Good afternoon,
A few updates from virtual UHS this week.
Senior Class Meeting
We held a class meeting with our seniors this morning that was an opportunity for the students to hear some updates from guidance, the class advisor, and the athletic director. Counselors will be reaching out individually to students in the next couple of weeks to review college selection processes, including explaining some of the shifting deadlines from higher education, ways to engage with financial aid, and different options as students make decisions regarding next year. We explained to the seniors that in some cases family situations are changing due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and if they need support in reaching out to admissions or in planning for next year, we are available for private conversations and to support families however we can.
In addition, we gave the class some direction to provide us with some input regarding planning senior events. We want to give the class an opportunity to share, through their advisor and officers, when they would feel scheduling events, such as the prom, would no longer be sensible. Of course, we are at the mercy of the state's guidance toward gatherings.
We continued to reiterate that our plan is to work with the class to reschedule and postpone as many things as possible - not cancel.
Remote Learning
We begin remote learning on Monday with the posting of assignments. These assignments will be due by Friday at the close of school time (around 2:00 p.m.), though we have directed teachers to be flexible. We anticipate starting with about an hour or two per class per week in terms of a combination of class-time and independent work, which follows the guidelines set by the Commissioner.
If questions come up, please direct students to Google classroom and to be in touch directly with their teachers.
Norms for Remote Learning
As you have probably read or heard about, there have been some instances of individuals disrupting Zoom and Google Hangout sessions being used by class. We are not immune to this at UHS, and we have had some reports of individuals being disrespectful or violating community norms in virtual class space.
Teachers have been directed to enable a "waiting room" before allowing someone into a class, and then only allowing students in who use their proper name and have their cameras enabled. Also, screen sharing will be disabled for anyone except the owner of the room. Finally, if anyone is disruptive in any way, they are removed from the room. We also have directed students to enter rooms on mute, which is also the default setting for any meeting.
In times like these, where adults, students, teachers, and families are all dealing with various levels of stress and discomfort, we would hope that our students act appropriately and within our school's established norms - as if this were a class at the school building. In these times, we require the use of virtual class spaces to ensure that our students and staff are making connections and being supportive, so we certainly hope that we do not have many -if any - of these situations.
A Final Word
These are uncertain times for us all, so please remember that, while teachers are not in the building, they are family members, parents, and individuals dealing with their own challenges relative to this pandemic. Staff will be available during the school day, but we hardly expect them to be by their computers and phones for 24 hours a day. If you need us, please reach out - but please be patient!
UHS in the News
We will leave this week with some positive news about UHS, as our school has been featured in the local news a couple of times this week for our use of our Engineering program to manufacture personal protection equipment for our medical community. We are grateful for the students and staff who have coordinated this effort, which has also involved Whitin and Taft as well. We are so proud to be able to support the medical community, which is courageously tackling this outbreak on a daily basis.
Continue to check email, our school website, and this blog, as we will be continuing to update often.
Be safe, stay healthy, and continue to practice social distancing guidelines. We are, as always, stronger together.
Mike Rubin, Principal
Uxbridge High School
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