2020-2021

Dear Sedgefield Middle School Students and Families,

What an honor it is to welcome you to Sedgefield Middle School! We hope this letter finds you safe

and excited about the new academic year. Throughout this summer leaders and staff have worked

to develop focused plans to ensure the safety of all students and staff, while continuing to develop

curriculum and instruction responsive to the needs of the students. This year attendance and

safety preparations have been made as a continued response to COVID-19. Based on current

pandemic metrics, the Board of Education voted to begin school on PLAN C and/or the Full

Remote Academy for ALL scholars. This results in ALL students beginning school remotely on

August 17th, 2020. Students will utilize the Canvas Platform to engage in school while in a

remote learning environment. Further information will be released on how it will be determined if

and when the district will move to PLAN B.

Academics and Instruction

Sedgefield Middle School has a strong tradition in creating an exciting learning environment for our

community students. We at Sedgefield Middle School are committed to creating a responsive

learning environment and culture that nurtures social, emotional, and academic skills to support

the development of each student’s potential. At Sedgefield Middle School, we are focused on the

following targets to strategically support our vision for your student:

● Designing whole-child initiatives to support the positive development of students.

● Utilization of data to create responsive academic instruction aligned with district

curriculums and North Carolina Standard-Course of Study.

● Embedding of social and emotional strategies into daily instruction.

● Creation of opportunities for students to develop and enhance critical thinking skills to gain

perspective and build global citizenship.

● Preparing each student for all high school and post-secondary opportunities.

To best support students in both face-to-face format and through virtual instruction, teachers will

work collaboratively to support the teaching of your student. Teachers will teach most content in

pairs, or co-teaching. This ensures students are able to maintain engagement with a teacher

regardless if we are face-to-face or in a remote setting. Teachers will collaboratively plan and lead

Zoom sessions to ensure students are engaged in active instruction. Through this model teachers

are able to provide more differentiated instruction and support students across learning

environments. More information will be provided during Open House and panel discussion

sessions.

Attendance is critical during remote learning. Each day, attendance will be taken based off of

synchronous and/or asynchronous activity for each course your child is registered. Please work to

encourage the active learning and participation of your student. Grades will be recorded in Canvas

and Powerschool. More information on grading will be provided during Open House and from the

classroom teachers.

Remote Learning/Technology

Students will engage in the Canvas platform to drive their learning beginning August 17th.

Students will be able to access their schedule in PowerSchool on August 5th, 2020. Students will

begin each morning at 8:15am and engage in a collaborative community discussion with their

peers to engage in social-emotional strategies appropriate for middle school students. Students

will then follow their schedules to engage in synchronous learning activities for each of their

scheduled classes. Times are as follows:

● 8:15 am--9:30 am---Spartan Time--Social/Emotional Learning

● 9:30 am--10:05 am---Block 2/8th Electives

● 10:15 am--10:50 am---Block 3/7th Electives

● 11:00 am--11:35 am--Block 4

● 11:45 am--12:20 pm--Block 5/6th Electives

● 12:30 pm--3:30 pm--Independent Work-time--may include pre-reading; conference with

teacher; discussion boards; video viewing; peer group work

Embedded within our remote learning schedules are approximately 45 minutes of

transition/movement time between classes. We encourage students during this time to step away

from the screen and complete movement activities.

Engagement in remote learning is critical for students to gain instruction and support for their

academic, social, emotional development. Teachers have received ongoing training throughout the

summer on engagement strategies to embed within their virtual coursework. All courses will be

provided through Canvas. Parents have access to the Canvas platform and we encourage you to

download the Canvas app to connect with your student. This will provide parents the opportunity

to monitor progress and completion of assignments. Partnering between students, parents, and

teachers during this time is critical for success.

Many students have been provided with their Chromebook to support remote learning. If your

scholar needs a device, the device is not currently working, or needs access to a hotspot to ensure

wifi access, please contact Jason Gwinn at jasonr.gwinn@cms.k12.nc.us .

Back to School Events

Traditional Back-to-School events such as Open House and orientation will be virtual this year. To

ensure understanding of the format we will release a pre-recorded Open House session on

Tuesday, August 11th through ParentSquare, the SMS website, and social media. Grade-level

Zoom sessions will be held on Thursday, August 13th and Friday, August 14th. Times are attached

to this letter and registration occurs through ParentSquare.

Students will need certain materials for success in remote learning. Materials may include school

supplies, elective materials, content workbooks. Pick up days for these materials are on Thursday,

August 13th from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM and Friday, August 14th from 7:30 AM until 3:30 PM.

Safety Measures

Safety for students and staff will be critical throughout the upcoming year. Sedgefield will follow

all district, NC DPI, CDC, and local guidelines to ensure staff and students are provided the safest

learning environment. Below are a few current safety measures that in place:

● Health screenings, including temperature, of all staff, scholars and visitors upon entry to the

building

● Masks to be worn by all individuals in the building

● Social distancing, all stakeholders remaining 6 feet apart throughout hallways, classrooms,

and meetings paces

● Protocols in place if a scholar or staff member demonstrate any symptoms or

communicate exposure to COVID-19

● Increased hand-washing and access to hand sanitizer throughout the building