The Round-Up: Week of April 27

Staff,

I hope you had a great week! Writing my blog has become more interesting each week, as I am completely unaware of what information may land on my plate at any moment. On Friday, the Governor communicated that we will not return to school for face to face instruction, however, we will still engage all of our students through digital learning. The Guilford County School system will soon inform us how we will proceed based on the recommendations the state has provided. Please hang tight for this grading guidance from the School System. I am very proud of you all for continuing to motivate your students to stay engaged. What a challenge this is as I know this is very frustrating. Please remind them that they will see the efforts they put forth now will give them that edge over others as they navigate through life. Keep persevering! If any students tell you they want to do anything based on the governor's recommendations, you need to tell them to hang tight.

Please help me in giving a shout out to our amazing Administrative Professionals; Kristy Cline, Liz, French, Renee Harris, Linda Ognosky, Mina O'Neal, and Jessica White. They absolutely rock!

Please help Jae Bratton and her Yearbook staff push the remaining yearbooks our for sale.

Fee free to share the following language -

Despite the pandemic, the yearbook is finished and will be shipped to the school in mid-May. We still have some books left, especially for those seniors who want some resemblance of normalcy to their senior year. To maintain social distancing, buy your yearbook online at www.yearbookforever.com and get your hands on something that will remind you of this unprecedented school year (and keep you busy while in quarantine!).

This coming Wednesday is the Cap and Gown drive through distribution from 10AM - 1PM. Teachers have started to make bed sheet banners. Please remember you are allowed to drive up and hang out in a parking spot (in you car), and beep, play a radio, yell, play an instrument, whatever, to celebrate them as they drive through. If you know of any people in the Media business, persuade them to support us. High Point is not getting much at all lately. Remember, you can drape those bed sheet signs or whatever you want, on your car. If you would like for me to hang them outside the building, just leave them after you depart at 1PM. Looking forward to a lot of support for our seniors on this day! We are also looking into moving the buses into a "Bus Transportation Maze of Celebration" that the students will need to drive through. We can also hang out messages on the buses as well. Below is a map where staff can park for this event if they wish to participate (please look at the yellow areas)

Please remember to fill out the weekly engagement forms that Mrs. Cutler spoke about in the faculty meeting. Also, please make sure you are filling out the daily work verification forms.

Weekly Canvas Student Engagement Form

Teachers complete this form weekly, please only fill out for students that are inconsistent with engagement on Canvas.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=H_vimqLeQ0yBlHYk_LuzDITopvTp8EpMiAvEn8nKSgdUQTk3OUYzV0JPNU5BUExaMFFYU1JBOENYWS4u

Week of April 27th work verification link (Being e-mailed as well Monday morning)
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgNbkLnexJvur7lH5br5cP_imCF-xKrajRT4UMlGfDlcJfbQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

All questions surrounding grading should be directed to Mrs. Cline so we do not muddy the waters with any inconsistent responses.

A gentle reminder that you should not be entering the school without my knowledge/permission. If you are needing something from your room, please let me know and I'll have thew custodians get those items and have them at one of the entrance doors, or I can deliver them to you. Custodians are required to re-clean/sanitize all areas that non-essential personnel come in touch with. We are working with a limited number of custodians and I'm sure those who are still working in the building would appreciate everyone working with them so they do not have to repeat any steps they have already taken. I or the custodians can even Facetime if necessary to navigate around your room to assist you. :) Thank you!

Information shared in this update comes from the College Board. we should encourage our students to take advantage of the different resources designed by the College Board to promote student success on these exams. Instruction and support will continue to be provided by our dedicated AP teachers who are also receiving additional instructional resources from the College Board. We strongly encourages students enrolled in an AP course to take their AP Exam(s).

Exam Window

Dates: May 11- 22, 2020 Make-ups: June 1-5. 2020*

The student exam date is based on the course. Visit here for specific exam dates.

*The make-up exam window should be used for emergency situations only.

Exam Features

The exam will only include topics and skills most AP teachers and students have already covered in class by early March.
This year’s AP exams will be open book/open note.  Get tips for taking open book/open note exams at Tips for AP Open Note Exams
Most exams will have one or two free-response questions, and each question is timed separately. For example, some tests will have portfolio submissions, some will have one question to answer, some will have two questions to answer. Carefully review your course expectations.
Students will need to write and submit their responses within the allotted time for each question.
For most subjects, the exams will be 45 minutes long and include an additional 5 minutes for uploading. Students will need to access the online testing system 30 minutes before the exam start time to logon.
Teachers will receive copies of student responses to questions to affirm the validity of the answer and to confirm that it is indeed the student’s actual work.
Students will be able to take exams on any device—computer, tablet, or smartphone. They may type and upload their responses or write responses by hand and submit a photo via their cell phone. Students who do not have access to one of the devices mentioned above or do not have access to internet connectivity should notify their AP Coordinator or  reach out to us directly to College Board and let them know.

Test Format and Additional Information

This link provides students with specific details about the format of their course exams.

Courses with Portfolio Submissions or Alternate Submission

The following courses will use portfolio submissions and will not have a separate online exam. All deadlines for these submissions have been extended to May 26, 2020, 11:59 p.m. ET:

2-D Art and Design
Computer Science Principles (note: this portfolio submission is best done on a laptop)
Research
Seminar
Students taking AP world language and culture exams will complete two spoken tasks consistent with free-response questions three and four on the current AP Exam. Written responses will not be required. We will provide more details in the coming weeks to help students prepare.

Exam Timing and Tasks

Each subject’s exam will be taken on the same day at the same time, worldwide.
Students may take the exam at home or in school if schools reopen. If schools reopen, then they will communicate the logistics to the students.
These are the ONLY DATES AND TIMES that a student can take these exams. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Taking the Exam

In late April, the College Board will provide AP students and educators with information on how to access the testing system on test day, along with video demonstrations so that students can familiarize themselves with the system.
Students will receive an access link to sign into the system to take their test via the email address they provided when they signed up for their online AP account.
Students WILL have the opportunity to practice on the system prior to testing day. Information regarding that will be sent soon.

Exam Preparation (AP Live & Review) Full AP Exam Schedule

Continue working toward college credit and placement with free, live AP review lessons, delivered by AP teachers from across the country.
These mobile-friendly classes:
- Are optional and designed to be used alongside work that may be given by schools.
- Are available on-demand after the original presentation so teachers and students can access them any time.
- Are not dependent on current AP teachers continuing instruction. We know many AP teachers now face challenges that would make that impossible.
- Enable AP students to complete the few remaining topics of each AP class and then, throughout April, focus on reviewing the skills and concepts from the first 75% of the course.
To access the live classes and recordings, visit the AP Live YouTube channel. College Board will be adding more courses soon.

Here are some other ways to get ready for your exam:

Complete any assignments from your AP teachers in the AP Classroom. These may include Topic Questions, Personal Progress Checks, and free-response practice exam questions. Once you complete each assignment, you will see reports with feedback that can help you target additional practice.
For more details about your exams, visit Taking AP Exams, and see our FAQ page for more questions.

Below is a reminder from Mrs. Cutler to assist you as we continue to learn how to navigate with e-learning. Any questions should be directed to Mrs. Cutler.

Zoom Security Reminders:

Virtual waiting rooms, the ability to admit students individually or all at once into your virtual classroom.

Watch this quick video breaking down how to admit participants from your waiting room into the meeting. Watch Now
Check out this blog post to learn how to secure your virtual classroom. Read More

Disable or modify the chat feature, so that those on the call can't send private messages to each other.

1) click on the chat icon at the bottom of the screen (the chat box should appear on the right)

2) click the 3 dots near the bottom of the chat. It will give you a choice of who participants can chat with.

IEP Read Alouds - reminder

Teachers should have individual student IEP’s at a glance at home.

Any teacher can give extended time to any student given our current situation. However, follow the iep accommodations as noted (study guides, multiple test sessions etc.) and contact EC case managers on modifications that you may be unclear as to how they can be provided.

Teachers should include on their Canvas page

Read aloud resources for classroom material are as follows:

Read aloud/Text to Speech plug in in Google Chrome

If they need read aloud for a word document they can go to this website and copy and past the text in the box and click the play button https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/

https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/

https://ttsreader.com/

Teachers should include: If you would prefer an individualized read aloud, please contact Mrs. Ynoa Lantigua at . ynoalac@gcsnc.com