1-2-3 for Parents
1. Digital Learning Hints
​
Create a place for learning
by Elizabeth Mayhew for the Washington Post 8-12-2020
​
In March, Eliza Dyson, like many parents of school-age kids, scrambled to create a suitable setting for her two sons to learn at their Upstate New York home. “We were not prepared. My boys did not have desks, computers, nothing, so I had to use what we had on hand.” Repurposing folding tables and dining chairs, she created makeshift work stations for her boys — and in some ways, her scrappy solutions were exactly what was needed.
​
Her older son, Charlie, then 10 and in fourth grade, was relatively easy to accommodate. Already a responsible, organized student, he was fairly self-sufficient. Dyson set him up with a table, chair and computer in the bedroom he shares with his brother, Jack.
​
Jack, then 7 and in second grade, needed more support. “I found that for Jack a bigger surface was better,” Dyson said. She set up a six-foot-long folding table in their guest room. “The large table allowed him to keep all of his stuff in one place,” she said. “He kept stacks on the table for each subject, but he still had room to work. When it was time for a class, he could just grab the stack of papers he needed.”
​
​
2. Staying in the know -- Using this website
​
A. Start with the Grade Page and the Unit Pages
Each grade has a welcome page and underneath -- a Unit page.
On the Unit page parents and students can find an overview of what
will be expected during the unit. Each Unit page also has a Dialogue
Balloon -- and inside you'll find a brief description of the classwork,
homework, and final projects that students need to accomplish.
​
B. Weekly Work Pages
Then move to the Weekly Work pages. here you will find the classwork, homework and videos that have been assigned for each class. Students can look here for any reminders, or to see videos of classes they may have missed. Of course, students will also have access to this information in their Google Classrooms, but the info is also displayed here so you have a chance to know what's happening too.
​
C. Contact Page
The Contact Page is a simple way to send me an email. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, complaints or worries. I will respond to your emails as soon as possible. NOTE: If you email me during the school day I may not be able to respond until after I am done teaching classes and meeting with students. In place of email, you may also leave a message for me on my Home Office phone at 703-922-2462.
​
3. Staying in touch with FCPS
​
A. FCPS can send you regular reminders and news
when you sign up for "News You Can Use."
Go here to access that feature:
​
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/VAEDUFCPS/subscriber/new?qsp=VAEDUFCPS_1
​
B. FCPS also has many resources available to Parents, which you can find here:
​
https://www.fcps.edu/index.php/blog?field_term_blog_topic_target_id=247
​
C. Corona Virus Updates can be found here:
​
https://www.fcps.edu/news/coronavirus-update
​
​
