Message #4 from the Head of Primary

From the Primary Principal (OGC)   Letter #4
April 13, 2020

Dear Parents 

From Tuesday, April 14, we are taking our online-learning to the next level. Our primary homeroom teachers will be setting up opportunities to meet live online with your children for social and emotional support. 
These opportunities which we are calling ‘Touch Base Meets’ (TBM) are just that, an opportunity for your children to ‘touch-base’ with their teacher in small groups to connect, to check in with them, and to chat. Grade 5 children are already doing this with their teachers and they will continue to do so in the way they have been communicating.
I am aware that some of our parent community would have liked us to have started this earlier. Our research however, and the feedback we are receiving from other international school administrators and teachers, has been guiding our decisions in this area. We have taken time to ensure that we fully understand how we can keep both our students and our educators safe online whilst continuing to give our students the best online learning experience we can. In this time of online learning, we are also mindful that this is not home-schooling and right now at OIS we will not be teaching lessons live online in the primary division. I can assure you that we have, and continue to, look at the best research in this area to inform our decision making.

How will this happen?

On Monday your teacher will share a sign up sheet with you - it, the sign up sheet, will be embedded in the unit letter on Monday morning, on which you can book a 10 minute ‘Touch Base Meet’ with your child’s teacher. No more than two other children will be attending the same meet as your child. This TBM is between the teacher and your child, not other family members, although we would like one parent to be in the same room as your child as an observer, not a participant,  for the duration of the chat.

Our IT team have put together guidelines for you to ensure the ‘Touch Base Meets’ are successful. Please follow their guidelines and those from your homeroom teacher.

From our IT Integrators

• Sign up for the TBM via the link (this will take you to a google doc) on the unit letter that is posted on Seesaw.
  
• ​If using an iPhone/iPad/Android device download the Zoom App on your device prior to your meeting.
  
• If you are using a Laptop/Macbook you do not need to download the Zoom Launcher.
  
• On the morning of your scheduled meeting, parents will receive a link from the homeroom teacher via email to access the ‘Zoom’ meeting.
  
• Then follow the prompts given to join the meeting.
  
• Keep the link safe. Do not share it with anyone. Do not post it in public spaces i.e Facebook/WhatsApp  This is very important to ensure your child’s safety in this meeting.

• Please support your child to attend the online meeting.
  
• The meeting is a time for your child to meet with their teacher. Parents will be observers, not participants.
  
• Once logged in, ensure you are in the same room or within earshot distance of the meeting. 
  
• Communicate concerns or questions with the teacher via their Oberoi email, not through this meeting.

 
Other things to note:

• Do not record the meeting under any circumstances. There will be other children present besides your own. It is against our school policy to record children without their parents' consent. 
  
• Your child’s microphone will be muted upon entering the Zoom meeting, this is not a technical issue. As long as they can hear and see the teacher everything is working fine. The teacher will unmute students when required.
  
• The ‘Touch Base Meet’ should last no longer than 15 minutes.
  
• The teacher will not be able to resolve technical issues during the morning meeting. If you have any technical issues while using Zoom, email a screenshot and as much information as you can to OISIT@oberoi-is.org and CC your child’s teacher. 

This move to online live chats is highly dependent on the technology being used, the connectivity in your home and in the teacher’s home – this first week will be an opportunity for us to evaluate the success of the venture and modify, if required, our way forward.
 Please note that this is in no way mandatory – your child can sign up to chat with their teacher if they would like to.
Kind regards
Tony