MASC/MAHS has compiled a variety of resources to help building leaders communicate with teachers, parents and students about Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Best of the Best
With the amount of content, resources, articles and ideas hitting your inbox over the last month, it’s easy for information to pass you by. Here is a quick recap of some of the best resources MASSP and MASC/MAHS has provided members during the COVID-19 crisis.
2020 Seniors
Schools across the country and finding thoughtful and creative ways to recognize the class of 2020 as their high school careers come to an end. As you continue to finalize your plans for commencement, senior send-off and ways to honor this class, we have complied a list of ideas to assist in your efforts.
To view the complete list of ideas click here.
Weekly Learning Opportunities
Each week we will provide principals with learning opportunities to share with students and families to stay sharp, collaborate and have fun, including:
- Words of Wisdom: Message or quote upon which to reflect, knowing everything we say and do has an impact on others.
- Gettin’ up: High Stress, Anxiety and Depression are experienced by millions of young people. These feelings are amplified in times of crisis and rapid change, particularly when we have more questions than answers. To counterbalance our current reality, we’ll provide practical strategies for daily learning, movement, and connection.
- Keepin’ Up: individual or family engagement with current issues and events.
- Monday’s News Article contains comprehension and critical thinking questions, found below the article. In addition, we provide “Background” and “Resources” (including video clips, maps and links) below the questions to give students a better understanding of the news story.
- Tuesday’s World Events contains three news stories from around the world. Questions are found below the article. In addition, “Background” and “Resources” are provided below the questions
- Wednesday’s Pro-Con contain a controversial issue to explore through a structured pro-con methodology to improve academic performance, increase civic engagement, strengthen personal resiliency, bridge political devides, and stimulate critical thinking – the #1 skill sought by employers and educators.
- Thursday’s Editorial is a weekly opinion article from the web. Questions asking students to explain their opinion or reaction are found below the article.
- Friday’s Political Cartoons are accompanied by a question requiring the student to demonstrate understanding of the cartoonist’s intended meaning.
- Challenge: Weekly challenges are designed to provide a break from traditional learning activities, while fostering connection, confidence, and competence. Weekly challenges combat social isolation by promoting increased interaction amongst friends and family while honoring social distancing.
-
Weekly “Home Chat”: Each week we feature a “Home Chat” developed by Tim Elmore from Growing Leaders. Home Chat’s allow students and their parents/caregivers to engage in meaningful ways. These one-page conversation guides enable students and their parents/caregivers to explore and strengthen relevant leadership and life skills.
-
National Day: Use this website to provide kids a focus for the day and help to promote quality family time together. These mini celebrations might turn into a literacy activity, cooking lesson, crafting exercise, history and geography lesson, and a lot of laughter. We don’t have to wait for traditional holidays to create memories with our family. Using National Days to springboard ideas is an easy way to inspire your own creativity and create some quality moments at home.
Checking in with Staff and Students
Recognizing that traditional curriculum and learning opportunities could be pretty far down the list for many of our students struggling with a massive change to routine, living situation and basic needs, we want to share a quick check in form for you to touch base with your students and even your co-workers.
Spring Elections
The following are methods and tools for running spring elections (be sure to ensure single voting privileges):
● 5 Star https://www.5starstudents.com/surveysvoting
● Voting4Schools https://voting4schools.com/
● Survey Monkey Survey Monkey
● Google Forms/Classroom/Quiz
● E-ballot: https://www.eballot.com/essential-online-voting-tool
● OpaVote https://www.opavote.com/high-school-elections
● Electionbuddy: https://electionbuddy.com/customers/k-12-schools
If you are planning to facilitate online elections, consider the following:
- For schools who hold conventions or forums: You could hold discussion panels with candidates answering questions from online submissions—this would be one-way video out with questions submitted through a moderated chat.
- Minimize campaigning by giving candidates a short window to make a statement.
- Create a voters’ pamphlet and deliver it to students.
Equity, Access and Opportunity Concerns:
- Consider access available to all students (electronically)—but with continuing learning this may be currently set up for your district. But you don’t want to leave out opportunities for students.
- Work to get a robust group of candidates. Analyze the process to ensure all students
- have the opportunity, access and resources to take part in the elections
Thank you to our friends at the AWSL!
Khan Academy
To help students engage with learning opportunities to either keep their skills sharp or learn explore s new subject of interest, we created a very quick Khan Academy tutorial to help get students situated. This brief overview walks students through creating an account, exploring curricular areas, finding new content areas to satisfy curiosity and walks students through the robust SAT/ACT prep materials though Khan Academy.
Rooted in Love
During this difficult, confusing, and frightening time, Mike Smith, the host of The Harbor™ by Jostens, takes to the crate to acknowledge the challenges we are all facing during the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions. Mike issues a call to action for all of us, in this unprecedented time, to find ways to build community, take care of one another, and stay rooted in love.
Your Jostens family wishes you all peace, wellness, and safety in the days to come.
7 Guiding Principals for Parents Teaching From Home
Understanding the “why” behind teaching practices can help parents create meaningful and effective at-home learning opportunities during the pandemic. Here are some basic principles, grounded in research and science, that provide an overarching structure to teaching from home. This can be a great resource to share with your families whom are currently developing their own techniques and routines.
Click here to read the full article and to share with families.
Stay Connected and Keep Spirits Up!
Schools around the State are showing unity, school spirit and engagement by hosting virtual spirit weeks online. Staff and Students post on social media (usually to a hash tag or tagged to the schools Twitter page). If you are doing a virtual spirit week or a staff/student morale booster please tag @mascmahs and @massp on Twitter so we can feature you in a future COVID-19 update.
Here are some examples for you:
Spring Forward Virtual Spirit Week at Grand Haven High School (YouTube video)
High School Virtual Spirit Week Sandusky Jr./Sr. High School (YouTube video)
Bloomfield Hills High School:
Belding High School:
Grand River Prep High School:
Howell High School:
Virtual Prom Live!
Virtual Prom Live, totally FREE thanks to our sponsors, is giving students everywhere the opportunity to join up together with 1,000’s of other students and some of the best DJ talent across every area of the US.
Register now to make sure your spot is held!
30 Days of Kindness Practice
This virus has affected us ALL and the vast majority of the 7.8 billion of us have never met Patient Zero. It stands to reason that that sort of impact can be equally GOOD.
So, to combat the inevitable confusion and loneliness and pain ahead of us, we are offering a Kindness Practice every day for at least the next 30 days – and ALL of them can be done even if you can’t leave home. It will take you 10 minutes or less and it will be designed to give yourself, your community, and this world a daily dose of generosity, connection, empathy, and Love.
Think Action Packed
Over 100 short videos to help young people become the best versions of themselves.
Work2BeWell
After receiving countless requests for resources on mental health and digital wellness, a group of nonprofit partners joined together to create and share valuable tools, lessons, and more. Work2BeWell was made possible due to a partnership between Providence, Well Being Trust, and #ICANHELP.
