COVID-19 Distance Learning 2020

(Email Sent the 4^th of May 2020)

Good afternoon,

I hope that this email finds you and your families well and healthy at this time. I wanted to reach out to all my World and United States History students and their parents/guardians to update you all on where we are at the half way point of Distance Learning.

We have at this point completed 4 weeks of Distance Learning and the first of two research papers. The instructions, a detailed timeline of what is expected to be completed each week, and helpful links to help students on their paper can all be found on the class webpage https://www.antiochschools.net/Page/10785. Participation is strongly encouraged and can also bring students grades up.

I am also still offering Office Hours from 10-11 AM every calendar school day via email (eirikkingston@antiochschools.net) to help with the assignment, general questions, and/or any concerns that students and/or parents/guardians may have during these current times of COVID-19.

Again, I hope everyone is doing well during these times and if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to email me.

Thank you,

Mr. Kingston

eirikkingston@antiochschools.net

(Email Sent the 6^th of April 2020)

Good afternoon,

I hope that this email finds you and your families well and healthy at this time. I wanted to reach out to all my World and United States History students and their parents/guardians to update you all on the current academic plan for the remaining 2019-2020 school year. As everyone should be informed by now that we will not be returning to the classrooms for the 4^th and last quarter of this school year due to the COVID-19: Shelter in Place. However, we will be continuing to maintain and build on the skills that we have been working on all year to finish off this school year with distance learning. In the following I will explain how we will continue our learning for the next two months, how distance learning will have an impact on student’s grades, and lastly communication through this time.

For the next two months students will be working on the basic skills we have been practicing all year and demonstrate those skills in two research papers. The Topics are intended to be broad to allow the students flexibility in their exact topic of choosing within a scoop of time given. Each month a research paper will be assigned and a detailed week by week outline will also be provided to allow students to know where they should be and what is expected of them to receive credit. These assignments will be in more detail on the class webpage (blackboard), which can either be found on Aeries homepage next to our class with the box “Visit Website” or by going to Deer Valley’s homepage then clicking on “Teachers,” then my name, “Kingston, Eirik.” Both of these ways will direct you there or I have also included the link here, make sure to look at your class: https://www.antiochschools.net/Page/10785

Each research paper can receive up to 5% extra credit, so hypothetically if both papers are completed at 100% status a student could raise their current 3^rd quarter grade up a whole 10% (a full letter grade) to be representative of their final semester grade. For students that may not be able to obtain the technology or resources to complete the assignments their grades will not be affected. All students will not receive a lesser grade than their current 3^rd quarter grade, which are available on Aeries. If you are having troubles accessing Aeries you can email your House principal to help login, this includes parents/guardians.

Lastly, email is the best way to get a hold of me if you have any questions or concerns. I will have Office Hours daily Mon-Fri via email between 10 am and 11am. During this hour I will be available to quickly respond to any questions or concerns, plus to give feedback and suggestions where needed for your research papers. If a questions or concern arises outside of this hour please do not hesitate to email me as I will still be receiving emails and responding throughout the day as well, but I just wanted to make sure there was a certain time that everyone knew that they could quickly get ahold of me and get a response. When emailing it would be preferable that in the “Subject Line” you include your first and last name plus the period you or your students in. This will make it easier for me to respond to you in a timely manner. 

Thank you,

Mr. Kingston

eirikkingston@antiochschools.net