Sunday, April 26, 2020

Patience and Grace

Hi folks, Jon Wennstrom here! Recently, I was asked by a friend what advice they had for parents working with their children at home as they continued their studies through distance learning. My advice was to show patience and grace. Patience and grace for the children doing their best to learn in a new environment. Patience and grace for the teachers who are learning and creating new learning platforms each week as they plan and coordinate in a virtual setting. Patience and grace for YOURSELF as you juggle working from home, taking care of the needs of your family and work with the teachers in this new environment. Please keep in mind that everyone is doing the best they can (including you). There are many questions still to be answered, but one thing I know for sure. We will get through this....together! 

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR BUCHANAN STUDENTS
  • Week of April 27: Classroom Meetings (through Zoom or Google Meets), New Instruction begins for English Language Arts & Math. 
  • Thursday, April 30: Virtual Science Fair
  • CELEBRATE MONDAY videos post each Monday at 9:00 AM and STORY TIME videos post each weeknight at 7:00 PM on our Buchanan Facebook page! 
PTA POINTS

  • Below is the slate of nominees running for each position for Buchanan's 2020-2021 PTA Board. We will likely hold a PTA meeting via Zoom in May or early June, during which we will hold elections. We will keep you posted!
President: Valerie Jackson
1st Vice President: Jill Allevato
2nd Vice President: Mary Anne LaCaprara
Treasurer: Amy Owens
Recording Secretary: Marcie Wenzlick
Corresponding Secretary: Kira Crandall and Katie Klann
Check out this link to participate in our Virtual Science Fair! 
Science Fair Link




#BuchananBears

Did you know that last Wednesday was Secretary's Day? We are so fortunate to have such wonderful people in our front office. Thank you Mrs. Pepple and Mrs. Flack for all you do!! We sure miss you! Great things are happening in our Buchanan Community! 


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Sunday, April 19, 2020

The Essentials

Hi folks, Jon Wennstrom here! I'm sure by now, you have received the email from Mrs. Oquist about our continuity of learning plan and how we are moving forward with distance learning. Part of that plan is teachers from across the district, working to establish the five essential concepts in English Language Arts and Mathematics to focus on for the remainder of the year. These will be taught in weekly lessons through a variety of virtual platforms for our students and provide opportunities for students to submit work and receive feedback from teachers. However, I think our district & school team have already been working on the essentials for the past month. Our district has continued providing necessary food distribution for families. We have supported the social/emotional needs of students through a 24 hour support line. At the building level, the Buchanan staff have been reaching out to families through email, social media, and even phone calls to make sure our students are feeling connected and supported. This will continue and even increase as each classroom hosts virtual class meetings each week and provides video lessons. I'm proud of Livonia Public Schools and the Buchanan Team for making sure that ALL of our students have "the essentials" they need!
  


UPCOMING EVENTS AT BUCHANAN

Week of April 20: All Classrooms will have at least one virtual Class Meeting 

Thursday, April 23: Families in need of a device may pick up a chromebook from the Buchanan Office from 12:00-1:00 PM. 

Week of April 27 and beyond: All Classrooms will have weekly virtual Class Meetings and posted lessons for ELA and Math as well as links to activities for PE, Art, Music, and Library

 Thursday, April 30: Virtual Science Fair

PTA POINTS
  • Below is the slate of nominees running for each position for Buchanan's 2020-2021 PTA Board. We will likely hold a PTA meeting via Zoom in May or early June, during which we will hold elections. We will keep you posted!
President: Valerie Jackson
1st Vice President: Jill Allevato
2nd Vice President: Mary Anne LaCaprara
Treasurer: Amy Owens
Recording Secretary: Marcie Wenzlick
Corresponding Secretary: Kira Crandall and Katie Klann
Check out this link to participate in the Buchanan Virtual Science Fair!

Click HERE to visit our school web page & see all the links to family resources & weekly lessons!


#BuchananBears


Did you know that all classrooms will be hosting virtual class meetings every week? The meetings will be held using "Google Meets" or a secure "Zoom" session. Please remember that video conferencing should ONLY be initiated by the classroom teachers. Students should not start video conferences or invite others to join...this is the role of the teachers. Thank you for monitoring your child's online activities and for your support of distance learning. Great things are happening in our Buchanan community! 



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Sunday, April 5, 2020

One Impossible Thing at a Time

Hi folks, Jon Wennstrom here! Recently, I heard the phrase "One impossible thing at a time" and immediately thought to myself, that's exactly what we're doing right now in education! When we could no longer be in the building, teachers took to their computers and started creating lessons for distance learning. When teams could no longer meet in person, they took to virtual platforms to plan and collaborate each week. When students needed food, we created food distribution checkpoints throughout the community. Now that we know that the buildings will remain closed for the remainder of the year, we will continue to look for ways as a district to help provide students and families with what they need. How will we face the new challenges that may arise? By doing one impossible thing at a time! 

CALENDAR of EVENTS

Monday, April 6 - Friday, April 10: Spring Break
Friday, April 17: Teachers will send out new learning activities for the following week

Check out this link to participate in our Buchanan Virtual Science Fair!
The link will also be sent out by classroom teachers as well! 

PTA POINTS
  • Thank you to everyone who participated in our Virtual Spirit Week! Please remember to email your photos from the week to pta.buchanan1@gmail.com for a chance to be included in the yearbook (when we pull photos from Facebook, the quality suffers, so PLEASE email them to us!).
  • Speaking of photos, we still need photos from throughout the year to fill out our yearbook (YES, there will be a yearbook!). Please email photos from school events, class parties, etc. to pta.buchanan1@gmail.com.
  • We are holding an online Scholastic Book Fair from April 8 through April 20. We are hoping this will help those who need to freshen up their home libraries after all of this time at home! The following link will go live on April 8 for you to start shopping: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/buchananelementaryschool10 
  • Below is the slate of nominees running for each position for Buchanan's 2020-2021 PTA Board. Election procedures in these unprecedented times will be determined in the next few weeks. We will keep you posted!
President: Valerie Jackson
1st Vice President: Jill Allevato
2nd Vice President: Mary Anne LaCaprara
Treasurer: Amy Owens
Recording Secretary: Marcie Wenzlick
Corresponding Secretary: Kira Crandall and Katie Klann
  • Still in need of Buchanan spirit wear? This Monday, April 6 is the final day for FREE SHIPPING on all orders. During this time there will be no minimum purchase to receive free shipping. There remains FREE SHIPPING on orders over $50 throughout the rest of the year. Click this link to view Buchanan's spirit wear store: https://www.buchananspiritwear.com/

LPS Academic Services department has created a site for parents to access i-Ready printable materials and some grade level Newsela articles. This is the site if you are interested in printing some I-Ready activities for students.
https://www.smore.com/tfs7u


Did you know that we will still be having our virtual Celebrate Monday on April 6 at 9:00 AM? I know it's Spring Break, but I couldn't resist!! Tune in to start your week on a positive note! Our evening Story Time sessions will start up again on Monday, April 13 at 7:00 PM after Spring Break. Great things are happening in our Buchanan community! 



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