An Update from Interim Head of School Betty Winn

Dear Parents,

I hope you’re all staying healthy. As I said in my video that was shared on social media earlier, we miss having all the faces on campus, but it has been great to see many of my colleagues and even many of our Middle School students virtually today! I’m delighted to report that our first day of online learning went extremely well. 

Our first day of online Middle School classes took place and were quite successful; if you haven’t seen some of the pictures we shared on social media, I hope you’ll visit us on Facebook and Instagram. I encourage you to show off your own home learning experiences for your students by posting and tagging us @sinaiakiba. Our administrative team also held our first Zoom meeting this morning, and it was great to see all my colleagues via video conference. We may not be together in one room right now, but technology helps bring us together in spirit.

This continues to be a new experience for many of us, and I look forward to continuing to see how we grow and better ourselves through the challenge of online learning and working. 

As a reminder, school is in session, it just looks a bit different. While we’re not physically in the building, learning is taking place online, and students are expected to be present, on time, and in dress code, including kippot for the boys. Take a look at this video that our MS Student Council made for tips and expectations for online learning.

The school day requires regular attendance as usual, and as part of our updated protocols, we ask you to please let us know if your child will not be in school by emailing us using attendance@sinaiakiba.org. 

As I just mentioned, Middle School online classes began today, and Lower School and ECC online classes will begin tomorrow on Seesaw. Even our Parenting Center’s Toddler and Mini Toddlers classes will be moving to an online learning format starting tomorrow, also on Seesaw. This is all very exciting, and I can’t wait to see it in action. We will continue to evaluate how everything progresses on a daily basis, and continue to make updates to our virtual classroom policies as needed. 

If for any reason, you find that you are having trouble connecting with Zoom, please first consult the Zoom resources from Jagnet. If this doesn’t help you solve your problem, please contact our tech team. To help make this easier, we're hoping to launch a tech support email of SAATechSupport@sinaiakiba.org, starting tomorrow. However, there is a lot of stress on our systems right now, so we ask for your patience as we get this set up.

Sinai Akiba Academy remotely manages all SAA devices, even while checked out to our students, and there is no need to update or manage any apps or settings on the device you have checked out unless directed to do so by the SAA Tech Team. 

 

To allow the SAA Tech Team to remotely manage the device, please ensure it is fully charged and connected to the internet. To connect an iPad to the internet via wifi, follow the instructions on this Support page from Apple. To connect a Chromebook to the internet via wifi, follow the instructions on this Support page Google.

 

We are in the process of updating all our school devices currently checked out to families to match the student’s grade level and add the appropriate Online Learning applications required at this time. After fully charging and connecting your device to the internet, please allow up to a day for the device to fully download, install, and transition to these new settings and apps. Devices may be put to sleep, but please do not power them down. 

 

Don’t forget to check our Online Learning Resource Board tile in Jagnet, which has lots of information about how to best help students thrive in an online learning environment. In addition, it has a list of support resources that are offered throughout the Jewish community for those in need. We will continue to add information, tips, and helpful articles to this tile as we progress through the online learning period, so check back often. 

If you have any questions about our move to online learning, feel free to contact me or our administrators. I cannot reiterate enough how much I appreciate the partnership and support of our entire community as we work together to keep each other safe and healthy. 

Warmly,

Betty Winn

Interim Head of School