Name: Students' first week of class is going 'better than expected', Region educators say
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Students' first week of class is going 'better than expected', Region educators say

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Get local news delivered to your inbox!Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisStudents' first week of class is going 'better than expected', Region educators sayShare thisMunster High School Principal Michael Wells stands in the hallway near the main entrance Thursday as students pass for their next class.&nbsp;Munster High School students set up three-sided plastic buffers on their desks in Kelly Barnes’ English 9 classroom Thursday morning. Munster is back to school for the first week of the fall 2020 semester.Munster High School teacher Kelly Barnes logs in with her virtual learning students during her English 9 class Thursday morning.Munster students use plastic buffer shields and social distancing in Hannah Fus’ American Sign Language class Thursday.&nbsp;Hand sanitizer is present at the entrance to classrooms and around the school as Munster High School students return to class for thei first week of the fall 2020 semester.Munster students use plastic buffer shields and social distancing in Hannah Fus’ American Sign Language class Thursday.&nbsp;One-way travel in hallways is just one of the precautions being taken as Munster High School students head back to classes for their first week of the fall 2020 semester.Munster High School students set up three-sided plastic buffers on their desks in Kelly Barnes’ English 9 classroom Thursday morning. Munster is back to school for the first week of the fall 2020 semester.Students’ return to class is going “better than expected” as Northwest Indiana’s first schools reopen this week amid the coronavirus pandemic.Educators in the School Town of Munster and Valparaiso Community Schools, both of which began with in-person instruction Wednesday, say students are quickly adapting to new face covering and social distancing expectations.“If we all do that and work together as a team and a family we can continue to keep going to school,” Munster High School Principal Michael Wells said he told students on their first day.In both districts, students are being provided hard plastic tri-fold dividers to use on desktops or at lunch where masks must be removed to eat. Both districts are using both cafeterias and gymnasium or fieldhouse space to separate students beyond the recommended 6 feet of social distancing while eating.Directional flow is being marked in hallways and strict enter and release times help control the flow of students in the hallways.The biggest change for teachers may be leading classes of students both with them in their classrooms and learning from home.Valparaiso High School math teacher Lauren Pickett said she may have between two to seven students in any given period logging into class virtually through Zoom video.Pickett said she’s introducing interactive digital activities through shared technology like Google Slides to replace typical group work that would bring students in close contact to one another.“We’re not in a big rush to teach a lot of curriculum fast,” Pickett said. “We’re more considered about the children and being safe, and keeping them safe.”At Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, freshman students returned in person for their first day Wednesday and sophomores followed on Thursday. Juniors and seniors will report back on Friday and next Monday, respectively.BNI students and staff will be temperature checked upon arrival, students are assigned to cohorts to minimize movement throughout the day, and the school will close every Wednesday for deep cleaning. All students and staff will participate in virtual learning on those days.About 25% of Bishop Noll students opted into the school’s virtual learning plan for the first quarter of the school year. Virtual learning students begin their first day Aug. 19.This semester marks the start of Bishop Noll’s 100th school year.“Every student who walks through our doors is extremely valuable to us,” Principal Lorenza Jara Pastrick wrote to families. “It is our goal to hold ourselves to the highest standard of health and safety to ensure all students feel comfortable as they return to the classroom.”Educators across the Region are asking parents to self-screen their students daily before sending them to school. Students always have the option of tuning into virtual instruction if they wake up with a headache or suspicious cough, educators say.“We are taking it day by day,” Pickett said. “Our students know to take everything home. If we ever felt like things aren’t safe, we would flip to remote learning immediately.”In the School City of East Chicago, where classes begin virtually on Monday, dozens of parents lined up outside the district’s administration building for device pick-up.The school city is providing iPads for kindergarten through second grade and Chromebooks for third through 12th grade. Superintendent Dee-Etta Wright estimates East Chicago schools will distribute 3,000 devices through Tuesday evening.The school city is one of about a dozen Northwest Indiana schools that will reopen only virtually for the start of the school year.The East Chicago district will provide wireless internet hot spots to families in need and has equipped its buildings with wireless internet access with a range of 500 feet. The school city will also park five internet-equipped school buses in designated locations across the city.“We’re making sure that we loan out our Chromebooks because we want every kid to have access to devices and internet because our instruction is live and synchronous,” Wright said.Across the Region, educators are asking for patience as students, staff and families acclimate to a new way of learning.“This is going to take at least a week or two to get used to the traffic patterns and technology,” Wells said. “We just ask for patience … We’re doing everything that we can.”In this SeriesGet local news delivered to your inbox!Munster High School Principal Michael Wells stands in the hallway near the main entrance Thursday as students pass for their next class.&nbsp;Munster High School students set up three-sided plastic buffers on their desks in Kelly Barnes’ English 9 classroom Thursday morning. Munster is back to school for the first week of the fall 2020 semester.Munster High School teacher Kelly Barnes logs in with her virtual learning students during her English 9 class Thursday morning.Munster students use plastic buffer shields and social distancing in Hannah Fus’ American Sign Language class Thursday.&nbsp;Hand sanitizer is present at the entrance to classrooms and around the school as Munster High School students return to class for thei first week of the fall 2020 semester.Munster students use plastic buffer shields and social distancing in Hannah Fus’ American Sign Language class Thursday.&nbsp;One-way travel in hallways is just one of the precautions being taken as Munster High School students head back to classes for their first week of the fall 2020 semester.Parents line up at the School City of East Chicago administration building Thursday morning to pick up student learning devices ahead of the beginning of the district's virtual reopening next week.Munster High School students set up three-sided plastic buffers on their desks in Kelly Barnes’ English 9 classroom Thursday morning. Munster is back to school for the first week of the fall 2020 semester.Bishop Noll Institute President Paul Mullaney welcomes the Class of 2024 to its first day of school.{{title}}{{summary}}You don't have any notifications.Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.Topics

Get local news delivered to your inbox!Please subscribe to keep reading. You can cancel at any time.Loading&amp;hellp;{{title}}{{description}}{{banner}}(renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax){{tagline}}{{special_title}}{{html}}You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.© 2022 Lee EnterprisesShare ThisStudents' first week of class is going 'better than expected', Region educators sayShare thisMunster High School Principal Michael Wells stands in the hallway near the main entrance Thursday as students pass for their next...

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Students' first week of class is going 'better than expected', Region educators say

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