password for your child. This means your child hands you the laptop and you enter the password... your child should never know the password. Please email me directly/reply to this email to get your child's password.
That's it for now - keep the questions coming!
-Dr. Gandhi
[email protected]
Wednesday, March 25 - Update
Good Morning Families,
Thank you for picking up your children’s supplies yesterday… we had 100% of families pick up materials! Today is our CONNECT #44 rollout day and we hope it is going smoothly for you. We have received a few questions at the high school that we have been able to answer… please call us with any questions! Our team will be here until 4pm to help troubleshoot. "School" (specifically 4th quarter) starts tomorrow with classes on CONNECT #44.
Attendance
During an extended closure, student engagement in learning opportunities is critical to a student’s continued academic growth. Any student demonstrating prolonged absence or disengagement is a cause for concern. Counselors and administrators will be monitoring student attendance closely to make contact with students and parents directly if continued absences arise.
Attendance will be taken every Monday by teachers in PowerSchool for the previous week. Attendance will be dependent on students’ completion of work. If there was not an assignment for each day the previous week, then the attendance will default to “present.”
Parents: the benefit of this model is if you see an absence in PowerSchool, that indicates that your child has a missing assignment.
Grading
Teachers are finalizing grades for 3rd quarter this week; if students had missing work or had to make up a test or quiz, they will not be penalized. We will mail home 3rd quarter report cards next week.
All instruction and grading through CONNECT #44 will be for 4th quarter. We will implement the same grading scale and timeline that we do during the traditional classroom setting. K-3 teachers give students feedback throughout the quarter and upload grades at the end of the quarter. Teachers for grades 4-6 upload grades to PowerSchool as they are graded. Teachers at the Jr/Sr High School will upload grades for the previous week by Mondays at 12pm.
CONNECT #44 Yearbook Feature
The 19-20 Richland #44 Yearbook will feature CONNECT #44 and we need your help!!! We would LOVE to see your photos from CONNECT #44 and the “at home learning” experience. You can share on Facebook at@richland44yearbook, tag us on Instagram at #richland44yearbook, or email [email protected] to compile. Thank you!
Distance Learning Plan and CONNECT #44 Begins
Governor Burgum is requiring every school district to submit a distance learning plan to the Department of Public Instruction by this Friday. The plan for Richland #44 School District was submitted this morning. We do not yet know what the turnaround time for feedback is. Approval of the plan will allow us to utilize our CONNECT #44 instructional days (starting tomorrow) as school days. Therefore, my understanding is that even if our plan is not approved for another week, if approved then our instructional days will count starting tomorrow.
Students will have assignments in their teachers’ online classrooms starting tomorrow. Please have students pay careful attention to the deadlines.
Parents, I know this will be quite the transition for you and you may be feeling anxious and/or frustrated at points. That is completely normal! Please let us know if we can help in any way.
We are excited to “start school” with you all tomorrow! Let’s Go Colts!!!
Sincerely,
Dr. Britney Gandhi
Thank you for picking up your children’s supplies yesterday… we had 100% of families pick up materials! Today is our CONNECT #44 rollout day and we hope it is going smoothly for you. We have received a few questions at the high school that we have been able to answer… please call us with any questions! Our team will be here until 4pm to help troubleshoot. "School" (specifically 4th quarter) starts tomorrow with classes on CONNECT #44.
Attendance
During an extended closure, student engagement in learning opportunities is critical to a student’s continued academic growth. Any student demonstrating prolonged absence or disengagement is a cause for concern. Counselors and administrators will be monitoring student attendance closely to make contact with students and parents directly if continued absences arise.
Attendance will be taken every Monday by teachers in PowerSchool for the previous week. Attendance will be dependent on students’ completion of work. If there was not an assignment for each day the previous week, then the attendance will default to “present.”
- If a student turns work in on time, they will be counted present.
- If a student turns work in late, they will be counted as a tardy.
- If a student does not turn in an assignment, they will be considered absent.
Parents: the benefit of this model is if you see an absence in PowerSchool, that indicates that your child has a missing assignment.
Grading
Teachers are finalizing grades for 3rd quarter this week; if students had missing work or had to make up a test or quiz, they will not be penalized. We will mail home 3rd quarter report cards next week.
All instruction and grading through CONNECT #44 will be for 4th quarter. We will implement the same grading scale and timeline that we do during the traditional classroom setting. K-3 teachers give students feedback throughout the quarter and upload grades at the end of the quarter. Teachers for grades 4-6 upload grades to PowerSchool as they are graded. Teachers at the Jr/Sr High School will upload grades for the previous week by Mondays at 12pm.
CONNECT #44 Yearbook Feature
The 19-20 Richland #44 Yearbook will feature CONNECT #44 and we need your help!!! We would LOVE to see your photos from CONNECT #44 and the “at home learning” experience. You can share on Facebook at@richland44yearbook, tag us on Instagram at #richland44yearbook, or email [email protected] to compile. Thank you!
Distance Learning Plan and CONNECT #44 Begins
Governor Burgum is requiring every school district to submit a distance learning plan to the Department of Public Instruction by this Friday. The plan for Richland #44 School District was submitted this morning. We do not yet know what the turnaround time for feedback is. Approval of the plan will allow us to utilize our CONNECT #44 instructional days (starting tomorrow) as school days. Therefore, my understanding is that even if our plan is not approved for another week, if approved then our instructional days will count starting tomorrow.
Students will have assignments in their teachers’ online classrooms starting tomorrow. Please have students pay careful attention to the deadlines.
Parents, I know this will be quite the transition for you and you may be feeling anxious and/or frustrated at points. That is completely normal! Please let us know if we can help in any way.
We are excited to “start school” with you all tomorrow! Let’s Go Colts!!!
Sincerely,
Dr. Britney Gandhi
|
Tuesday, March 24 - Update
Good Morning Families,
Our Student Materials Pickup Day is well under way – it is great seeing many of you, even from the distance of your vehicles! We will continue student materials pickup until 7pm today.
Please read below for several updates.
Lunch Supplies for Families
If you already signed up for lunches, you will stay on our list and continue to receive the food by delivery every Tuesday. If you have not signed up and would like to, please fill out this survey.
PTO Supplies for Families
PTO will continue to provide personal and household supplies for families each week. If you need supplies for your family this week, please fill out this survey by tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12pm.
Several people have asked how they can help donate to the PTO Family Support efforts. A Donorbox account has been set up for those who want to help out. To make a donation please click here.
CONNECT #44 Rollout Day Tomorrow
Tomorrow is the day to test out the CONNECT #44 technology at home! By tomorrow morning there will be a link on our homepage to direct students and parents to our CONNECT #44 Learning Portal. The assignments and lessons posted tomorrow are not real assignments… they are solely for the purpose of trying out the technology. Please follow teacher instructions on their sites.
If you cannot access or having any trouble at all (uploading, viewing videos, etc.) our Tech Team will be at the Jr/Sr HS from 8am-4pm to troubleshoot. Please call us at (701) 372-3713 to let us help you!
CONNECT #44 Classes Begin Thursday
Assignments will be posted by 8am Thursday for this week. Because it’s a short week, we will have assignments posted on Thursday (normally most are posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays). The office hours for grades 5-12 will start next week.
Neighborhood Watch
Mr. Potter has organized a Community Neighborhood Watch for our school buildings and grounds during this closure. School closures may present an “opportunity” for some people with ill intent to target school property and buildings. We are asking that you, our patrons in Colfax and Abercrombie, be especially attentive to suspicious people, vehicles, and activity around each school campus.
We have requested extra patrols by deputies from the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and appreciate the demands on their staff that may limit their availability. If everyone does their part and stays observant, we will ensure the safety and security of our schools. If you see something, PLEASE say something!
Here are the points of contact if you see or hear of any suspicious activity in or around the school buildings or property. Please do not jeopardize your safety by confronting anyone directly.
Our Student Materials Pickup Day is well under way – it is great seeing many of you, even from the distance of your vehicles! We will continue student materials pickup until 7pm today.
Please read below for several updates.
Lunch Supplies for Families
If you already signed up for lunches, you will stay on our list and continue to receive the food by delivery every Tuesday. If you have not signed up and would like to, please fill out this survey.
PTO Supplies for Families
PTO will continue to provide personal and household supplies for families each week. If you need supplies for your family this week, please fill out this survey by tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12pm.
Several people have asked how they can help donate to the PTO Family Support efforts. A Donorbox account has been set up for those who want to help out. To make a donation please click here.
CONNECT #44 Rollout Day Tomorrow
Tomorrow is the day to test out the CONNECT #44 technology at home! By tomorrow morning there will be a link on our homepage to direct students and parents to our CONNECT #44 Learning Portal. The assignments and lessons posted tomorrow are not real assignments… they are solely for the purpose of trying out the technology. Please follow teacher instructions on their sites.
If you cannot access or having any trouble at all (uploading, viewing videos, etc.) our Tech Team will be at the Jr/Sr HS from 8am-4pm to troubleshoot. Please call us at (701) 372-3713 to let us help you!
CONNECT #44 Classes Begin Thursday
Assignments will be posted by 8am Thursday for this week. Because it’s a short week, we will have assignments posted on Thursday (normally most are posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays). The office hours for grades 5-12 will start next week.
Neighborhood Watch
Mr. Potter has organized a Community Neighborhood Watch for our school buildings and grounds during this closure. School closures may present an “opportunity” for some people with ill intent to target school property and buildings. We are asking that you, our patrons in Colfax and Abercrombie, be especially attentive to suspicious people, vehicles, and activity around each school campus.
We have requested extra patrols by deputies from the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and appreciate the demands on their staff that may limit their availability. If everyone does their part and stays observant, we will ensure the safety and security of our schools. If you see something, PLEASE say something!
Here are the points of contact if you see or hear of any suspicious activity in or around the school buildings or property. Please do not jeopardize your safety by confronting anyone directly.
CONNECT #44 - Learning Portal
March 20, 2020
Richland #44 Families,This email will include pertinent information for our transition to alternative learning per our governor’s directive. There is a lot of information here, so please read it thoroughly! The information is also shared in this video if you prefer to watch.
CONNECT #44
Starting next week, Richland #44 School District buildings will remain closed, but we will transition to CONNECT #44, our alternative learning model. Most learning will occur online, but some grade levels may have printed materials. This means that school will be in session; student participation is required. Attached to this email is our plan for Connect #44. Please review it so you know what each child can expect throughout the week, as well as the tools we are using to deliver content.
Parents, we understand that many of you are still working or working from home, and this is a huge adjustment for you. I ask of you that if you can, please assist your children to the degree needed with accessing CONNECT #44 and their learning. If you need help with this, please let us know so we can help your family. We recognize this is an enormous transition for everyone in Richland #44.
Schedule Next Week
Week of March 23, 2020
Tuesday – Student Materials Pickup Day
While we hope to be back in school soon, we are preparing to be gone for an extended period of time. Therefore, we will be sending home almost all student belongings.
Wednesday – CONNECT #44 Rollout Day
We understand that transitioning to CONNECT #44 will be new to everyone, and we want to make sure families have a chance to practice before we start. Therefore, on Wednesday we are asking that every child log into the system and practice the assignments that will be uploaded. This will mean…
Thursday – CONNECT #44 Classes Begin
Classes will begin Thursday; lessons will be posted by 8am and students have all day to work on them. Office hours and read alouds will not start until the week of March 30, but teachers will be available via email and Remind to answer questions and go live with students if needed. Additionally, we will have staff in our Jr/Sr HS to continue to answer phones and be a resource if students are having challenges with the system.
Summary
We will send more information at the beginning of next week, but we hope this gives you some guidance now on what to expect as we transition to CONNECT #44. We are committed to providing excellent instruction from wherever we are, and we are so thankful to our incredible staff for getting ready to teach using CONNECT #44. Please let us know how we can help, and we will continue to be in touch.
Sincerely,
Dr. Britney Gandhi
Richland #44 Families,This email will include pertinent information for our transition to alternative learning per our governor’s directive. There is a lot of information here, so please read it thoroughly! The information is also shared in this video if you prefer to watch.
CONNECT #44
Starting next week, Richland #44 School District buildings will remain closed, but we will transition to CONNECT #44, our alternative learning model. Most learning will occur online, but some grade levels may have printed materials. This means that school will be in session; student participation is required. Attached to this email is our plan for Connect #44. Please review it so you know what each child can expect throughout the week, as well as the tools we are using to deliver content.
Parents, we understand that many of you are still working or working from home, and this is a huge adjustment for you. I ask of you that if you can, please assist your children to the degree needed with accessing CONNECT #44 and their learning. If you need help with this, please let us know so we can help your family. We recognize this is an enormous transition for everyone in Richland #44.
Schedule Next Week
Week of March 23, 2020
- Tuesday – Student Materials Pickup Day
- Wednesday – CONNECT #44 Rollout Day
- Thursday – CONNECT #44 classes begin
Tuesday – Student Materials Pickup Day
While we hope to be back in school soon, we are preparing to be gone for an extended period of time. Therefore, we will be sending home almost all student belongings.
- Materials
- We will be sending home all student materials that are needed for CONNECT #44.
- This includes basic supplies, technology, textbooks, packets, etc.
- We will also be sending home all student items from cubbies and lockers.
- Food perishables from cubbies and lockers will be thrown away.
- Jr/Sr HS students and parents: please fill out this survey to help us get your items from the locker rooms and ag room.
- Process
- Families will drive up to each building and stop in their vehicles; you will not have to exit your vehicle.
- School staff will deliver bags for each child to the vehicle.
- The times we will be open are:
- 8am-11am
- 12pm-3pm
- 4pm-7pm
Wednesday – CONNECT #44 Rollout Day
We understand that transitioning to CONNECT #44 will be new to everyone, and we want to make sure families have a chance to practice before we start. Therefore, on Wednesday we are asking that every child log into the system and practice the assignments that will be uploaded. This will mean…
- Going into the system
- Watching videos
- Opening assignments
- Uploading an assignment
Thursday – CONNECT #44 Classes Begin
Classes will begin Thursday; lessons will be posted by 8am and students have all day to work on them. Office hours and read alouds will not start until the week of March 30, but teachers will be available via email and Remind to answer questions and go live with students if needed. Additionally, we will have staff in our Jr/Sr HS to continue to answer phones and be a resource if students are having challenges with the system.
Summary
We will send more information at the beginning of next week, but we hope this gives you some guidance now on what to expect as we transition to CONNECT #44. We are committed to providing excellent instruction from wherever we are, and we are so thankful to our incredible staff for getting ready to teach using CONNECT #44. Please let us know how we can help, and we will continue to be in touch.
Sincerely,
Dr. Britney Gandhi