How Parents Can Help

How Parents Can Help
Posted on 03/29/2020
Drawing of parents homeschooling during school closureGreetings BMS Families-

Thank you so much for your patience and support as Bucksport Middle School has transitioned to remote learning the past two weeks. We understand how hard it can be to support your child’s learning while also dealing with the financial and social challenges families face as our communities practice social distancing and take other steps to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We know that each family is doing everything they can do to support their child’s education during this time. We appreciate all of your efforts to offer continuity of instruction to your child.

Many families have communicated to us that their child is beginning to feel frustrated or overwhelmed by remote learning and are worried about falling behind. Please know that we understand that remote learning can be a challenge, especially when students do not see their teachers every day and cannot get help in a classroom setting. We are asking each student and family to do what they can do and are fully aware that in the current situation, that will look different for each student.

5th and 6th grade students should be doing 90-120 minutes of remote learning each day and 7th and 8th grade students should be doing 120 with the occasional longer assignment. If your child is having to work much longer to complete assignments, please give them permission to stop for the day and start where they left off the next day.

We encourage all students to take advantage of “office hours”, specific times that teachers have set aside each day to help students through google hangouts or on the phone. You can find each teacher’s office hours posted in their google classroom, or call the main office at 469-6647 and we can look them up for you.

Parents are also encouraged to reach out to their child’s homeroom teacher if they have any concerns about their child’s remote learning. Homeroom teachers can offer tips and helpful suggestions as well as identify other resources available to students. Your child’s homeroom teacher is our primary point of contact during this school closure, and will be reaching out to parents and families each week to make sure things are going as smoothly as possible.

Remote learning is not only new for students, it is new for parents as well. If you would like any help learning how to monitor your child’s google classroom or how to participate in a google hangout, let us know and we are happy to help.

Again, thank you for all you are doing to maintain your child’s education!