An Update from Interim Head of School Betty Winn

Dear Parents,

I hope you are healthy and learning how to adapt to our “new normal.” I continue to be thankful for the partnership we have with all of you. This morning’s pick up of devices and materials was incredible, and the words of encouragement and gratitude that we received from all of you are truly appreciated. We know these are trying times, but coming together to support each other makes it easier to handle everything. 

After our amazing team finished handing out all the devices this morning, we gathered for an administrative team chat to make sure that we are set for tomorrow’s first day of online classes for our Middle School students. We may experience some bumps along the way, but, as we have been doing all along, we will continue to navigate the rough terrain together. 

As a reminder, we encourage you to set up a proper home learning environment for your student, which you can learn more about on our new Online Learning Resource Board tile in Jagnet. There, you can also find letters from our division heads and information about using Seesaw and Zoom for classroom activities. You will be hearing from your division heads later today to prepare you to begin online classes this week. 

While we have transitioned to an online learning environment, we have suspended the eNews until further notice, however, you should expect weekly communication from division heads, regular communication from teachers, and I’ll be reaching out to you throughout the week. 

We know that parents often use WhatsApp to communicate with one another. As a reminder, this group is meant to be used for productive, school-work purposes. Please respect everyone’s privacy, refrain from lashon hara and remember that no pictures should be shared without consent (teachers, students or any other community members). You can find our WhatsApp communication policy online on the School Communications tile on Jagnet. Rabbi Wolpe has some relevant words of compassion and kindness in an email he released to the community today, which you can find here. 

If you need to reach faculty, staff or administrators, you may email them or contact them through Jagnet; they will be checking throughout the day. 

As always, thank you for your support and partnership. I am grateful for our incredibly talented and committed faculty, administration and staff. I am also deeply appreciative of having a parent body that is willing to work with us to keep our community healthy and to continue our General and Jewish studies curriculum in an online environment. Great learning is still happening, and we hope you’ll share these moments with us on social media; tag us @SinaiAkiba. 

Stay healthy, strong, and upbeat. Remember to continue to practice social distancing. With everyone’s help, this will pass and we will all be back together again soon.

Warmly,

Betty Winn

Interim Head of School