"Gryphons at Home" will follow the School Calendar as published until further notice.

Praying Together Daily

Stained Glass
Daily Matins for Thursday, May 21, 2020 (Ascension)

It has long been our custom for the faculty to meet for prayers in the chapel each morning at 7:30 am.  Morning Matins is only 10 minutes in length (we all have places to go), but we read the lesson appointed from the lectionery – an Epistle, a Gospel, or Psalm – and then we pray together.  Each week there is a new “Collect” (pronounced KOL lekt), and we pray for your children by name.  That’s where those little prayers cards come from that you receive about two times each year!

We now welcome the whole community to join us for our start to the day with Matins.  We’ll refresh the link to the left daily by 8:00 am. We will also post it on Facebook.

While nothing can replace your student’s New Covenant classroom experience, our new Directed Learning Plan has been thoughtfully developed to prioritize core content, deliver meaningful direction, challenge students with self-paced assignments, and monitor student progress.  It is not our goal to replicate the New Covenant classroom, or to require a level of engagement which is not sustainable for parents at home.  On this page you will find links to tools that your students need to facilitate learning at home.

Our directed learning approach contemplates instruction in three categories.  First, there are those things that are required of the student; second, there will be many things that the teacher recommends, and third, there will be suggestions for wider resources for a broader experience that is more self-directed.  Our delivery platforms will utilize the strengths of RenWeb, and the remarkable tools we have found with Zoom and Loom. 

Everyone needs to watch one of these videos on How To Navigate Renweb


Connect to Your Child's Directed Learning Resources

The Grammar School teachers want you to know how much they miss your children!  To help families through this challenging time, New Covenant teachers will offer daily, live, online classes with your children and some pre-recorded videos for them to access at other times. These virtual experiences are designed to be valuable, enriching, and fun.

Keep in mind that we are all learning together how to adapt our teaching to this new format.  We expect problems to arise and will work through them as they do.  Consider next week a long “on-ramp” to virtual instruction.  No work will be collected from students or graded by teachers.

Schedules have been planned to accommodate households with more students than computers.  The teachers will work through some familiar classroom routines and help students to become comfortable in the online classroom.  For the first week, they will focus on reading and math, as well as learning about the online environment.  They will provide daily assignments which will take your children no more that two hours per day.  You will access all of the live classes, assignments, and pre-recorded teaching videos through Renweb.

We will evaluate our online instruction and consider the possibility of adding more live or recorded content when we are confident that we can deliver the basics in this online format.

In the days and weeks to come, pre-recorded videos will also be posted by specials teachers, Mrs. Neiderer, Mrs. Simpkins, Mrs. Ames, Mr. Dunaway and Mrs. Callaway, and in 4th grade, Mr. Nigro and Dr. Musgrave.

 

The Middle School faculty are excited to adapt their classrooms to an online format.  They are looking forward to seeing each student in virtual classrooms beginning on Monday, March 30.  

Keep in mind that we are learning together to adapt our teaching to a virtual environment.  We expect problems to arise and will work through them as they come.  Consider our first week a long “on-ramp” to virtual instruction.  No work will be collected from students or graded by teachers.

Middle School teachers will hold daily live class sessions at scheduled times.  Schedules have been planned to accommodate households with more students than computers.  Students will meet with their Literature and Writing, Math, and Latin teachers in 5th and 6th grade; in 7th and 8th, they will meet with their English, Math and Latin teachers.  In Renweb you will note that classes are labeled A or B. 

Classes labeled A will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays; classes labeled B will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Classes are scheduled for afternoon hours.  Assignments will be posted in Renweb for students to complete outside of class.  Students are expected both to attend class and to complete assignments.  In addition, enrichment assignments may be posted; they are optional.  You will access these classes through Renweb; a link will be posted in RenWeb under one of the resource tabs. Watch the Middle School Navigation video above for instruction on how to find the correct tab.

Grading:  The Middle School will move to a Pass/Fail grading system.  Details of how students will submit work are still being finalized.

Teachers:  Three classes now share a common instructor in order to facilitate scheduling.  Going forward they are as follows:

  • Mrs. Baker will teach all 7th grade English.
  • Mr. Dunne will teach all 8th grade Algebra.
  • Mr. Webb will teach all 7th grade Latin

We will evaluate our online instruction and consider the possibility of adding more live or recorded content as we are confident that we can deliver the basics in this online format.

In the days  to come, pre-recorded videos will also be posted in special disciplines by teachers in music, art and PE.

 

School of Rhetoric students and parents can expect their courses to continue for the remainder of the quarter through four primary tools – RenWeb, Office365, Zoom and Loom. 

Teachers will publish weekly lesson plans on RenWeb to help students pace through the course work. They will also post materials (documents, PDFs, PowerPoint slides, etc.) and links to video/audio lectures in the Resources tab of their RenWeb course homepage.

Our teacher’s will use several platforms to make themselves available for student support including email and regularly scheduled ‘phone office hours’. Additionally, teachers will take advantage of Zoom video conferencing to maintain a connection to their students.

This will take two forms: (1) teachers will host live ‘office hours’ every week. Students will be able to join their teachers to receive help as needed; and (2) live classrooms will be conducted at regular intervals. The frequency will vary as dictated by the subject matter and may increase as the community becomes more proficient with the technology.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Answer:  Log onto your RenWeb account and follow the tabs to your child’s classes.  Your teachers will have lesson plans, homework and links to everything you need there.

Answer: You will need an internet connection, a device that connects to the internet, and a RenWeb account.   As a New Covenant parent you already have the RenWeb account, even if you do not use it that often. Now you will. If you don’t have a internet service, a SmartPhone will work.  It can also provide a “hotspot” for connectivity to the internet.  Finally, parents who cannot connect can be accommodated in limited numbers on campus.

Answer:  If you do not have reliable internet service in your area, please contact your school principal, Marion Patterson or Scott McCurley directly.  They will discuss options for your situation.

We would encourage you to have the ability to print.  Students in higher grades can submit work in .pdf form, which can be done by photographing a hard copy with a phone.  Alternately, a pdf can be created in MSWord and emailed.

Answer:  Students in grades 8-12 were given an email@newcovenantschools.org account in the fall, 2019.  They have ID credentials and access to Office 365 already.  We have added additional students in grades 5-7.  The email and password credentials will be issued by the office to you, the parent, and your student should get in the habit of checking email.  Office 365 will not be used in the Grammar School. It will be used sparingly in the Middle School (5-8).  It will be used heavily in the School of Rhetoric.

Answer:  No.  All of your Zoom-based participation will be initiated by your teachers. Similarly, Loom is a video application that does not require an account on your end.

Answer: New Covenant will initially “crowd-source” solutions to common problems on Facebook here:  www.facebook.com/groups/gryphonsathome        

Our parent community will be asked to help each other in this forum.  As soon as is reasonable, New Covenant will provide deeper assistance. 

Answer:  We have no objection to study groups. That is entirely at your discretion.  We advise you to conform to recommended health protocols.

We will continue to teach.  Faculty members or parents who do not have internet connections at home may experience disruptions.  The campus will be closed.