Dear Parents and Students,

As you are aware, the entire school district is moving to remote instruction beginning on Wednesday April 1st.  It is going to be different. Communication between us will be very important. There will be challenges. Some of the activities that we were going to do in class, we will be able to do remotely just fine and some will have to be modified. The assignments will not be simply busy work, but rather similar to what we would be doing in class anyway. 

Assignments

All assignment details and due dates will be found in Google Classroom as long as we are working remotely. I am not going to duplicate everything on my “Teacher Pages” on the BHS website as when we were physically in school (the building). Mrs. Graham feels that it would be easier for you if all teachers were using the same format, that is, Google Classroom (and I agree with that).

Grading

Grades will be updated through Power School (the same way I have done in the past (for example, every 5 assignments avg. = one entry) and you will see the score for individual assignments in the Google Classroom. Not sure just yet about how we will proceed with assessments (tests and quizzes), but we will figure this out as we go. It is possible that we will not have tests and quizzes in the traditional sense, rather, homework averages and certain activities may replace them.

Communication

PLEASE email your questions to me: m.gurgul@upperadams.org.  I will be available throughout the day to help with any questions. My goal is to answer your questions ASAP – most likely right away during the hours of 8 – 11 a.m. and 1 – 3 p.m.; more sporadically outside of those hours (although they WILL be answered).

Communication will be crucial so don’t hesitate to ask and don’t let yourself go too long without it.

My expectations for students

• Check school email and Google Classroom daily
• Set aside time to work on class assignments; establish a ROUTINE
• If there is any confusion on ANYTHING simply let me know thru email
• PLEASE do your own work and do it honestly. Remote learning makes it easier to submit someone else’s work as your own; listen to your conscience – if it feels like you are “cheating”, you probably are and just don’t do it; your learning is already being disrupted and that, of course, is no one’s fault; but how you handle this “new” way of learning will be a testament to your integrity and you will have to make good choices as far as the time and effort you put into this process

*Thank you in advance for your cooperation, dedication, and efforts during this unprecedented time. And, of course, stay safe and healthy – both physically AND mentally. We are all in this together!