[An introduction from Dr. Tom Langdon, Superintendent]

Although we miss seeing our teachers, school friends, and other parents in person, let’s approach online and distance learning for the exciting and beneficial opportunity it can be.

Let’s tackle the challenge of learning in new ways without adding to anyone’s stress, especially our students.

Now if your family is anything like mine, just taking a whole group family photo on Thanksgiving Day can be a hassle.  Some family members want to cook or clean up, others want to keep watching the Lions (must be in the 1st quarter!), while the younger kids just want to keep playing outside. You know the routine. It’s no fun trying to happily round everyone up to take a photo.

It’s in this spirit I hope we all will approach online and distance learning. Let’s model grace and caring for one another while we all try to do our best with something totally new for most of us.

Let’s enjoy our moments of learning together without worrying if our hair is in place or if everything in the background is perfect. Let’s simply enjoy our new experiences together as a school family.

Most certainly, every family in our school district is coping with its own set of challenges, Mine is, too. Some of our days are organized and some are chaotic.  But whatever the current level of the disorder around us – let’s remember what we’ve learned from Thanksgiving and our other family gatherings.

It is in these times where we discover more about each other and gain a deeper appreciation for one another. It’s in those family times a child might learn more about one of their great-great grandfathers or a grandmother might hold a new grandbaby for the very first time. And who knows? One or two of the other children might pick up tips on how to set the table or cook sweet potatoes. This list could go on forever.

At any rate, everyone benefits when families come together and everyone tries to support one another.

Let’s approach online and distance learning in this way.