More Back-to-School Details for the Creek Campus

Virginia Luff
Dear Creek Campus Families,

We welcomed the faculty back to work this week, and it has been wonderful to have the energy of the group together again as we continue our preparations to begin the year. Many guides worked on additional training this summer, and we are excited to share new knowledge and plans for our classes. We can't wait to welcome your child back to school, and we thank you for your commitment and trust. 

As we move into the school year, we look forward to being in communication with greater frequency and detail, including through Parent Pitsos (community meetings). Please mark your calendars for our first virtual Creek Parent Pitso on Thursday, August 20 from 2-3 p.m. (invite to come). I will have these types of meetings at least monthly this fall to provide a place for you to ask your questions and for us to connect as a community.
 
This email is the first part of that communication. Please read on for: 
classrostersClass Rosters
Please see email.
 
StagesStages of Opening and Hybrid Learning on the Creek Campus
Our intention is to have as much face-to-face time for children on campus as safety and good judgement allow. We appreciate that a clear map of how we intend to proceed is helpful for your planning purposes. In partnership with our Health Advisory Group that has begun meeting regularly (Ted will be sending out more information about this group, among others, shortly), we have created the following Stages of Opening chart based on Austin Public Health's COVID-19 Stages to guide our decision-making process on the Creek Campus
 
This is the rubric we will be following for now, though changing conditions could force us to make changes. We will continue to think creatively about how to provide safe on-campus experiences. Our intention is to bring students back to campus as quickly as possible within the limits of our community's safety.
  • We will shift between scenarios at the Creek Campus based on the Austin Public Health (APH) Stages as above.
  • The Augmented Hybrid plan we announced on July 30 is our plan for the first two weeks of school as a phase-in approach that will allow us to enact and refine our safety protocols while allowing in-person connection between students and guides.
  • When APH moves to a lower, less restrictive Stage (for example, from Stage 4 to 3), we'll transition into the new protocol a week from the following Monday (for example if we go into stage 3 on a Wednesday, we will transition a week and half later). This allows us time to prepare the facilities and adjust staffing plans. If APH moves to a higher, more restrictive stage (for example, from Stage 3 to 4), it will begin the following Monday. 
  • Following this Stages of Opening model, we will consider a return to campus before the previously stated date of September 18, if conditions permit. 
  • As you may be aware, APH and Dr. Escott continue to update their recommendations about capacity. We want our community to know that the Health Advisory Group is following those recommendations closely, and they will be considered as we shift between stages.
  • In prior communications and in reference to implementing a flexible calendar, we stated we would be reporting to the community quarterly about any shifts. We determined that that is not frequent enough. So, our first reporting about calendar is planned for late September and designed to address August and September.
schedulesSchedules for the First Two Weeks of School
Your student's specific schedule is coming on August 19 from your classroom guides. For that first week, only children beginning in a new classroom and who are new to Headwaters will visit campus. Also for the first week, children who are scheduled to visit on Monday and Tuesday will visit on Tuesday and Wednesday instead, since there is no school on Monday.  Here are sample schedules for Headwaters@Home for each program and the times of on-campus visits at this link:
  • K-1: 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on-campus visits
  • Early Elementary: 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. on-campus visits
  • Upper Elementary: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on-campus visits
headwatersathomeImproved Distance Education with Headwaters@Home
Guides and administrators have been working hard all summer to adapt program schedules and content, and to create an all-virtual option for those who need it. 

We are building Google Sites for each program in order to make it easier for students to access classroom materials and complete self-directed activities. The Google Sites are like the classroom space, with digital bookshelves of works for students to complete. Google Sites will be used in conjunction with Zoom Meetings to allow for students to work with guides both synchronously and asynchronously. Because Google Sites are public, they will not include any personal or private information or Zoom meeting links. Parents will have access to Zoom links and passwords from the Nest Calendar (which can also be exported to a Google Calendar, iCalendar, or Outlook). All Zoom links will be recurring, so families can bookmark links for easy access. 

Here is an example of a virtual Montessori shelf on the Google Site platform: 


To assist in the implementation of our new program, we have created a new position, Elementary Distance Learning Coordinator - read more on that below in "Staffing Updates."

Some of our families have opted for all distance learning for the time being. If you want this option and have not yet let us know, please complete this Distance Learning Commitment Form by tomorrow, Friday, August 14.
 
EventsBack-to-School Events
This year, Jote and I will record a campus-wide information and protocols video for you to watch as the first part of our back-to-school meeting process. Below is the schedule for classroom meetings. Guides will email you the Zoom links early next week. All events will be hosted on Wednesday, August 19, 2020:
  • K-1 Parent Orientation will be from 5-6 p.m.
  • Early Elementary Orientation will be from 6-7 p.m.
  • Upper Elementary Orientation will be from 7-8 p.m.
PVCIncreased Parent and PVC Involvement
We appreciate your continued willingness to bring feedback, solutions, and constructive criticism to the table, and we want to engage with all parents in more meaningful ways. In addition to ongoing Parent Pitsos, open to all Creek parents, one idea brought forth has been the creation of a new Creek PVC group of Parent Community Leaders (just as we have Community Leader groups for faculty and for middle and high school students) to serve as a sounding board. This working group will bring us ideas and provide feedback on solutions that we are creating as we all continue to adapt to the virus. We anticipate that this group will meet weekly and for the duration of the public health crisis. If you are interested in serving, please fill out this form .
 
staffingupdatesStaffing Updates
Our guides are the backbone of our program, and we are grateful for their dedication and hard work. This summer, they spent countless hours planning, working and taking classes to prepare for this school year. In order to ensure a high-quality distance learning experience for all of our families, Sunni Zuniga is stepping into the newly created role of Creek Campus Distance Learning Coordinator. Sunni has a background in educational technology that will help us to strengthen our Montessori distance learning programs across the campus. Sunni will also continue her work with the Phoenix class, maintaining her connection with the 5th graders and continuing to give lessons and workshops. 

Deborah Way-Salinas has joined Yvonne Solorio in the Doves Classroom and Kaelee Kress has joined Keely Bargnesi and Sunni Zuniga in the Phoenix Classroom.

Our learning specialist Alex Gantley has stepped away until November for maternity leave. We are so excited for Alex and her growing family during this time. 

I hope we answered many of your questions, but I also appreciate that there is more needed, and more to come. Next week, we will send an email with procedures and protocols for visits to campus. This will include drop-off and pick-up procedures, symptom-screening procedures, mask-wearing, and our limited-visitor policy.

All the best,
Virginia

Virginia Luff
Director of Elementary
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