Coronavirus Closures UPDATE 1...

Dear Students,

Hello from social distancing Day 2 in the Hilliard home!

So, here we are. Last Thursday when I prepped you for "here's what might happen," I honestly thought I'd see you tomorrow (Monday) to assign work, tell you not to stress too much about it, encourage you take care of yourselves and your families, and remind you there's SO much more you can learn and ways to learn beyond what's in our curriculum. As I said on Remind, I would've hugged some necks (OK, maybe just air hugs, given our present circumstances), and told ya' I loved ya'. 

But...here we are. 

We—all of us—are going to operate the best we can.
​
This update is to review a few important things as we head into this first week of shutdown: 

1. WORK
Teachers have been directed to have tasks prepared and ready to share with students by Thursday, March 19, BUT I have already posted your tasks in Google Classroom. ALL DIRECTIONS are outlined on the posted handouts, but briefly: 

• 11 Honors: you'll be working through some informal reading and research and then writing an editorial and reflection. What an amazing time for an editorial...there is SO MUCH to comment on in light of a pandemic. I encourage you to submit it to a local newspaper for publication! (more on that later)  
• AP Lit: you'll be finishing up some final steps with our sad prince Hamlet. You'll be finishing Act V, creating a meaning of the work as a whole product, and writing an AP Q3. 

2. COMMUNICATIONS & Office Hours 
Just when I thought I was ready to pull the plug on this class web site and blog we go and have a pandemic. I'll be posting periodical updates here and checking in with you on Schoology and Remind. To join Remind, text the number 810-10 and in the body of the text, use the following code @khilli + class period + 19 (e.g. @khilli119)

I plan to hold virtual office hours and class meetings (likely on Zoom or Google Hangouts), BUT I'm waiting to see if we'll have a coordinated schedule as a school before I make my own. You will not be required to attend these meetings, but they will be available to you. 

3. OPTIONAL LEARNING/Something to do when you're bored 
Life is weird now. There's nowhere to go really, there's no school, no practices, no concerts, no games. If you find yourself feeling listless and bored and just need something to do, consider the things you always aim to do but never get around to. Maybe you're a musician and you've wanted to learn a new tune, maybe there's a really hard TikTok dance you haven't yet mastered, maybe you'd love to learn how to bake a cake from scratch. 

Whatever it is, do some things and learn some things and share! (I've posted lots of suggestions in Classroom.)
Let's spread some joy and fun in this time of uncertainty. Like Jennifer Garner's #heyjenlookatme, use hashtag #LOOKKHILLI and show us what you're up to. 

Many of you will have some pretty heavy adult responsibilities during this time, and I want to be mindful of that. This is only for fun, for community, and for raising up the good while we're stuck at home. 

This is my youngest daughter. She baked a cake (almost!) by herself.

​Last, and importantly, REACH OUT. If you are lonely, tired, need something, feel afraid or confused, I want to assure you that your school community and your teachers are here. I am here. 

In the meantime, wishing you and your families health and peace of mind. 

I'll be in touch again soon with a schedule for virtual office hours and directions for adding your parents or guardians to Google Classroom. 

Remember: reach out of if you need and take care of yourselves! 

All the best,

Mrs. Hilliard ​​