***If you would prefer to read this message in Mandarin, the translation will be available on the TAS Parent Portal tomorrow, February 5th.***
Dear Upper School Parents,
I know you are eager to know how the TAS Upper School will be handling student learning over the next few weeks. A few years ago, we adopted Canvas as our Learning Management System because of its ability to handle remote learning. Our teachers have the ability and resources to deliver meaningful and appropriate lessons that will ensure students cover the necessary skills and curricular content by the end of the year, or by the time of the exam in the case of AP and IB courses. Virtual learning will obviously look and feel different to the students and to you as their parents. Please be supportive of your child as they begin this new adventure. Talk to them about what they are learning, and how they are engaging in their learning. Please encourage your child to actively engage in their learning and proactively ask questions of their teachers if they need support. As always, we will expect our students to be empowered to self-advocate, but we are also placing supports in place to identify students who are struggling to engage. We are confident that we can support all of our students so that no gap in student learning occurs as a result of our time apart.
Below you will find the email I just sent to all Upper School students. The major details outlining the virtual learning experience are contained in this email. I am confident that our students will find this learning experience rewarding. Our teachers are committed to delivering the high quality of education that we all expect from Taipei American School.
Sincerely, Andrew Lowman Dear Upper School Students,
As we begin our virtual learning for the next few weeks, I hope all of you have already logged in to Canvas and begun working on the lessons and assignments your teachers have provided. The purpose of my email is to clarify a few points and provide some extra structure to your daily learning schedule while we are away from campus. We know that virtual learning is a new experience for many of you. Your teachers are committed to supporting you in your learning as we move forward. You are expected to engage in your assigned classwork every school day as well as complete your "homework" as assigned.
Starting on Thursday, we will put in place a schedule for classes that roughly mirrors the regular school day. We will continue the A/B rotation of our typical school calendar. Thursday is an A Day. The timing of periods is as follows:
P1 9 - 10 am P2 10:15 - 11:15 am P3/P4 11:30 am - 12:30 pm P5 1:30 - 2:30 pm Office Hours 2:30 - 3:30 pm
Some days your teachers will assign work that needs to be completed, or plan an activity that needs to be attended, during the specific times above. If that is the case, your teacher will let you know of that requirement in Canvas the class period before. Other days your teacher will provide you work you can do independently during that time frame. Courses listed as "moderate" or "heavy" will also have some "homework" that needs to be completed outside of the class instruction period. Some form of check-in will be required for each class period so that we can ensure you are staying engaged in your learning.
The 2:30-3:30 "office hours" each day are set aside as a time when your teachers will be available online to answer any questions you may have. Some teachers may decide to hold office hours in a chat group or discussion board so that all students can benefit from questions and answers. One thing that will be necessary to make virtual learning work effectively is your active involvement. Just like in your regular school experience, the more you engage in your learning the more you will learn.
In the days before we get back to school, we will provide you with more information about how we plan to capture some extra time for academic learning throughout the rest of the school year. We are planning to shorten the exams period from five days to three days. We will also look for times during the school day, after school, and maybe even on some Saturdays. Please know that in recapturing time our initial priority will be to find time for classes that have an external examination in May (AP and IB classes).
We know that all students who engage in the virtual learning activities the next few weeks will continue learning and be ready all future exams. We believe in all of you and are excited to engage with you in this new way!
Sincerely,
Mr. Lowman Upper School Principal Taipei American School 800 Zhongshan North Road, Section 6, Taipei, Taiwan ROC 11152 Phone: +886.2.7750.9900 Website: https://www.tas.edu.tw |