COVID-19 Extended eLearning Update (3.17.20) | Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation Skip to main content

COVID-19 Extended eLearning Update (3.17.20)

Tuesday, March 17, 2020
 

Dear P-H-M Families,

 

Today was our first day of extended eLearning. While we’ve been utilizing eLearning for nearly seven years, we recognize that we are living in unusual times under unconventional circumstances. So as not to increase anxiety in your homes, we want to clarify that while teachers are using Mondays as prep days to plan the upcoming week’s worth of eLearning lessons, that does not mean that all the work put in on Monday is to be completed on Tuesday. The work is to be done over the four-day educational week (Tuesday-Friday). If you have any questions, concerns or problems accessing your student’s eLearning lessons, please make sure to contact your student's teacher and/or principal. Teachers and principals are working and are available for questions during what would be your child’s normal school day!

 

Here are some updates, clarification and reminders on services and resources:

 

FOOD SERVICE:

  • ANY P-H-M student can go to ANY P-H-M school and pick up a sack meal. The meal pickup does not have to be at the student's home school; families can also pick up the meals from another P-H-M school. Families with students in multiple grade levels do not have to travel to each child's school to pick up the meals.
  • The program also allows us to provide sack meals to ANY and ALL children who are with a P-H-M student (this means the other children in the group do not have to be P-H-M students). But  at least one P-H-M student must be present and have their student ID #. Click here to look up your students’ ID numbers in Family Access.
  • We now have State permission to hand out breakfast sack meals for the following day during the lunch pickup times. However, unfortunately at this time, we cannot give out sack lunches during the breakfast pickup because the sack lunches contain hot items.
  • The sack meals will be provided by staff members outside the school in a drive-up format.
  • Breakfast is offered 8 - 9 a.m. (M-F) at 12 sites: Bittersweet, Elm Road, Elsie Rogers, Horizon, Mary Frank, Meadow’s Edge, Walt Disney, Moran, and Madison Elementary Schools, Grissom and Schmucker Middle Schools, and Penn High School.
  • Lunch is offered 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at all 15 P-H-M schools.

TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE:

If your student(s) is still in need of a P-H-M Chromebook to do eLearning, it will be provided. Please contact your student’s school if you have not already done so.

 

PICKING UP ITEMS FROM SCHOOL:

If you still need to pick up personal items, medication, etc., please visit your school’s website for a list of building hours and/or a form that you can fill out to make an appointment time for pickup.

 

If families do not have WiFi at home or who need more data on their home internet plans, Comcast/Xfinity is making these and many more FREE options available to families impacted by the  COVID-19 national emergency. Please click here for more information on Xfinity’s website.

 

ANTICIPATED RETURN TO SCHOOL

As we communicated yesterday, we are hoping to return to school as normal after Spring Break, returning to in person instruction in classrooms on Monday, April 13. We will continue to monitor and follow state and federal guidance on this changing situation.

 

Students will not be expected to do any eLearning lessons over Spring Break, April 6-10. Teachers and students will be out of school recognizing the previously scheduled recess time.

 

WEEKLY INSTRUCTION SCHEDULE

Below is the schedule that teachers and students will follow Mondays (March 16, 23 and 30th) and Tuesday - Friday eLearning days (March 17-20, March 24-27 and March 31-April 3).

 
COVID-19 eLearning schedule
 
We are all feeling the stress and the impact of COVID-19 even if we ourselves or our loved ones have not become sick. In this time of flux, we as adults must remain calm and steady for our children. They look to us for security and support. Yesterday, I shared with you parent talking points and resources developed by P-H-M’s Director of Social Emotional Learning Dr. Jennifer Sears. If you have not yet had a chance to review them, I encourage you to do so. Our hope is that you will also gain some useful information on Managing COVID-19 Anxiety & Stress (click here to read the materials).

 

 

Stay well and healthy,
Dr. Jerry Thacker
Superintendent of Schools