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Dear Lower School Parents,
On Friday, the entire Haverford faculty and staff engaged in a very important day of professional development designed to further prepare us for the launch of Virtual Haverford on Wednesday, March 18. On Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17 the faculty will continue planning and preparing virtual lessons. You should expect to hear from your son’s teacher on Monday, March 16 with additional grade specific information, it is important that you read all emails.
We find ourselves in an unprecedented and rapidly changing situation. Much like all of you, as a parent I am finding my way through both the emotional and practical aspects of working from home while also supporting my children in their own virtual school efforts. We have designed next week to help all of us - students, parents and teachers - to ease into Virtual Haverford. It will take some time, patience and ongoing communication to adapt to virtual school. Please reach out to your son’s teacher and myself, we are here to assist you.
Please take the time to read this letter in its entirety, as well as to access the links. More resources will be available on the Lower School Continuity of Learning webpage, which can be found here, or at haverford.org/preparedness, which provides access to all School preparedness communications that have been sent to parents. Should questions arise, please reach out to me directly via email.
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| 1. Virtual Haverford
Classes: 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Specials: 1-3 p.m.
All academics in Virtual Lower School will run from 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. each school day, with a regular rotation of Specials activities available for the afternoons. Students are expected to be in Haverford shirts/polo shirts and in an appropriate work space when in Morning Meeting/Advisory and when attending Virtual Check-ins.
Pre-k-4th grade
At 8:30am the pre kindergarten through 4th Grade teachers will post a morning announcement to your son’s SeeSaw account, which will appear in his SeeSaw ‘Inbox’ and provide the link for Morning Meeting and Virtual Check-ins (hosted through Google Meet), as well as a description of the day’s learning tasks. The pre-kindergarten through 4th Grade boys will access and submit work through the ‘Activities’ tab in their SeeSaw accounts (this requires your son to access the Class SeeSaw app/website). The pre-kindergarten through 4th Grade teachers will be available to support your son during the scheduled daily Virtual Check-in times, as well as through email. Virtual Check-in times are not mandatory, but offer the boys an opportunity to have face time with their teacher should they need assistance with work. The pre-kindergarten through 4th Grade Schedule can be found on pages 3 and 4 >
5th grade
At 8:30am, the 5th Grade boys should expect to have their daily learning tasks posted to their Canvas Calendar with directions on how to submit completed work. Each morning, they will have an Advisory period hosted through Canvas Conference found in their Advisory Canvas Course. Teachers will also be available for Virtual Check-ins through Canvas Conference. The link to the Virtual Check-ins will be found in each subject area Canvas Course under the Conference tab. These Check-ins are organized by Travel Group according to the schedule linked below. Aside from the listed Virtual Check-ins, teachers will be available via email to support your son during the academic day. Virtual Check-in times are not mandatory, but offer the boys an opportunity to have face time with their teacher should they need assistance with work. The 5th Grade Schedule can be found on page 5 >
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2. Homeroom and Attendance
In the pre-kindergarten through 4th grade, homeroom teachers will facilitate Morning Meeting each day at the time listed below via Google Meet. In the 5th grade, advisors will host a morning Advisory period every day at the time listed below via Canvas Conference. Instructions will be emailed to you from your son's classroom teacher/advisor prior to Wednesday morning to help you in accessing and navigating these tools. Morning Meeting/Advisory is an opportunity for your son to interact with his classmates and teachers. Attendance will be taken each morning during Morning Meeting/Advisory, so it is important for your son to be present in the virtual classroom during that time. If the Morning Meeting/Advisory time creates a regular challenge for your family, please let your son’s teacher/advisor know. Since attendance will be taken each day, you will need to continue to email both your son’s teacher and Teresa Touey (ttouey@haverford.org) if your son will be absent from Morning Meeting/Advisory.
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3. Virtual Parent Conferences
The Lower School teachers are working to find time in their schedule next week to make calls and check-in with parents. We hope to complete virtual conferences by the end of the day on Friday, March 20. Please work with your son’s teacher to find an appropriate time for these calls and understand that we may have to delay conferences even further.
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4. What Now?
By Monday afternoon you will receive an email from your son’s teacher/advisor containing important information about how to login to many of the online tools he will need access to. Please look for and read through that communication.
Before Wednesday morning, it is recommended that you find time as a family to set up a workspace and a daily schedule for your son. Be sure to review the Morning Meeting/Advisory schedule (posted above and also on page 2 in this document on our Continuity of Learning site), so that you know when that will happen for your son, as well as when the daily Virtual Check-in will happen. The schedule also indicates the days that Specials teachers will be posting activities.
In advance of Wednesday morning, it is also recommended that you have your son (pre-kindergarten through 4th grade) navigate getting onto his SeeSaw account through the SeeSaw Class app/website (this is different than the Family app!). It is recommended that 5th grade boys practice logging into Canvas and finding the Conference tab in their Advisory and academic courses. If you need assistance with SeeSaw, Canvas or Google Meet, please see the Lower School Continuity of Learning Page.
Families who have informed us that they need computers may pick them up from 10 a.m.-noon and from 2-4 p.m. on Monday in the technology office (Room 223) in Wilson Hall (Upper School Building). If you need a laptop and have not already informed us of that fact, please notify me immediately.
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5. Feedback
Your feedback regarding this process is extremely important. We are all experiencing this for the first time. Please communicate your questions and concerns to your son's teacher or myself. We can all assist as we navigate these historic circumstances.
Take care,
Dr. Pam Greenblatt
Head of Lower School
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