VIRTUAL LEARNING
In light of the official order from the Federal Government of the Swiss Federation for the continued closure of schools, the International School of Ticino will continue to be closed to students, staff, parents and visitors until permitted by government decree. We have put in place a virtual learning curriculum that has been provided individually to each student by their class teacher.
The implementation of this has been met positively as we have strived in the face of adversity to continue the education of our students; acting quickly to leverage the technology and e-learning capabilities of the Inspired group and supporting the skills required for independent learning.
A huge thank you extended to the entire school community of students, parents, guardians, teachers and non-teaching staff for your support in making this a success.
Dear Parents, Guardians and students of the International School of Ticino
We are grateful for the professionalism and flexibility demonstrated by our teaching staff and look forward to working together with you to continue to support your child’s studies.
Guided online learning will be provided for students of all ages for as long as the school remains closed from 08:30-16:00 CET, Monday to Friday. To reiterate, our priority remains to continue to support the children in their education. We will be constantly monitoring and reviewing the situation to ensure appropriate provisions are put in place to achieve this. Arrangements will of course be extended should they be required.
Should you have any questions, your class teacher will be available online or contact frontoffice@isticino.com for any further contacts. A reminder that there is a list of teacher contacts in the Families Handbook. If there are any updates to these arrangements, we will of course advise you immediately. We ask for your support at this time as we all try and work together through these exceptional circumstances
EARLY YEARS & PRIMARY YEARS KG-6
As we embark on this E-Learning journey together, it is imperative to look after the well-being of everyone in our school community. Many may feel excited at the prospect of using new software and virtual tools to engage in learning, whereas, others may feel daunted at the prospect of their daily routines changing. Consideration and understanding will be crucial as we support, encourage and come together during these unprecedented times.
We recommend that our learning community do not spend endless hours on the computer. Therefore, teachers will be uploading activities for each day before 9am. This will give pupils/parents the opportunity to print, screenshot or make a note of the activities that need to be completed. This should minimize the time spent on the computer. We believe all students should still be engaging in physical activity and spending quality time with their families.
We have put contingency plans in place to lessen the impact on pupils´ learning during school closure and will be running classes remotely via our online platforms. Teachers will set activities, respond to questions, provide support and share tutorial videos etc. using the various online platforms discussed at the recent Parent Workshops.
Kindergarten, Transition and Grade 1:
- Class Dojo and Blue Jeans
Grade 2, Grade 3 and Grade 4:
- SeeSaw and Blue Jeans
Grade 5 and Grade 6:
- SeeSaw and Teams
Our priority remains to continue to support the children in their education.
Pupils are expected to engage in the activities that have been set and to upload evidence of their learning electronically. Staff will continue to be available to pupils to help and support them via email and the online communication methods, detailed above, during normal working hours.
As always, please never hesitate to contact me with any questions or queries at: sjlee@isticino.com.
MIDDLE YEARS GRADE 7-9
We have planned E-learning for the students so that they are able to continue with their studies. This will be done through a combination of Microsoft Teams and Managebac.
The students will be expected to register with their form tutors twice a day, at 8:30 am and 3 pm, through the Microsoft Teams software. This will allow them to raise any issues with their form tutors who can speak with myself directly.
Teachers will be assigning work through Managebac in accordance with the current timetable. Therefore, if a student has science on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday, this is when tasks will be uploaded. The tasks will be uploaded to the ‘Task’ section of the relevant class and further communication can also take place on the messaging system. The deadline for the piece of work will be the end of the following day at 6 pm.
Students and teachers will be continuing their learning together in a virtual environment operated against their normal school timetable. Teachers will be present to direct the learning during their allotted lesson time through video, email and the chat function on ‘Teams’. If a student requires extra support and wishes to speak through the conferencing application outside of the scheduled times, this can be arranged separately with the individual teacher. Teachers will also be checking emails and the Teams periodically throughout the day.
Students should work in a chosen open space within the house, such as the dining room/lounge etc. as opposed to in their bedroom. This will help to avoid any possible distractions.
If you have any concerns or issues, please feel free to contact me directly at: mypcoordinator@isticino.com
We are fortunate as a member of the Inspired group to have drawn upon excellent experience in e-learning and as indicated the school will publish a further email with supporting documents for the use of online learning and relevant timetables.
Thank you for all your support.