Thorndyke Elementary School

Welcome to Thorndyke!

Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year. This year will begin like no other, as we will engage students in remote learning from home. As Dr. Herndon communicated, our hope is to move into a hybrid model January 2021. Because health and safety are of the utmost importance we will be guided by King Co. Health Department and CDC guidelines. A hybrid model is one where two days a week Group A (half the students) will be learning in the building and Group B (other half of the students) will be learning remotely from home. The groups would alternate so two days a week Group B will be learning in the building while Group A is learning remotely from home.

You can expect to hear from your child’s teacher on or before the first day of school, which is this Wednesday September 2nd. During the first week of school teachers will be focusing on each of the areas below.

Technology Needs Assessment

Teachers will contact you to find out if you need a Chromebook or Hotspot, ensure you have your child’s student ID#, know how to log into the Chromebook, navigate Zoom, Google Classroom, Seesaw, etc. Below is a link to request a Chromebook or Hotspot. You can contact your child’s teacher or the school if you do not know your child’s student ID#. You will need it to request a device.

REQUESTS A CHROMEBOOK OR HOTSPOT

Remote Learning Point Person

Teachers will contact families to determine who is in charge of their students’ learning at home, whether it be a parent, sibling, childcare provider. This is so the teacher has direct communication with the person responsible for helping ensure students are engaging in remote learning.

Community Building

Teachers will engage students in activities that provide an opportunity for students to establish guidelines for remote learning, connect with peers, and engage in other types of social emotional learning.

Daily Schedules

Teachers will be familiarizing students and families with the daily schedule for remote instruction. You can find the weekly schedule for each grade level posted on the Thorndyke website.

Family Support

Teachers will be communicating with families to learn about technology and human survival needs.

Below is a helpful link to a site for elementary families and students. This support page for Elementary families and students will help with the technology related to remote learning. It includes help with your Chromebook, Google Classroom, iReady, setting up translation on You Tube as well as many other helpful links.

ELEMENTARY DISTANCE LEARNING RESOURCES

Kindergarten

If your child is in Kindergarten, the first three days of school will be a time for teachers to focus on completing the family conferences for WaKids Assessment. Your child’s teacher will contact you to set up a time for a remote conference or in person conference following CDC health and safety guidelines.

As a Thorndyke learning community this year, we will focus on enhancing our culturally relevant practices by participating in trainings and listening to each other, our students, and families. We want our students to be problem solvers and global citizens who recognize and appreciate all cultures. Together we will work to make the world a better place for all. I hope this finds you healthy and safe and we look forward to partnering with you in your child’s education.

Constance Thomas, Principal