Goldsmith Dolphins

The teachers miss the students! Hope to wave to all of you today!

Parade will start at 11:00.

Parade Route: Click Here

We are working very hard to build a Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) schedule and plan for Goldsmith students and families.

Some items are still “under construction” and of course everything is subject to change!

We have the Live Schedule and other NTI items on our school website for your reference: https://goldsmithdolphins.com/coronavirus-and-nti/

Weekly work is posted each Monday here: NTI Portal

We do have a “Live Schedule” that will help you and your family plan for NTI.

Live Lessons: Teachers and Students meet on Google Meet Daily. Lessons are staggered in case siblings are sharing a computer. Lessons are recorded so students may catch up if they miss a lesson. Lessons take place in Google Classroom using Google Meet. 

Office Hours: Teachers are available for live Google Meet sessions to offer help, reteaching, and tech help. Teachers might present to small groups or individuals. 

The estimated independent work time is two-three hours. If students are reaching a frustration level, this can be scaled back and the work can be done after a break. The school work should not add excessive stress to your family. Reach out to your child’s teacher if assignments are taking much longer than 2-3 hours. 

Teachers will accept late work with no penalty during the course of Non Traditional Instruction. 

Goldsmith Parade Caravan

Teachers and Staff at Goldsmith Elementary miss seeing our students each day!

So we are coming to you (while Social Distancing of course!)

On Friday, April 3 between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm we will be doing a teacher and staff parade throughout neighborhoods near school. We want to encourage you and your children to come out and sit in your driveway as we drive by in our cars! We want to wave and see all of our kids faces – even if it is from a distance. 

We can’t make it to every street but if you child is on the following bus routes you should see us driving by your house on Friday: 

Bus #1601, 0523, 0744, 1762, & 1766. 

We can’t wait to see your faces on Friday!

We have some informational videos in Spanish, Arabic, and Nepali over on our Facebook page. Please watch: https://www.facebook.com/GoldsmithNews/

This note was sent the other day… It will be important that you fill out the form in the email that the District sends you before the end of the day Tuesday.

The email will have a phone number you can call for help as well.

District Message:

March 27, 2020

Dear JCPS Families,

We’ve been preparing for your child’s return to required schoolwork on April 7th. Today, we have a very important update about how this learning from home, called Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI), will work for you and your child.

NTI will allow students to access and complete learning activities either online or through hard copies — whichever is most comfortable and convenient for you. Your child can use a computer and access the internet to complete assignments but it’s not necessary. Here’s what you need to know and do:

• Families who are in the Free or Reduced Lunch program are eligible to receive a Chromebook computer from JCPS. You will receive another communication explaining how to request a Chromebook via email or phone call. Chromebooks are limited to one per family while they last and must be returned at the end of the school year. Please don’t request one if you already have a computer at home.

• Students who are English Language Learners, homeless or have special needs will get special consideration as well.

• If there are Chromebooks remaining after these initial requests are filled, JCPS will open availability to all families with the remainder of the computers distributed by a lottery system.

• Families who don’t have internet access can call Spectrum, which is offering free Wi-Fi for 60 days, or other internet providers who are offering discounted rates.

• Families who have computers at home don’t need to do anything. Any iPad, PC, laptop or gaming device with internet access will work fine.

• If your child doesn’t have access to a computer or the internet, printed copies of new Choice Boards and other lessons will be available at JCPS’ Emergency Food sites which will be open three days per week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

• Decisions on assignments will be made by your child’s teacher(s). The teacher(s) will be in touch with your child via email, the Google Classroom portal on their computer or, perhaps, phone.

• Click on the JCPS NTI home page. It’s the most important link to your child’s education beginning April 7th. The JCPS NTI home page will have everything your child will need to get to their school’s NTI portal, get lessons from their teacher(s), turn them in and communicate with their teacher(s). We suggest you and your child navigate around this home page and do a few test runs before school work resumes.

• If families need assistance with a JCPS Chromebook they can reach out to the IT3 support line at https://bit.ly/33OytIh

We know there will be some hitches as we roll out a new way for nearly 100,000 students to continue learning from home. We understand you will have questions. Bear with us. The dedicated teachers, staff and administrators at JCPS care about your child and their education. We’re doing everything in our power to make it a great education, even in the most challenging of times. With your help and your child’s cooperation and willingness to learn, we can do it …. together.

Watch for an email from JCPS regarding Chromebook check out.

It should come Monday, it will be important to respond Monday or Tuesday.

There will be a number to call if you have trouble with the form.

We have added an NTI Tab to the school web site. Some of the resources are “under construction” so check it frequently.

Students will begin NTI on Tuesday 4/7

Keep in touch! JR

Dear Families: We hope that all of our families are staying safe and gearing up for Non-Traditional Instruction on April 7.

Do you own or manage a small business? We know that a lot of small businesses are being negatively impacted by the current pandemic. 

The staff at Goldsmith and Watterson Elementary schools would like to help in any way possible. We have created a web page where we will list the small businesses that are owned or managed by families connected to our two schools. 

We hope that by publishing this directory, the rest of the school community will consider using these local businesses now and and when we return to normal. 

If you would like us to list your business, all you have to do is fill out this form. Click Here

If you would like to support the businesses go to this website. Click Here (Hint: Add to Home Screen of your phone).

Stand by for more information about picking up Chromebooks, Non Traditional Instruction and more!

Sincerely,

Jeremy Renner, Goldsmith

Michael Hill, Watterson