Matthew Paterson Elementary School

Dear Matthew Paterson Elementary Families,

As our Distant Learning Phase II plan enters into week 2, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you that during the week your child’s (children’s) teacher will hold one 20-minute “office hour” session weekly, where students will have access to teachers in real-time. These will be held via Zoom or Teams in Microsoft Office 365 (if teacher has set this up). Joining office hours is optional for students and permission to use Zoom is necessary from parents. During this time, students can check-in with their teacher to ask questions or get feedback. While using these platforms, it is important that students adhere to the following guidelines listed below. Also listed below are some tips for using Zoom.

Guidelines:

• Students are expected to adhere to the Carmel Central School District Code of Conduct and Responsible Use for Technology and Internet. Students who do not follow the expectations set forth by his or her teachers are subject to removal from current and future meetings.
• No one in a Zoom or Team Meeting should take photos or screen shots due to the privacy of others.
• The passwords you receive for Zoom Meetings should not be shared with anyone. If someone you know is having difficulty getting into a meeting they should contact the teacher directly.

Zoom Tips:

• In the bottom left corner of the screen, there is a video camera icon with a line through it. When you’re ready to turn on your camera, go ahead and click that icon so you can be seen in the meeting.
• In the upper right corner of your screen, you can choose Gallery View so that you can see everyone in class. Depending on how small your screen is, you may need to scroll down or across to see all of your classmates.
• In the Upper Right-Hand Corner of the teacher's box, you will see an option to PIN. You can PIN your teacher if you want them to be the largest box on your screen.
• If you are using a Zoom account for multiple people in your home, you will want to make sure you change the participant’s name to the person who is actually in the meeting. At the bottom of your screen, in the middle, you can click on “Manage Participants” to change your name. On some screens this is located on the Upper Right Hand Side where you will see three dots (...). You can rename there too!
• On your lower screen, there is a Chat function for writing comments or questions to the group and a Reaction Button for giving a thumbs up and clapping.
• When you enter the room, you should mute yourself so that it will prevent any background noise or prevent others from hearing what is going on in the background of their homes.
• When you enter your Zoom session, your teacher will add you one by one to the class from the waiting room, so, he or she is sure exactly who is in the class!
• From time to time, the video may freeze or go in or out. To create more bandwidth, temporarily turn off or disconnect all other devices using wifi in your house. Close all unnecessary open windows on your device.

I hope you continue to stay safe and found this information useful.

Be Well!

Mr. Kirk

REMINDER

Please fill out the Zoom Consent Form. This gives your child permission to use this conferencing tool with their teachers should they choose to use this platform.

Without this permission, your child cannot partake in these conferences.

If you have already taken the survey, please do not take it again. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and be safe.