Geary Schools to Utilize Virtual Day

Image
  • Connie Burcham Watonga Republican
    Connie Burcham Watonga Republican
Body

Geary Public Schools will hold their first virtual day on Friday, Aug. 28. Students will not report to the brick and mortar buildings that day, but instead remain home and ‘attend’ school on their computers.

IPads and Chromebooks have been assigned to the students to use for virtual instruction. Teachers will be at school and teach via computer. The students had a trial run Aug. 21 to learn how to access their classes via Zoom or Google classroom.

One of the top priorities is to make sure the students can access their virtual classrooms, according to elementary Principal Sean Buchanan.

But the virtual day will be compressed, so that students and parents don’t spend an entire day staring at a computer screen. Class will begin at 8 a.m. and first ‘hour’ will end at 8:25. Second period will run from 8:30-8:55 a.m. and breakfast will take place from 9-9:25 a.m. Third period will run from 10-10:25 a.m., fourth from 10:30-10:55, fifth from 10:30-10:55, sixth from 11-11:25 a.m. and seventh from 11:30-11:55 a.m. Lunch is from 11:55-12:25 and ends the virtual day.

Special provisions have been made for students who don’t have internet access at home. Those students should contact Buchanan at the elementary school or Christa Rollins at the high school. Students can locate themselves close to the schools and use the Wi-Fi, use Zoom on their cell phones or use Wi-Fi from the town library. Check the library hours and make sure Wi-Fi is available when needed. Anyone who has connectivity issues can let the administration know and a solution will be determined.

The virtual learning plan has been implemented so that in the event schools are closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, learning can continue.

Connie Burcham can be reached at Editor@WatongaRepublican.com