Grades have been updated in Edsby for the work that was due last week.
In class, the zero was a placeholder until you turned in your work.  The same policy is in place for eLearning.  Get the assignment in to me and I'll replace the grade.  
My concern is some of you are very far behind. Much like our classroom, I give you the opportunity to work with me before we involve your parent.  I am not in a position to chase you down at school and regularly remind you of what is missing,  therefore the window for my contacting your parent is much smaller.  
If you experience issues (whether it's technical, emotional, mental) that is preventing you from working, please contact me.
Some kids are overwhelmed.  It's so much and without the daily guidance of your teachers.  I will connect you with another student if needed.  I will extend due dates.  I will call you.  I will be there for you. Please, let me know if you are struggling.

Homework grades have been put in.  I sent messages to those who need to select more grade level appropriate books or need to retest.
I am putting grades in for everything that was due this week by Sunday to give you a couple of extra days to work.  If there is a zero, it's because I didn't receive a copy of your work from you.  If the mistake is on my end and I overlooked it, let me know. I've opened over 600 documents this week, so it may have been lost in the shuffle.
Does the zero have to remain there? Of course not, just get the work turned in.  It's the same procedure we have at school, except I can't conference with you about it face to face so I sent you a message.  If I sent you multiple messages and you failed to respond, then I sent one and included your parent in the communication.  You know I'll always give you the benefit of the doubt before reaching out to them.
Enjoy your weekend you know, hanging out at the house, doing the same old, same old. :)

Hello All,
It looks like we are now a finely tuned oiled machine and have worked out tech problems.  As for my lovely meme today, who knew that staying home all day could be exhausting?  It just goes to show how our minds and bodies need to be stimulated.  I wonder how many students are actually sick of playing video games? I'm tired of reading!  Even the things we love must be done in moderation.
So my usual sinus infection of the year has reared it's ugly head.  It typically  kicks my chronic bronchitis into gear but I don't want to go to an urgent care because  I'm anxious about the other sick people who might be in the room.  I can't be irrational though, so I'm giving it a couple of days to see if over the counter medications work to battle my sinus issues and we'll go from there.
In the meantime, I'll make sure that the assignments that were due this week are graded by Sunday night.  I've been pretty good about getting it done as efficiently as possible but as you can see...I'm dog tired.  

Another glorious day in the neighborhood. Looks like things are going well.  Still a few hiccups here and there but nothing that a message to your good ole teacher hasn't fixed.
Every student has logged in to Edsby...yay!  Good to know that you are all safe and healthy.  
After checking in (yes we teachers have to do that too), my family has decided that we will take a daily walk to a new smoothie place everyday.  We walked for two hours yesterday and it was excellent for boosting our mental spirits.  I highly recommend getting out there and enjoying some fresh air.  

Those things that annoyed me at school are the same things I wouldn't mind dealing with now - like the pencil sharpener.  I must be clairvoyant to have made a calendar that essentially takes us to May 1. You have been doing a fabulous job of communicating with me when you feel overwhelmed, want more time to work on assignments, or have concerns like a lack of printer.  
Please continue to ask me for help.  I'm here to make things easier for you and help us get through this want-to-pull-my-hair-out-in-frustration period.  
We're struggling a bit here in the McGuire household (at least I am). It's tough to get online, to be motivated to do work, to stay awake and active.  I've never napped so much in my life!  
I don't doubt that you'll manage through this period.  As i often told you in class, "trust yourself." Trust yourself to manage, trust yourself to deal, trust yourself to get done what you're able to.  

Attendance is the responsibility of your HOMEROOM teacher just as it is when we're physically present at school.  With that said, students do not need to report in to me daily for attendance purposes.  I have the means (via Edsby) to see if any student has logged in to their Edsby account at any point during the week.  Reasons to log in to Edsby would be to check in with your teachers, upload an assignment, download an assignment or check your classroom feeds.  Uploading a document would indicate that you are present that day.  Sending ANY teacher a message or assignment would be evidence of your being present throughout the week.  Your attendance activity does not need to relate specifically to my class. 
Many of you have submitted this week's work to me already so I might not hear from you.  However I would expect that you are communicating with other teachers and I have the ability to monitor that. That's is how I'll track your attendance.  If there is no activity reported at all during the week, I'll inform my administration and teachers will get in touch with you or your parents specifically to determine what the issue might be.
I expect there might be traffic jams on Monday.  If you aren't able to get into Edsby, just try again on Tuesday.  If you're still concerned, email your teachers through their school email.  My email is [email protected].  I prefer you get in touch with me through Edsby but it you are nervous about not being able to log in on Monday, this is another means to try to contact me.  
I plan to be on Edsby daily from 8:30-11:00 and again from 3:00-4:30 so we can instant message - provided the system isn't slow..
My advice - take deep breathes, recognize that we are all a little anxious about how this will work and know that ultimately, we care about you and don't want you overly stressed about this situation. Stay safe and healthy. 

​Hey all,
I've been getting lots of messages about the Reading Counts on the 31st.  You do not need to send a document in to me.  I have the means to check on the computer to see if you completed it or not.  However, I am not checking that page until the evening of the 31st.  Between answering your Edsby messages, checking assignments, and keeping my sanity, I just didn't want to add another daily task to my plate.  So, I will put the grades in for Reading Counts on the evening of March 31st.  Thank you for being responsible and checking in with me though. 

Good morning.  Edsby is really wonky today and it's only 7:49 am so I can imagine how busy it'll get later today as teachers try to get everything working.

Some of you haven't logged in yet so Monday might be the first time you see stuff and you may feel overwhelmed.  I GET IT! Right there with you. There are a few assignments due next week.  I'm not picky about the specific day you get the work in but try to have Chapter 1-12 done by Friday.  Don't freak out that I want you to read 12 chapters, they're literally 1-2 pages long.  This book was carefully chosen by design.

Many teachers will attempt Zoom on Monday and Tuesday.  I am NOT one of those teachers.  I'm the sit back, wait, watch, listen to everyone's frustrations and successes teacher.  I might try it later in the week, but I have no desire to slow the system when your time would be better spent doing math, science, and writing lessons face to face with your teachers. 

Last, but not least, I miss you and can't wait till I'm back to being snarky in your presence. Stay safe and healthy.

Sadly, my work space at home is littered with the same unhealthy stuff I eat at school.

I've been trying to keep up with what you are uploading.  Some of you are sending little notes of encouragement which are always appreciated. Remember, the big idea with my class is DON'T STRESS!  I will repeat this as much as needed.  If you upload something late to me, no biggie.  The system is going to move slow with so many of us using it, so the due dates are fluid.  They're there as a guide for you to pace yourself.  Essentially your reading 8-10 pages every two days and answering the comprehension questions. 
Don't stay on your computers too long.I actually stepped away from doing any computer work yesterday because I gave myself a headache staring at a bright screen all day Tuesday.  Guess what?..I'm okay!  No harm done.

and I'm back!  Here is the new assignment schedule.  You have done a great job uploading documents and working through whatever issues we've come across.  I love the messages I'm getting from students who are working with one another using Zoom at home.  I'm learning how to do that today.  It's the item to cross off my to-do list today.  Stay healthy!

Hola my lovely students.  Day 2 and I feel like I should be sipping a Mountain Dew in front of you since my head is pounding with a migraine (Leo I know you'd appreciate that - you're always so perceptive in class) from trying to learn all of this new stuff and staring at a computer screen for hours on end..can't be healthy.  
While you are trying to learn how to upload assignments to me, I'm learning how to take attendance and figure out how to use Zoom so we can meet a couple of times a week.  I'll probably message a couple of you soon to use as guinea pigs in my quest to test this out before sending it to the masses.  
In the meantime, don't forget homework is due next Tuesday!

Just in case you miss our hallowed halls...I've provided a lovely picture from this morning's teacher retrieval of materials.  I'll post here daily in case there are things you need to be aware of for my class.  
First and foremost is that all assignments that were due this week are pushed back to a due date of March 30 per district edict.  With that said, feel more than free to send your work to me should you finish early.  I'll mark it in the Gradebook and you'll have less to stress over.  
Please do not complete any assignments that have a due date past April 15.  Hopefully, we'll be back in school.