Leaders and Learners
WMRSD Leaders and Learners – Your Community Connection
White Mountains Regional School District
Whitefield, NH:
At Whitefield Elementary School
Remote instruction and the 2019-2020 school year
comes to a close on Friday the 5th. I doubt anyone could have predicted the
sequence of events that led to this point and I hope we never revisit it
again. Along the way, some valued events and traditions have had to be
adapted and sacrificed. There have been no shortage of tears and
frustrations. As is typical of this community however, people stepped up. Throughout,
parents, educators, and community members worked together to meet the needs of
students and keep them safe as best they could. District Food Service and
support staff prepared and delivered meals. Food bags were prepared and delivered
by community organizations. Folks checked in on the physical and emotional
wellness of students and families. WMRSD IT, a small local ISP, and
community civic organizations worked to get all students and families
reliably connected. Town and school officials supported efforts with
manpower and guidance when it was needed. School staff and families worked
together to connect students to remote morning meetings and advisories,
work on assignments, laugh, and cry when things went sideways. It took many,
many hands, creative minds, patience, communication, and flexibility to keep
the ball rolling. It hasn't been easy and it is far from perfect, but this
a community can be proud of their efforts. Whitefield School thanks
families and community members for their unwavering support of students and
staff. Stay healthy and WES hopes to see everyone soon.
Pirate Proud, Pirate Strong.
At Lancaster Elementary School
This week at Lancaster
School, they wanted to take a moment and highlight the WMRSD commitment to
feeding students through this global pandemic. Every school day since March
23rd, the WMRSD Food Service team has been busy starting early in the morning
preparing nutritious and hearty breakfasts and lunches for over 400 students on
a daily basis. The excellent food service team works efficiently and has a
focus on providing quality and quantity. After the food is prepared, sacked in
individual bags, and loaded into coolers, WMRSD has a number of staff members
that support loading the buses and delivering food to families throughout the
district. LES also wants to say thank you to all of the bus drivers who provide
safe and effective delivery of the food sacks to all of the families. Thank you
to all of the employees who are part of this food program!

At White Mountains Regional High School
Remote
Learning has presented a plethora of challenges for students and instructors,
but it also provided a space for some opportunities, which under traditional
learning, might have not been explored.
Students
respond well to practices established within their classroom settings, feeling
safe and in control. Those taking Spanish 2 classes this year have been
introduced to daily “warm-up” routines, such as Leer Lunes (Reading Mondays),
or Musica Miercoles (Musical Wednesdays), used to stimulate and activate
students’ brain cells to get ready for practicing language skills, as well as
enhancing their overall cultural learning experience.
The Friday
warm-up routine has always been Bailar Viernes (Dancing Friday) in Profe
Macakova’s Spanish classes, providing students with the opportunity to
experience Hispanic culture first hand by learning to dance the bachata and
merengue. In an effort to make the transition from traditional to remote
learning as smooth as possible, Profe created remote challenges around the
daily routines, one of which was the “Stay Home Dance Challenge”, based on a
song written in support of practicing social distancing during the coronavirus
pandemic. For an extra credit assignment, students came up with their own dance
routine to this song and made a short video clip of themselves dancing. The
Spanish 2 class video is available on WMRHS YouTube channel for those who are
interested.
These types of
activities helped students feel connected within their virtual classroom, as
well as foster empathy and solidarity towards those who are in a similar
situation during covid-19 pandemic.
Previous Articles:
May 27, 2020
May 20, 2020
May 13, 2020
May 6, 2020
April 22, 2020