Dear Lorin Eden Families,
I want to begin by acknowledging what a scary and uncertain time it is right now. I know that each of you are dealing with a strange and ever shifting reality. Speaking for myself and my colleagues at Lorin Eden, I want to say that we care deeply about you and your children and want more than anything to support you.
My name is Stuart Loebl. Most students know me as either Mr. Stuart or as Mr. Loebl (pronounced “Low-Bull”). I am what is called a Science Prep Teacher. During a normal year, I see each class of students in grades 1-6 once a week, do fun hands-on experiments, and facilitate brain growth and critical scientific thinking skills through questioning, observation and data collection.
Science class during a pandemic is going to be different from normal. Although I am sad that we will be starting the year unable to do experiments together, I am committed to keeping science enriching and fun! In that vein I am excited for the opportunity distance learning can provide to encourage individualized and project based learning.
I have a lot of ideas for how to do remote science learning, but I also want to ensure that my ideas are compatible with the needs of you and your children. I want to make sure that my lessons are accessible and appropriate for each student’s individual circumstances. That’s why I want to start this year by meeting all of you, and learning about your family’s learning needs.
As you may have heard, the district eased into this school year through a two week period called Jumpstart to Success. This period allowed students, teachers, and parents to get to know each other, establish norms and routines, and troubleshoot problems. I’ve already had the wonderful opportunity to reconnect with students in virtual classrooms, and I would like to cap off this time by meeting you! Next Friday, September 11th at 8:30 AM David will be hosting a virtual, “Coffee with the Principal” and spotlight my science program. The plan is to introduce myself, meet all of you, go through my ideas for how class is going to work this year, and learn about your individual situations, tips and ideas. As much as possible I would like to solicit feedback, to make digital learning a joyful experience for us all. Since David will be there, Spanish translation will be available for those who need it.
I know that everyone has different schedules in these crazy times, so we’re hoping to hold more of these sessions for those unable to attend. To help us prepare both for this and future events I would appreciate it if you could complete this optional survey, which also has some questions that will help me tailor my instruction to your needs. For those of you unable to attend any of the sessions, I will post a recording of the meeting so you can have access to the information I will be communicating. If you are unable to attend it would be wonderful to still find time to connect by email, phone, or Zoom.
Finally it’s important to note that I will need to communicate with you regularly regarding administrative announcements, schedule updates, home science experiments, and more. I have created this website for general science announcements, and in collaboration with classroom teachers will be posting most of my assignments and information for students using Seesaw for 1st-3rd grade students and Google Classroom for my 4th-6th grade students. Clever is another place where I know classroom teachers are often posting information relevant to my class. I encourage you and your children to jointly check those platforms regularly.
I know that all of you are very busy, so to recap:
- I’m Lorin Eden’s Science teacher and I am excited to start distance science learning with your child!
- I hope to regularly communicate with and support you throughout this process.
- Next week’s coffee with the principle at 8:30 AM on Friday September 11th will spotlight my science program to convey information about science class this year and to get feedback from you.
- Please fill out this survey to let me know if you will be able to attend, and to help schedule future information sessions (you may also copy and paste this url into your browser: https://forms.gle/qiMcj6yZbYri3Yrr6)
- Please check my website, Seesaw, Google Classroom, and Clever regularly for more information about science class.
If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. The best way to get in touch is to email me at sl511@husd.k12.ca.us. I am always happy to arrange a phone or Zoom call.
I hope that you and your families are staying safe and healthy.
Best,
Mr. Stuart