As a result of missing school four days last week due to the weather, we will now have school on the following days: January 16, March 31, May 24-25. If we have any additional snow days, we will pivot to distance learning on those days.
In preparation of such an event, we are asking each household with middle school and/or high school students to fill out this brief survey to notify us of potential challenges with online learning opportunities.
Sioux Valley Middle School / High School Snow Day Guidelines:
Assignments will be designed to take approximately 30 minutes per class.
Attendance will be taken through a post/question on Google Classroom verifying student attendance.
If students/families are absent based on the outlined attendance expectation and the parent does not call/email excusing the absence, the student will be marked unexcused and possible consequences may occur.
Teacher Snow Day Guidelines:
All teachers will use Google Classroom for their learning management system.
Schedule response posts on Google Classroom to take attendance. Teachers may use email or phone call exchanges with the student to take attendance depending on the situation.
Staff will mark attendance on Infinite Campus at the end of the period.
Staff will make contact with students of concern as time allows.
Good pedagogy still prevails. Avoid busy work or excessive homework. Aim for around 30 minutes for the lesson or activity.
Pre-teach expectations for students prior to the 5th snow day.
Teachers will be available until 3:30 via email or phone call to answer questions based on assignments.
Teachers may use Google Voice as a way to communicate with students and parents without using their personal phone numbers.
Lessons on the snow day may not be a component of the current unit. Rather, they may be a review or a different state standard.
Student Snow Day Expectations
Be in the habit of bringing school devices home. If the home does not have reliable Internet access, bring home print material.
Check-in for attendance by answering an attendance question for each class during the regular class period.
Keep your regular school schedule. Avoid altering your day unless necessitated by family needs.
Parent Snow Day Expectations
Parents can excuse their child as absent on a distance learning day. Please do so by emailing Karen Steege at karen.steege@k12.sd.us. Upon return to school, the students would follow the school’s make-up policy to complete work missed on distance learning days.
Office/School Snow Day Expectations
Know which students do not have access to the Internet prior to the 5th day.
Announce to students and staff a reminder to bring home devices and/or print curriculum prior to potential inclement weather.
Share schedule reminders with students on the website, app, and social media
Accommodations for students without sufficient internet access:
Work will be of similar learning experiences in terms of subject matter, task difficulty, and interaction with teachers. Students may use physical texts or books and may submit handwritten work (students should bring home materials in the event of a potential distance learning day). Teachers will attempt to contact students to conference with students, and assess and support their learning as needed.