The Buzz

The HIVE is buzzing this week! It has been an incredible site to see our classrooms hold students this week. Even more endearing has been watching our virtual students joining the class and participating right along with our in-person students. Therefore, as we are wrapping up our second week of school, I wanted to share how proud I am of our students and staff. Our students have been absolute champions. They have such positive attitudes and have adapted to the changes so well.

The staff has been equally amazing. The teachers, instructional aides, custodians, bus drivers, maintenance and grounds team, food service team, and our office crews have been learning every step of the way and excelling at every turn. The amount of things that have changed for each of them over the last 3 months has been unbelievable, but our team bravely pulls together, learns together, problem-solves together, and keeps moving forward. Their courage and commitment to our students are second to none.

The fall will continue to be fluid. There will be new things and changes all throughout the semester. Some changes will happen because we want to get better at providing instruction in a hybrid format, and some new things will be directives from the law. We appreciate you working with us as we continue to swarm ahead. If you have a question or concern, please contact your child's teacher(s). They will do all they can to help your child be successful, and welcome talking with you at any time. It is going to be a great year!!! #ONEHIVE

The MDE and USDA released exciting news earlier this week. The USDA has temporarily extended the Summer Feeding program through December. The Summer Feeding Program provides free meals for our K-12 students. This means beginning Tuesday, September 8 all students will be able to eat at school for free. As a district, we will distribute breakfast to all of our students each morning in their classrooms. The students can choose to eat when the food is delivered, or if they ate at home, they can keep the food for a snack later in the day. Students will still order or go through the lunch line to receive their lunch.

I am overjoyed that we are able to offer this to our families K-12. I COMMEND our food service team for working hard to make this happen. They have done such amazing work since March and this will be another feather in their cap.

It will be very important for our families to fill out the Family Meal Application at LunchApp.com or complete the paper version and submit it to the office when complete. This application will allow you to potentially continue to receive support with lunches when the Summer Feeding grant does eventually come to an end. 63% of our families have the opportunity to receive support with breakfast and lunch beyond the Summer Feeding Program, but about 20% of families that would be eligible do not fill out the forms.

Our 100% virtual students will receive their meals for free as well. Pick up for our virtual students will remain on Wednesday from 12-1. Those meals must be preordered using the Preorder Form linked to the newsletter. Further, face to face families wishing to have meals for Wednesday, they will need to use the Preorder Form as well. Please encourage and remind your child to pick up and bring the food home.

The hybrid schedule at the high school has a college vibe. In order to remain in compliance with executive order 2020-142, our high school is running a hybrid schedule this year. The hybrid schedule has some important features we want to make sure everyone knows about. First, the students have four classes a semester instead of seven, and they will complete the classes by the end of December. Then in January, they will get another four classes, so they will earn a full seven credits in the year.

Second, our students still have the opportunity to attend the Jackson Area Career Center five days a week (the district is providing the bussing) and participate in dual enrollment and early college.

Third, our teachers are meeting the needs of our students by adjusting their instructional approach. All Concord teaching staff have received training in the blended learning model of instruction, the Modern Classroom. Modern Classroom training helps teachers design learning opportunities that work in any environment. Plus, this model has several other positive aspects. The students are spending more time practicing the content they learn, and they are getting immediate feedback on their work. Algebra II teacher, Jesse Buck, also enjoys that the kids can go back and access the content as many times as they need to master the new material.

The key to success this year will be having open lines of communication between our families and staff. We encourage parents to reach out with questions and concerns at any time. If you are unsure about an assignment or the procedures for virtual Wednesday, please reach out. Our teachers are doing the best they can to make sure your kids are set up for success, but when you live the "Classroom Life", it is hard to know when something needs more direction or clarification. We are a team. When we work together, all students win.

SO what type of questions should you ask?

"Any and all"

What is the best way to get a hold of a teacher?

"Email will be the quickest way to reach a teacher. All emails can be found on our website. To get to the directory - click the site tab, select your school, select the menu tab, and then select the staff link and you will find the staff directory. Please allow 48 hours for a teacher to be able to respond to emails. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday teachers do not have a planning period. All of their planning time is on Wednesday afternoon, so it may take some time to respond. Also, while all teachers want to be available to their students 24 -7, please be mindful that they have families too. I have asked them to set a time where they will stop checking and responding to their emails so they can have a work-life balance."

What if I would like to meet with a teacher?

"Teachers have specific office hours when they will readily available to meet and work with students and their parents. The office hour schedule can be found on our website. To get to a teacher's office hours -- click the site tab, select your school, the HS has their office hours posted on the bulletin board. To find the ES and MS office hours select the menu tab, select parent resources, and then select the Google Classroom and Office Hours directory."

What if I want to monitor my child's progress?

"There are several ways to monitor progress. One, you can ask the teacher to add you as a guardian to your child's google classroom account. You will get the updates weekly on the work your child has and has not completed. The other way is to log into PowerSchool. In PowerSchool, teachers in 3rd grade and above, post grades weekly, so you can monitor work completion."

What if I am overwhelmed and do not even know where to start?

"Please call the office and talk to the building administrator. We are here to walk you through any and all scenarios. Please do not sit at home and struggle. We are here to help, so let us know and we will do what we can to help you get started."

While we are still waiting for word on Volleyball, several of our high school teams have started competitions. The girl's golf team has already had several matches and our girls are making great progress.

The cross country team is also off to a great start. Both teams are working hard and have seen a lot of growth. They have participated in two meets and we have seen our kids get faster at each race. We are looking forward to a great season.

The volleyball, football, and baseball teams are all continuing to practice. Volleyball is still practicing outside and is waiting for word from MHSAA and the governor to see if and when they will be able to compete. Football has been postponed but will practice this fall. Look for more information about this in the coming days.

Social-emotional learning will remain a priority this year at the elementary and middle school via the Yellow Jacket Trait of the Week Project. The project will look different in each building, but the trait and skills discussed will be the same.

Social-emotional learning attends to the very important skills our students need to be top-notch YellowJackets. The skills include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. In the first six weeks of the school year, the students will be focused on learning about self-awareness. Inside the area of self-awareness, the students will focus on being observant. A student that is observant will be able to identify their own emotions as they occur throughout the day. This is the first step in being able to control their own emotions and become problem solvers at the moment.

Throughout the week, both the elementary and middle school students will have challenges and learning opportunities around self-awareness and being observant. The Elementary school will continue to recognize our YellowJackets that demonstrating the self-awareness trait of being observant. You can see this week's YellowJackets of the Week in the announcements below. The middle school will be awarding prizes to the class that best displays what they have learned about being self-aware over the course of six weeks.

9/4 No School Students and Staff- Labor Day Weekend

9/7 No School Students and Staff- Labor Day Weekend

9/ 23 High School SAT (12th graders only)

9/21 HS Picture Day

9/25 HS Picture Day

10/6 ES and MS Picture Day

10/14 HS PSAT (9th-11th graders)

10/16 ES/MS End of the first quarter HS end of the first

10/19 No School for Students

11/4 Parent-Teacher Conferences 1:00-7:00 p.m.

Email: rebecca.hutchinson@concordschools.net
Website: www.concordschools.net
Location: 405 South Main Street, Concord, MI, USA
Phone: (517)524-8850