Sunday, March 29, 2020
Dear PVA Families,
It was a very busy digital week for our Palm Valley Academy staff as we trained on new learning platforms, created lesson plans in a new way, and worked tirelessly to feel comfortable with the new ways we are communicating and collaborating with each other and with our students. I could not be prouder of our teams as they jumped in, took risks, stepped outside their comfort zones, overcame challenges and obstacles, and persevered in order to provide our students a new classroom environment that will support unique opportunities for student engagement, individual and family flexibility, and continued curriculum and instruction.
We understand that many of you have multiple children in multiple grade levels and possibly at multiple schools. As we all are being asked to work remotely, the majority of our parents are being asked to not only make a huge transition for themselves, but also for their children. The volume of communication may be overwhelming for the first few weeks. I would ask for your continued patience and grace as we all work through the right amount of communication, the right place/platform to provide the information and how often to communicate.
Please save this message and refer to it as needed. I would ask that you carve out time to sit down, read this document in its entirety, review the tips, links, and attachments and possibly print or save the information that is pertinent for your household.
At PVA, we feel that it is extremely important to maintain consistency during this tumultuous time of change. One of the ways we are planning to accomplish this is by asking our PVA families to join us in the Pledge of Allegiance, Moment of Silence, and Positive Daily Quote as you begin each day. For this week, we will provide a direct link as well as posting our PVA Morning Message on individual classroom Schoology pages. Please utilize the link below or Schoology to access our daily morning message. We hope your family will enjoy seeing and hearing from a different member of our PVA staff each day. PVA Morning Message (https://vimeo.com/channels/pvanews)
If you have not already done so, please watch Superintendent Forson’s video introduction to online learning. (https://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/online-learning/)
Student Communication Links- It is important that students are accessing Schoology and their online digital textbooks via our Student Links pages. The easiest way to navigate the multiple websites is to start from our school homepage, https://www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us/ and utilize the links on the top of this page. Schoology for Students, Online Textbooks, and Links for Students.
Please do not try to type these web addresses directly into your Internet browser.
Digital Instruction – Will start SLOW and there will be no formal grades issued the first week as we are ALL learning how to adjust to this process. As a K-7 school, we will utilize multiple forms of communication until we can ensure that everyone is comfortable with the platforms and able to access the weekly agendas and lesson plans. Again, your patience is appreciated. Our goal is to work toward utilizing email and Schoology as our main sources of communication and conferencing. Materials, videos and communication links will be available 24/7 so households that have challenges getting multiple students online at once can stagger computer time. We are asking our grade level and middle school core content teachers to plan for 2-3 assignments/activities per week, while our middle school elective and elementary resource teachers are preparing 1-2 optional/enrichment lessons per week. Remember, this journey is a marathon, not a sprint. Many of our assignments this week are ritual and routine based, becoming comfortable with the variety or resources and platforms and acclimating ourselves to Schoology Conferences.
We also want to gently remind everyone to preserve Monday-Friday for “school” and Saturday and Sunday for weekend activities. Our Elementary Resource website can be utilized for bonus activities, enrichment, and down time as needed. https://www.pvaresource.com/
To accommodate families, we have spaced out live conference times and provided flexible evening office hours for our large K-7 Academy. Please see the PVA School-Wide schedule linked here. PVA Schoolology Conferencing Times and Evening Office Hours.pdf
Laptops/Hot Spots - The Student Mobile Device Request form will re-open on Monday, 3/30/2020 for Round 2. Round 2 is only for parents who did not request a Student Mobile Device during the initial form open period of 3/23 to 3/26.
Library Books - Our Media Center is closed; Digital resources are available through our media center website. (https://www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us/media/)and you can also visit the St. Johns County Public Library for access to their E-collection. The St Johns County Public Library System is now offering county residents instant online eCard signup. If you don’t already have one, you can get a temporary library card, good for 60 days, to access the library’s online collection of eBooks, eAudiobooks, streaming movies, music, digital magazines, and more. https://sjcpls.org/
Palm Valley Academy Hours - PVA is OPEN...both digitally and physically (with restrictions). Essential administrative staff will be present at PVA during normal school business hours 7:55 am to 3:45 pm. Our staff is available through email or phone only to assist with any questions or needs. Until further notice, all requested meetings will be held digitally. We expect a higher volume of calls and emails this week. There are only a few staff members at school to field phone calls and emails. We will respond to all calls, messages, and email requests as quickly as possible. Before calling or emailing, please review our Parent/Guardian Communication Chart in order to know how to best direct your request. PVA Parent Communication Chart.pdf
Meal Service: Breakfast and Lunch for students in need will continue this week. The School District has consolidated some sites. For those who are utilizing this service, please visit Valley Ridge Academy between 11:00 am -1:00 pm to pick up student meals.
School Counseling Support
We realize that the current situation may be presenting a financial hardship for some of our families.
If your family is need of assistance with food, clothing, shelter, and/or finances, please contact your child’s grade level school counselor for assistance or with any questions.
Kindergarten & 1st Grade Corinne Fennelly at Corinne.Fennelly@stjohns.k12.fl.us
2nd & 3rd Grades Karin Ngai-Crim at Karin.Ngai-Crim@stjohns.k12.fl.us
4th & 5th Grades Taneen Delaney at Taneen.Delaney@stjohns.k12.fl.us
Middle School Dawn Anzuada at Dawn.Anzualda@stjohns.k12.fl.us
All requests for assistance will be kept confidential. We are here to support all of our families.
As you have witnessed, things can change quickly, please know that we will provide you with the most up-to-date information as soon as it is available.
I am confident that our Bobcats are up for this adventure and appreciate your flexibility and support during this challenging time. We will continue to Pursue Excellence, Value All, and Achieve Success, together!
Wishing all of our Bobcats a Marvelous Monday Morning!
Until next time, be well.
Sincerely,
Jessica Richardson- Principal