No images? Click here
In This Issue...
- Reflections from Gateway High School's College Counseling Team
- INSPIRATION: A Virtual Send-Off for the Class of 2020
- VIDEO: How to Teach Remotely Using Padlet
- LINK: Helping Students Discover Their Purpose
- LINK: How Do You Close the School Year During Distance Learning?
- LINK: Give Yourself a Break
“They're Not Alone"
Reflections from Jenna Marx, College Counselor,
and Joel Rangel, Director of College Counseling @ Gateway High School
As college counselors, we’re used to working with students while they play the waiting game: waiting for college admission decisions, for scholarships, for the results of the high stakes exams that will influence where their next steps after high school will take them. It’s part of the normal rhythm of the school year.
That rhythm, obviously, has been disrupted, and we’re now playing a whole different waiting game – one that is somehow even more stressful and high stakes for the young people who will be graduating in just a few short weeks. Many of our seniors already know that their next year is going to look very different from what they may
have planned for or hoped, others are still in limbo, and all need help processing big feelings while using this time to set themselves up for success as best they can.
In the face of so much anxiety, we try to help students focus on what they can do: update their FAFSA if their family’s financial situation has changed, appeal financial aid or admission decisions made before the pandemic hit, investigate what kind of flexibility the colleges they hope to attend are prepared to offer for 2020 graduates. Even when things are uncertain – even when things kind of objectively suck – their own tenacity and agency will continue to open doors for them.
And they’re not alone. At Gateway, we’re being more intentional than ever about celebrating our students and especially about showing our seniors some love. We’re having to be more creative – Padlets instead of assemblies, videos instead of pizza parties – but the way that our faculty and especially our freshman, sophomores and juniors have stepped up for our seniors is really incredible. Our seniors are missing out on some very real experiences, but being able to see how much the entire school community cares from the outpouring of messages and photos is powerful. Some of these ad-hoc virtual solutions may even become new school traditions when students return to school next year!
The same can be said of our work. In April, we held our first webinar for families about college admission and how testing, transcripts and transitions to college could be affected by the pandemic. We often hold informative events for families at school, but we were excited by the large turnout for this virtual event, and it’s exciting to think about how we can use technology alongside in-person events to reach even more families in future years.
This year has been far from perfect, but in these past few months we have seen students and staff alike display flexibility, resilience, and a real desire to find the positive in the midst of hardship. With those experiences under their belts, our seniors will be ready for their next steps, wherever they lead.
INSPIRATION: A Virtual Send-Off for the Class of 2020
Like weddings, quinceaneras or even funerals, graduations are ceremonies so significant they are often as much for the larger community as they are for the honorees.
It makes sense, then, that so much national attention is currently being paid to how our schools are celebrating the class of 2020: if we can figure out how to give them a proper send-off in spite of both physical distance and social uncertainty, it somehow feels like a sign that we’re sure to pull through this soon, as well.
Graduation ceremonies this year will look as different from one another as they do from last year’s ceremonies, but here’s how we’re finding ways to celebrate this extraordinary cohort of young people in extraordinary times:
- In lieu of in-person celebrations for Decision Week, a celebration of seniors’ post-high school plans and their academic accomplishments, faculty took the festivities online using Padlet, a simple but attractive (and free) online bulletin board. Each day for a week, a different cohort of seniors was showered with photos, well wishes and lots of love by students, staff and families. Once all the Padlets were finished, a highlight video was compiled and shared.
- Senior Clearance Appointments: Due to the haste with which schools were closed fairly early in the semester, seniors have some housekeeping business to take care of that simply has to be done in person. Getting this done safely is not an easy logistical feat, but staff are arranging fifteen minute visits to campus to clean out their lockers, turn in books, get their end-of-year memorabilia and have professional graduation photos taken (whew!). The photos will be made available to families and used at graduation. For an idea of how this will work, click here.
- Virtual graduation ceremony: If your school has a Jostens account (and if you have yearbook photos taken, there’s a real good chance you do), the company is offering a free virtual graduation ceremony template so you can broadcast your event to all your students and families at home. The template makes it easy to structure your event and add your own content – and it looks considerably snazzier than a regular Zoom meeting. Check out this sample event here.
We hope these ideas help you feel a little more confident planning your commencement festivities!
VIDEO: How to Teach Remotely with Padlet
Interested in adapting our Distance Week Padlets? Our resident Ed Tech guru Sam Kary walks you through everything you need to know about the online platform in this quick ten-minute video! While geared for academic purposes like student discussions and assignment showcases, this intro will have you setting up virtual bulletin boards like a pro in no time –for work AND for fun. Check it out!
LINK: Helping Students Discover Their Purpose
Chances are, you’re feeling more than a little unmoored most days – and for many of our students that feeling is even more pervasive. These activities from Greater Good in Education, designed for students in middle school through college, can help students reconnect with their sense of who they are and their own efficacy. Each is designed to help students inventory their passions, values, and goals, and would fit in naturally with any class or informal online gathering as the school year winds down and we start to think about next steps. They wouldn’t be out of place at your next PD meeting, either!
LINK: How Do You Close the School Year During Distance Learning?
School springtime rituals don’t just endure thanks to force of habit or because we can all benefit from being cut some slack late in the year – they’re key to building and maintaining school culture. As the good folks at Facing History and Ourselves put it: “End of year rituals are not only rites of passage, but manifestations of community. “
This resource contains six activities that can help students reflect on the past school year, celebrate their school community, and look ahead to what comes next. One of the most poignant suggestions includes having students write and schedule emails to their future selves, to be read before the first day of school next year:
Students can use the following questions to help them write their emails:
- What is something you learned about yourself during your time of remote learning that you want to remember?
- If you have periods of remote learning during the upcoming school year, how do you plan to take care of yourself and others?
- When you return to in-person learning, what aspects of your school would you like to change?
Read more about this activity and five more great ideas here.
If you find yourself struggling with the nagging feeling that you could be doing things better, whether it's related to your work or the nagging feeling that you're spending too much time playing Animal Crossing
while everyone else is using quarantine time to get swole and start an Etsy store, pop in your earbuds and give this podcast episode a listen. In 20 minutes, a student and professor from UC Berkeley work through the whys and hows of practicing self-compassion, even when it’s hard and doesn’t come naturally to you. Not a podcast person? There’s a full transcript you can read as well!
This episode is one of several designed to help living through the current crisis more manageable, addressing topics like “Staying Close While Physical Distancing” and “Helping Kids Think About the Good,” among others. Go forth (but stay in) and be peaceful!
What Do You Need?
Gateway Impact’s mission is to serve as a free resource and partner to educators across the nation – and that means you! Email us with a distance learning challenge you’d like help troubleshooting and a Gateway educator will address your question in a future issue.
Alternatively, is something going well? Find a great resource to share? Let us know and we’ll highlight your bright spot.
Know a friend or colleague who’d be interested in HomeRoom? Forward along and encourage them to subscribe!
 |  |  |  |
1430 Scott Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
You are receiving this email because you are a public school advocate
