Dear Parents,

I hope this finds you well. Please know that we have been working hard to ensure that your child's learning experiences will continue throughout our time away from school and that we will end the year having covered all the necessary skills and content. To that end, below are some important details for you. If you would prefer to read this message in Mandarin, the translation will be available on the TAS Parent Portal tomorrow, February 5.

We will be providing new content and learning opportunities online for Middle School students beginning on Thursday, February 6 and continuing through Monday, February 24. Using existing online tools, all core classes - World Languages, English, Math, History and Science - will be taught this way.
We will be teaching in a modified two-day schedule as shown in this table:

Thursday, (2/6), will be a Blue Day; Friday, (2/7), will be a Gold Day, and we will alternate days from there.

Students are expected to log into Canvas each weekday at these times and to participate in classes as directed by their teachers. Core class teachers will be online and interacting with their students during these 90-minute periods, and all core class teachers will be available through Canvas Chat during the Office Hours period each day.

All communication with students from teachers will begin in Canvas. Teachers may use other tools for communicating as well, including real-time video classrooms, email, OneNote and the various Google platforms. Teachers will communicate directly with students to provide feedback as appropriate. During this time assessments and deadlines for completed work may be given.

We are focusing our attention on the core classes for now. The Performing Arts/PE period will have suggested work, activities and exercises and students will need to log in to Canvas for these as well. We will not offer nor require work for Electives or other non-core classes at this time.

EAL and academic support teachers will continue to support their students. They will be reaching out to their students directly with more information.

We will be canceling Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences on February 27-28 in order to gain back an additional two teaching days. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about your child's progress in any course, you are welcome to reach out to that teacher and schedule a time to meet.

We will be modifying the year-end exam schedule in order to gain back three teaching days. We will have more details on the new schedule once we get closer to the end of the year.

When we return to school on Tuesday, February 25, we will evaluate where we are with the curriculum we covered and determine the need for additional ways of making up any gaps that might remain. With the gaining of five teaching days and the work that will occur over the coming weeks we feel confident that your children will receive the very best, complete education that you expect and that they deserve.

Thank you for your partnership as we navigate this distance learning together. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you have any other feedback to share.

All the best,

Josh Budde

Middle School Principal