Mrs. Hathorn's Class

School Closing

March 17, 2020

Dear 2nd grade students and families,

I am writing to you after the sudden closing of our school district for a minimum of two weeks. I’m really very sorry to have to be writing this email, as I was truly expecting to see everyone Monday morning! At this time, there is much that we don’t know. (How long will Pawling be closed? What can we do at home? How will this impact the school calendar?) Many of these questions will be answered in the coming weeks as information becomes more relevant and available. But there are some things that we do know: our superintendent, Ms. Fontanta is working closely, and tirelessly with the NYS Department of Health, NYS Department of Education, community leaders, and PCSD personnel to communicate support and expectations that are unique to our district. All of us at Pawling Elementary are most concerned about our student’s health and well-being at this time. This State of Emergency is quite unprecedented, and “social distancing” brings with it a whole host of other questions as well. However, we all believe that this is the best measure to keep our children safe and contain this insurgent virus.

I will be available by email during this closure (hathornj@pcsdny.org), and I can try to answer any questions you may have, but please note that my understanding/information at this time is very limited. Many questions that we all have will be answered in due time as this is an evolving and fluid situation.

Concerning your child’s education, we have worked to develop appropriate hands-on and digital/web resources designed to meet their needs during this hiatus from the classroom. The 2nd grade team has assembled reading books, Scholastic News magazines, and work packets in ELA and Math; we have also developed a comprehensive list of digital/web based sources that can be accessed on our (independent) Staff Directory pages. These resources will keep your learners’ skills sharp and progressing during this time.

As of today I have Morning Work, Math Homework, ELA and Math packets uploaded that you can print from home. I also have a link to a great Science program and a Choice Board. I have created an IXL account for each child. There is a link with the usernames and passwords. Please keep in mind just reading and working on math fact fluency is great too! While we do suggest an hour or two each day with the resources we have provided, it’s very important that they play outside (when possible) and continue to get regular exercise (I added a link for GoNoodle on days you are stuck inside).

While this is an unsure and confusing time, please know that we are all in it together! Our top priority is everyone’s safety and well-being. As more information becomes available it will be shared. As always, I am available by email (hathornj@pcsdny.org) should you have any questions. Please know that I miss all of my students and I look forward to seeing everyone sooner rather than later!

Happy hand washing,

Mrs. Hathorn

March 19, 2020

Hello Second Grade Families-

We hope that everyone is happy and healthy! First of all, we would like to thank you for your patience during this uncertain time. This is uncharted territory and we are unsure of what the future holds. With that being said, we want to take some time to provide you with an overview of what the next few days, and weeks, will look like in terms of at-home/virtual learning.

As a grade level, our team has updated our class websites (see below for links) with a plethora of online and printable resources. Today and tomorrow, please explore these resources.

**IF your child does not have access to a device/internet, PLEASE email Jen Jacobs immediately so we can deliver a device tomorrow morning: jacobsj@pcsdny.org

Tomorrow (Friday), the district will be providing tangible items for your child to utilize in the coming week (March 23rd-27th). We will send more information about the work we expect students to do, from these packets, each day via email and Google Classroom. It will be simple assignments from the tangible things we sent home.

Tomorrow we will also provide you with information about your child’s Google Classroom account, including their login information and how to navigate this platform.

Next week, our goal is to have all students exploring and getting familiar with Google Classroom. This will be the platform we use, starting March 30th, to post second grade work and activities if we are still closed. We ask for your patience as this is a learning curve for ALL of us.

For now, please explore the online resources provided via our websites below and utilize the items sent home Friday. We will send more information tomorrow on how to log on to and navigate Google Classroom. Again, next week's work will be tangible packets provided by the district while we explore and get familiar with the Google Classroom platform.

Mrs. Coffey: https://es.pawlingschools.org/classes/62061

Mrs. Hathorn:https://es.pawlingschools.org/classes/59530

Mrs. Schweizer:https://es.pawlingschools.org/classes/59021

Ms. Ferris: https://es.pawlingschools.org/classes/78502

Sending you healthy wishes and air high-fives! You’ve got this! And if you have any questions, please let us know =)

Thank you-

The Second Grade Team