Good evening, DGN families.
We hope everyone’s week has gotten off to a great start and that students are excited to meet their teachers and classmates. We know that with the beginning of school, emails with updates and links can get lost in our inboxes; therefore, we have consolidated some new information and some reminders into one email.
Distribution of Materials: Important Details
Below is the schedule for Instructional Materials pick up. Please adhere to your assigned alpha time slot so that we can try to avoid lines. Park in the Main St. lot and have only ONE person walk to the North side of the fieldhouse to pick up your box. We’ll have signage directing you to the fieldhouse doors where you’ll pick up your box and return to your car. Staff will be available to assist, as needed, with a cart. It would be helpful to us if you brought a piece of paper or card with your name on it; we’ll use this to retrieve your box. Please be sure to wear a face mask and maintain safe social distance at all times. We look forward to seeing you!
Thursday 8/20
3:30pm-5:00pm Last name A-B
5:00pm-6:30pm Last name C-D
Friday 8/21
3:30pm-5:00pm Last name E-G
Saturday 8/22
8:00am-9:30am Last name H-J
9:30am-11:00pm Last name K-L
11:00am-12:30pm Last name M
12:30am-2:00pm Last name N-Q
2:00am-3:30pm Last name R-S
3:30am-5:00pm Last name T-Z
Monday 8/24
Makeup 10:00-6:00pm
Tuesday 8/25
Makeup 10:00-6:00pm
Parents as Partners
We know that whether we are on a fully remote schedule or a hybrid schedule, students, teachers, and parents alike are all learning, and it is important that we work together. To that end, here are a few helpful hints and resources for parents.
- In the past, District 99 has partnered with grit2, a non-profit organization committed to providing support for area parents and teens. grit2 will present a live Zoom webinar on Wednesday, August 26 at 10:00 am. “Parenting Strategies for Uncertain Times” will be led by Cathy Adams. More information and the Zoom link can be found on the grit2 webpage.
- One of the key suggestions that we give to students about working online is to find a private and quiet place to engage in the classroom. Besides allowing the students to focus, this helps to provide the same level of privacy for all that we expect in our regular classrooms. To respect the privacy of all students and the teacher, we do not allow visitors into classrooms on our regular school day. In the same way, parents and/or friends should not be visiting the virtual classroom. I ask that you please respect the privacy of all students and teachers in the virtual classroom by assisting your student in designating a private work area.
- On Thursday, August 13th, we began assigning students EdPuzzle videos through their counselors google classrooms, and we wanted to make these videos available to parents as well:
- Click here to watch a video on maintaining emotional wellness;
- Click here to watch a video with success tips for remote learning;
- Click here to watch a video on the safety protocols for the 2020-2021 school year;
- Click here to watch a video on tips and tricks for virtual class meetings;
- Click here to watch a video message about DGN activities;
- Click here to watch a video presentation from the DGN Deans.
Students should complete these EdPuzzles by Friday, August 21st: they contain important information for students and count toward attendance for the week of August 17. If you or your student would like a refresher on the basics of Google, click here to watch a video on accessing a student’s google classroom and their DGN email.
Virtual Resource Rooms
As a reminder, during fully remote learning, students do not attend study halls or lunch periods. In order to provide academic support to students during those times, we are in the process of constructing virtual academic resource rooms in which students can access peer tutors in a variety of subject areas. Students should watch for more information in the next few weeks about either serving as a peer tutor or how to access assistance from a peer tutor.
Hybrid Late Arrival / Early Dismissal
While we are currently fully remote, we want to continue planning for when students return to school on the hybrid model. In order to reduce the number of people in our building at that time, we want to provide an option for students scheduled into a first period study hall or 5th period lunch to arrive late to school on the days that those courses/periods meet. Likewise, we want to provide an option for students scheduled into 4th period lunch or 8th period study hall to leave school early on the days that those courses/periods meet.
If a student would like to arrive late or leave early, the parent or guardian should please fill out this form, and we will adjust the student’s schedule to reflect the change. We are not able to make changes to a student’s schedule specifically for the purpose of placing students into these periods as there is not room in the schedule to make such changes. Students with a late arrival due to 1st period study hall will begin classes 2nd period. It is important to note that we will not be able to provide bus transportation at that time so students must be able to secure a way to school.
For safety and supervision purposes, students may not choose late arrival and spend that time on school grounds. If a student must arrive before 8:55 a.m., they need to remain enrolled in their study hall. Having early dismissal or late arrival to school does not automatically guarantee that students will have parking in the student lot.
We know that we have shared a lot of information with you in this email and in previous communication. As a reminder, we post all messages on our website; click here to visit that site. Thank you, in advance, for reading our messages carefully and for your part in making the 20-21 school year a positive experience for everyone. As always, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions.
Mrs. Janice Schwarze
Principal