We’ve completed one full week of our home-based learning initiative and while we continue to adapt to the online environment, communication between school and home are more vital now than ever; the expectation for our Instructional staff is 100% engagement with our students and we appreciate your involvement to make this experience successful for your child.
Orientation, order, and exploration are basic human tendencies that help us feel successful in new environments. In addition to the daily schedules, I’ve added a few visual reminders on our home-based learning page, to orient students in their online classrooms.
Two behaviors that promote success when learning are manipulation – the work of the hand – and repetition. Let us, each – students, staff, and parents – give ourselves the grace to make mistakes and the resolve to persevere. We will experience increased precision as we maintain active with our work.
Special Meeting of the Charter Board 4/9/2020 at 4:00
The Charter Board will meet via Skype video conference tomorrow, to consider submitting an application for our school in the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal program developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meetings of the Charter Board are open to the public, and we’re providing expanded access to the meeting by sharing the connection details, below:
Join with your computer: https://meet.lync.com/keysschools-com/lynn.barras/SY6F4ELH
Join by phone: +19293412308,,168430551# (dial-in Number)
Conference ID: 168430551
Message from our School Nurse, Mrs. Renee
In these rapidly changing times, we are doing our best to stay as updated as possible in order to keep everyone safe and healthy.
The mental health and well-being of our students remain a top priority for me. While I am grateful for modern technology, our children still crave personal interactions with their friends. While I am aware that each family’s working situation is unique in these times, I would like to extend a few suggestions that may help bring some routine and normalcy for the students:
- Set an alarm for the same time daily on school days
- Have your child get dressed as if they were physically going to school
- Set a work station that is located in a room outside of their bedroom
- If they have a phone, set alarms in their phones to remind them of upcoming live sessions, to take breaks, drink water, get some sunshine on their face, etc.
- Start each day with a positive affirmation
- Have them FaceTime a friend for lunch
- Get them moving. Space can be a huge challenge currently. If possible, find outdoor activities that you can do safely in your yard. Getting your heart rate up, even for a short period of time, can do wonders to alter your spirits. A quick set of jumping jacks in the living room can have a great effect as well. Set a goal of 30 minutes per day of some sort of exercise. This can be broken up into 3 different 10-minute sessions.
- Talk to your children about our current situation. Remember, knowledge is power. They have just as many questions and concerns as we do in these times. I have attached a resource for talking to your children about COVID-19
The Care Center is available if you feel that either you or your child would benefit from some guidance during these challenging times. You can contact the Care Center office Monday thru Friday, 9-5 (305-434-7660) or reach out to a member of their team, below:
| 305-834-3925 | Pricilla O’Keefe | KW Child Case Manager & Wesley House Liasion |
| 305-481-9852 | Amanda Caballero | Behavioral Health Therapist – Key West |
| 305-203-9953 | Andrea Merritt | Therapist Lower Keys |
| 305-834-0867 | Annaliese Foster | Therapist KW |
| 305-481-2052 | Erin Kirkland | Behavioral Health Counselor |
| 305-879-3785 | Kelli Stolar | KW Child Case Manager |
| 305-896-8273 | Kenia Chavarria | Child Case Manager |
Please remember these few things as we move into the coming weeks:
- Make sure to fill any needed prescriptions
- AHEC is now offering Telehealth appointments one of the AHEC telephone numbers for an in-person visit.
- Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer
- Continue to follow the CDC State Department of Health and Government mandates and updates
Gaining clarity can be a challenge during these times. We will do our best to share important information with you as we receive it. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns that you may have. If we don’t know the answer, we will do our best to find it.
