Dear Chabot Community,
By now, most of you are probably aware that our school and area around it might be affected by the upcoming PG&E power shutdown starting tomorrow evening and possibly lasting for several days. Please see OUSD’s message from earlier this morning for more details. In addition, I want to make everyone aware that many of our teachers and I live in areas that might be without power for the next few days. Following is what you need to know. I recommend printing out this email today if possible.
Will teachers be on Zoom during the power shutdown?
Teachers who can, will lead Zoom classes on Monday for whichever students are able to join. Those teachers who cannot get online due to the outage will not lead Zoom classes.
How will I know if my child’s teacher will be on Zoom?
Communication could be challenging. So if you have power, try getting onto Zoom. If the teacher is not there within 5 minutes, you should presume they have no power. If teachers and I are able to send messages with specific updates about teachers’ abilities to get online, we certainly will. But please note that I live in Redwood Heights and will likely have no power. I am uncertain about cell service. I will do my best to at least send a text message to everyone on Monday morning with updates about power at the school.
How will you handle attendance during a power shutdown?
If your child is unable to get online due to the power shutdown or if your child’s teacher cannot get on Zoom because of the outage, please email the teacher as soon as you can letting them know the situation. We will update attendance accordingly. Your child will not be marked absent if they do either the work their teacher has assigned on Seesaw or Google Classroom or some of the offline activities outlined below.
What should my child do all day if they are not on Zoom?
Some teachers may communicate specific learning assignments directly to their classrooms. Recognizing that it is the weekend and many teachers may not be able to get assignments out in time or all parents to read them, I am sending these suggestions as alternatives.
If you have power, check Seesaw or Google Classroom. If there are asynchronous assignments already posted, your child should do them. Your child may also access online educational programs through OUSD Clever. Check out Virtual Chabot on our website for links to many online programs, asynchronous Enrichment lessons, and more. Your child may also do any of the suggested offline activities below.
If you do not have power and your child cannot get online or access Seesaw/Google Classroom, please give these assignments to your child:
READING: Look at/read books independently for 15-60 minutes (depending on age and stamina)
READING RESPONSE: Write about what you read each day (draw if you are in kindergarten)
MATH: Kindergarten: Take out all of the forks in your kitchen. Count them. Then draw a picture to show how many you have and write that number. Extension Activity: Create addition problems with forks and spoons, showing how to solve them with pictures and equations. If the outage continues past Monday, find other objects to count in your home each day. Put them into groups, draw the groupings and write numbers for each quantity. Extension Activity: Create addition problems using the groupings of objects you created.
First Grade: Take two dice, roll them and see how many math equations you can write with those two numbers. Challenge/Extension – try the same with more than two dice. Monday is day 53 of school – see how many different equations you can write to add up to 53. If the power outage continues past Monday, do the same thing for days 54 and 55. Extension Activities: Create designs with pattern blocks, build with blocks or Legos, draw and label items in one room of your house or apartment
Second – Fifth Grades: Write 3 – 5 story problems that require someone to use the math you have been learning recently in class. On a separate sheet of paper, draw the solutions. If there is more than one way to solve the problem, include them all! If the outage continues past Monday, here are additional math options:
- Draw a floorplan of your house or apartment (to scale if you’re ambitious!)
- Measure rooms and calculate their areas/perimeters (show your work)
- Create a chart with measurements of various objects in your home
- Build structures with blocks or Legos
ENGLISH/LANGUAGE ARTS:
Kindergarten: Practice writing any of the letters your class has been working on for 10 minutes each day. Remember to start at the top and move your pencil down. We never start letters from the bottom line. Extension Activity: If you are able, write as many words as you can that start with the letters you practiced. Draw pictures to go with them if you want!
First – Fifth Grades: Write about what you did for the Moveathon or something you did over the weekend. You should spend 15 minutes writing. Double check that you capitalized the first word of each sentence and added periods at the end of each sentence. If you are in 2nd – 5th grades, look to see if you included good adjectives and details. If the outage continues past Monday, choose one or more of these options:
- Write a letter to someone running for political office
- Write a letter to a family member
- Write a letter to a Chabot staff
- Write a story about any topic you choose – consider Halloween
What about Electives and other Special Programs:
ELECTIVES – if the teachers have power they will open the Zoom sessions; if they are not there within 5 minutes of the start of class, assume they do not have power. There are many asynchronous elective activities you can access on Virtual Chabot. If off line, students are encouraged to draw, dance, make music, and/or exercise at home – they can share what they did with their teachers next time they meet
INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH IEP PROVIDERS OR COUNSELORS – these will be held only if both parties have power and can get on line – watch for communication from your providers
SMALL GROUP SPECIALISTS will run their groups if they have power. Students are encouraged to sign on if they are able
Do you have any other suggestions for us?
Yes! Here is a great article – “10 Things to Do With Kids During a Power Outage.”
Above all, stay safe –
Thanks,
Jessica
