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August 19, 2020

Dear Fauquier Falcon Students and Parents:

I wanted to send you an outline of the Virtual Learning process so you will have an idea of what to expect the next few weeks. It is important to remember that this process is new to all of us, and we will need to work cooperatively for the success of our students. As we proceed through the term, you will more than likely have questions regarding classes, grading, class meeting times, and other issues that may arise and I am asking that when these questions arise, you contact us so that we may offer our assistance to resolve your concerns. Our teachers, counselors and administrators are available to assist you and are happy to help. We will need your assistance to assure your student is in attendance on required instructional days and that he or she completes assignments on days without formal instruction. I cannot express how important it is for all of our students to be active participants in each of their classes and the importance of completing class assignments. This fall is vastly different from the instruction that took place in the spring. The academic work is not optional and is required. It will count towards the student’s grade in the class, will become part of the student transcript, and will count towards graduation. As I have mentioned to our staff, virtual learning will require all of us to be flexible and fluid and it will take extra efforts on everyone’s behalf. I am confident that we have a solid and comprehensive instructional plan in place and will provide a high quality education to your students.

Update on Device Distribution:

Our first day of device, hotspot and textbook distribution went very well with over 383 devices and hotspots distributed to our students. Unfortunately, with a large demand, we are currently out of devices and we will have another distribution event in the next week or so. The date and time of the next distribution event will be published soon. As you will see below, the first week of school will be a “soft start”, so if you did not receive a device or do not have a device by August 24, you will not be penalized. This week will be used for orientation, meet and greet, class expectations and other info, and there will not be graded assignments.

What to Expect:

The week of August 17, 2020, students will be reviewing their class schedule. This information is available in the student’s individual Infinite Campus account. This year login information for students has been streamlined and is their GAFE username and password. This information will allow students to login to Blackboard, Infinite Campus and GAFE accounts.  If you are unsure of your username, please ask your teacher or email michelle.green@

Any questions, concerns, or changes to student schedules should be directed to the student’s guidance counselor. Teachers will be reaching out to students and parents to introduce themselves and to determine the needs of their students for devices and/or internet service. We will also determine those students who will require hard copies of materials and the distribution of flash drives for students to receive instructional materials. This contact may be via telephone or electronic correspondence.

The week of August 24, 2020, will be the first week of virtual instruction. As we anticipate some minor glitches that we will need to work through, we are using the first week as a “soft start”. Teachers will be personally contacting students to provide them with information about their class, meeting times and format, academic expectations, attendance, and other information related to that particular class. Teachers will be testing virtual technology such as Google Meets, Zoom, etc. to assure connectivity, sharing class syllabi, discussing information displayed on their Blackboard page, and to become acquainted with their students. Teachers will use this time to inform students of their expectations and requirements for success in their class. Any questions or concerns can be addressed at this time.

Format:

For Term 1, students will follow the Virtual Learning Schedule below. Instruction and learning will take place on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and will include synchronous (face to face real time instruction) and asynchronous (independent individual or group, self-guided instruction). Wednesdays will be dedicated to teacher office hours, answering student and parent questions, professional development for teachers, lesson planning and virtual club activities. Students at the high school level will receive synchronous instruction on Mondays and Thursdays and asynchronous instruction on Tuesdays and Fridays. Students should be available on the times listed on the schedule to receive the synchronous instruction with their teachers. Synchronous instruction will include a variety of instructional activities similar to a typical classroom setting and will engage each of the students. Students should plan to engage in asynchronous learning activities following the schedule for Tuesdays and Fridays completing the assignments provided by their teacher. Advisory is a dedicated time for teachers to answer questions from parents and students, prepare for instructional activities, provide academic assistance and other tasks to support student learning. In the past this time was used as a homeroom and all students met with their teacher, but in the virtual format students do not formally meet with teachers during this time. Students will participate in four 80-minute blocks of instructional time on Mondays and Thursdays with 10-minute breaks between classes and a 60-minute lunch break. Please note school start time has been pushed back to 8:50 am and dismissal is 3:30 pm.

Sample activities for synchronous instruction include: lecture, lab demonstration, individual reading, small or large group activities, review of previous lessons, academic practice, discussion boards, live chats, individual or group presentations, test or quiz review, individual assistance, etc.

Sample activities for asynchronous instruction include: completion of worksheets, problems, or other class assignments, collaborative group virtual meetings, individual projects, lab experiments, physical exercise, maintaining student logs, development of presentations, review of previous taught subject matter, etc.

These are just examples of the numerous teaching and learning activities teachers will be using during virtual discussion. I encourage our teachers to develop new and creative methods to present material to students to make the learning process interesting and fun for students and maintain engagement in the learning process. It is not expected that any student or teacher would engage in a full 80-minute session of lecture but would use a variety of differentiated instructional strategies to engage students during the 80-minute period of time.

You will find below, a model of the virtual schedule and further explanation. Again, should you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to reach out to our staff or me.

Parents: Please note that the times on the student’s class schedule may differ from the schedule we will follow. The reason for this is we wanted to distribute class schedules last week and the final learning schedule was not released until today.

FCPS High School Virtual Schedule

Term 1

|8:10 to 8:40 |Advisory |30 minutes |

|8:50 to 10:10 |Block 1 |80 minutes |

|10:20 to 11:40 |Block 2 |80 minutes |

|11:40 to 12:40 |Lunch |60 minutes |

|12:40 to 2:00 |Block 3 |80 minutes |

|2:10 to 3:30 |Block 4 |80 minutes |

30 minutes synchronous advisory – student check in with any teacher (questions, clarification, missing assignments, assistance with content, etc.)

Monday/Thursday

320 minutes synchronous learning daily (~80 minutes per class, 4 periods a day, 2 times a week seeing each teacher twice a week)

A/B Block classes: A day will meet on Mondays. B day will meet on Thursdays.

Sample class lesson #1: 20 minutes direct instruction, 20 minutes reading (may ask to log off/log on when

finished), 20 minutes group work, 20 minutes independent work with teacher online

Sample class lesson #2: 10 minutes direct introduction, 20 minutes problem solving, 20 minutes group work, 20 minutes follow-up with teacher, 10 minutes explaining tomorrow’s work.

Tuesday/Friday:

Students: Work asynchronously (independently or with peers): Choice boards, small group, videos, independent or collaborative work, discussion boards/posts, reading, studying, viewing pre-recorded teacher presentations.

Examples of independent (asynchronous) work:

- video feedback tasks

- slides and checking for understanding tasks

- video and checking for understanding tasks

-Quizzes Kahoot-like interactive gaming tasks

-Online skill practice (, Khan Academy, etc.)

-Pencil/paper practice (Google Doc WS, cool workbook)

-Discussion board/Google Classroom Stream questions and comments

-Creating digital products (slides, Canvas, iMovie)

-Creating physical products (displaying architecture, battles, etc. out of household items)

-Creating hypothetical (or actual!) events (Health Fair, Elementary Math Education Night, etc.)

-Teach you/Teach me videos (student teaches a parent/sibling a concept and records it) Teachers: Available to support students as needed.

Wednesday:

Students: Work asynchronously (independently or with peers), club meetings

Teachers: Collaborative team meetings, planning, office hours, professional learning, counselor contacts, home visits, clubs. Teachers will make time available (office hours) both in the morning and afternoon for student contact and assistance

As the Term Progresses:

At this time, we do not have set dates or times for our traditional back to school night, parent teacher conferences, meet the teacher or other important school/parent communication nor the format for which these will take place. I will be communicating this information to you as it becomes available. Additionally, we will continue to monitor the virtual learning process and address any issues that arise.

Fauquier County Public Schools

Fall Attendance Information

Welcome back! This year Fauquier County students will begin the year by participating in a 100% virtual instructional model. As a result, attendance will not be taken as it would be in the traditional face-to-face setting. Students however, must be accounted for as “Present” or “Absent” per the guidance provided by the Virginia Department of Education.

Education has always required a team effort. This year will present unique challenges for parents. Fauquier County Public Schools is aware of this and will work to assist you in any way we can. As we enter into this new instructional model together, we ask that parents continue to support and participate in their student’s education through communication and collaboration in the problem-solving process.

We ask parents to:

• Ensure your students are available for academic instruction on their assigned synchronous (‘real-time instruction’) learning days to the best of your ability.

• Contact the school if your student will not be participating in instruction on an assigned synchronous learning day.

• Maintain communication with teachers and school staff to discuss any barriers to instruction.

The school will:

• Make every effort to engage your student in the virtual environment.

• Provide opportunities for students to complete missed assignments.

• Contact parents and guardians if concern is noted about student’s level of participation.

• Record daily class attendance based on both synchronous class participation (at a designated day and time) and asynchronous class participation (assigned task-based coursework completed or attempted).

Thank you and together we can make this the best year possible for our students!

Sincerely,

Kraig Kelican

Principal

Fauquier High School

705 Waterloo Road

Warrenton, VA  20186

Office: (540) 422-7300

Fax: (540) 422-7325

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We Believe; Always Believe

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