Ruby Young Elementary

Where Students Are Achievers

What's Happening

During the DeSoto shelter-in-place order, RYE continues to provide online instruction and learning for our families. Each week, teachers will post a "Student Checklist" of the knowledge and skills students should work on, with a set of tasks to complete, by the end of the week (Sunday at 10:00 p.m.) These checklists provide parents and children with the flexibility to complete their learning around the other daily responsibilities of work and family.

To access your student checklists, please click this link: 2020 RYE Student Checklists for Anytime, Anywhere Learning

If you are new to our school community and need to enroll, please email our registrar, Miss Ruiz, who can further assist.

RYE NEWS

Greetings Platinum Families!

Update for April 9, 2020:

Congratulations on completing four weeks of distance learning (can you believe one month ago today we were all on Spring Break?) Things have changed quite a bit in a very short period of time, and you have done an AMAZING job of keeping up with every twist and turn, navigating the brave new world of online classrooms, and partnered with us to pursue an academic path that keeps your children safe and healthy, by preparing them to enter next year's grade level strong, confident, and knowledgeable. 

As a reminder, the district is closed Friday-Monday (April 10-13). Any messages sent this evening, or over the long weekend, will be answered by teachers on Tuesday, April 14, by the end of the day. We encourage you to take the time to disconnect from your technology, as much as possible, and try to spend some time in the fresh air, if weather permits. Do family activities, such as playing board games or reading books together, and enjoy the rare opportunity to shut the rest of the world out, and focus on the people who matter most in your lives.

We would love to see you at our Platinum Parent Check-in via Zoom meeting at 4:30 today! If you are able to attend, the link information can be found in the campus email, sent out this morning, or in your ClassDojo SchoolStory. We hope to see you there!

Update for March 31, 2020:
Beginning tomorrow, April 1^st , meals will also be available at Ruby Young, Cockrell Hill, and Woodridge ES (in addition to the existing meal service campuses). Breakfast is available from 9:00-11:00 a.m., and lunch is available from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Students no longer have to be present with a parent during meal distribution if the parent can provide any of the following verification methods to staff at the distribution site:

• Official letter/email/electronic school application from school listing children enrolled
• Individual student report cards
• Attendance record from parent portal of the school website, printed or electronic, that includes the name(s) of the child(ren)
• Birth certificates for children not in school
• Student ID cards 

Families who do not have access to technology, Internet, or the demand for devices exceeds the availability (i.e. 7 school-age children are all attempting to complete classwork on a single Chromebook) should follow the district’s distance learning plan for students who do not have a device. We currently have a team working to develop additional lessons to supplement the existing plan. The district did consider issuing consumable texts, work packets, etc., but in the interest of minimizing health risks, it is important to avoid multiple transfers of items that could carry germs.

The Texas Health and Human Services office has established a toll-free mental health hotline, where families can be connected with mental health professionals about concerns related to COVID-19, by calling 833-986-1919.

 More information about device checkout to follow shortly. 

Update for March 30, 2020:

Elementary devices (tablets, Chromebooks, etc.) will be distributed this week; we are still awaiting a final day/time/location schedule from district IT. Stay tuned!

If you have a device, but IStation is not installed, please view this video for instructions to install IStation on your device: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9KSQGbJjvk&feature=youtu.be

Kudos to 5th grade math for answering more than a quarter-million questions in IXL! Your productivity sets a great example for our school, as the student leaders.

Congratulations Raylan and Tisean for setting our IStation math and reading last week! You both devoted more than 5.5 hours to expanding your computational and literary skills! Great work!

Great job to Mrs. Pratt's first grade class for mastering 55 skills in IXL last week, and to Mrs. Alexander's homeroom, for crossing the 30,000-question milestone!

WFAA (Channel 8) will conduct daily science lessons at 1:00 p.m. on your local channel. Here is an article with more details: https://www.wfaa.com/article/sponsor-story/wfaa-weatherminds-live-science-education-facebook/287-915b87aa-2a9f-4a03-83ec-d17768fda2e5


Online library services are available at this link:

https://www.smore.com/drp8y

There are many read-aloud book recordings, which may be helpful to parents who are still working away from home during the day, but have a K-2 student at home who needs a reading partner.

Teachers are delivering "work for the week" via Google Classroom, so don't stress trying to finish everything today. All assignments are due by Sunday, April 5, at 10:00 p.m. Please pace yourselves. :) If you complete everything early, we encourage you to log additional time in one of the following ways:
1) Additional IStation minutes
2) More IXL skills practice
3) Reading for more than 20 minutes a day--be sure to journal about what you read, and share what you are learning with your teachers in your Google classrooms!

If you need assistance with enrollments or withdrawals, please email julia.ruiz@desotoisd.org

Update for March 27, 2020:

We are wrapping up our second week of distance learning, and we are SO PROUD of our RYE scholars! You have been doing amazing work, and I want to give just a few shout-outs and kudos to some huge milestones:

5th grade has answered more than a quarter-million IXL questions (250,645 to be exact)! 

Congratulations to  Tisean A. for logging 347 minutes in IStation Reading!

Great job, Mrs. Pratt’s first grade super stars! You have been busy this week, logging a total of 935 minutes in IStation Math and mastering 55 skills in IXL!

Mrs. Alexander’s second grade homeroom is rocking IXL, with a total of 30,000 questions answered!

We know you’ve been patiently awaiting news about long-term plan for distance learning for this semester while you have worked HARD on your week 1 and week 2 distance learning assignments! We’ve got a stellar plan to meet the needs of our kids with tech and tech-free assignments, flexible instructional methods to allow kids, families, and district employees the flexibility to adjust to life in response to a global pandemic, and a plan that ensures access to high-quality learning for kids!

To be sure we pull it off with the highest quality, and that we solve for the many challenges facing us all as we shelter in place, the week of March 30, 2020 will be an intensive professional learning and planning week for our grown-up DeSoto Eagles. For students, we have posted learning plans for the week of March 30, 2020. Find the plans at our DeSoto ISD Distance Learning website. Students and families with questions should contact their child’s teachers directly. 

032720 Distance Learning Need to Knows.docx

 

 

Although Dallas County remains under a shelter-in-place order, effective through April 3, families are still permitted to retrieve meals for all children at the sites listed below.

 

We know technology is still a concern for many of you. The district is still finalizing the distribution of devices to elementary students. Some of you have 5 or 7 school-age children in the home, all trying to complete their online assignments on a single, shared device. Some of you are still struggling to join Google Classrooms, IXL, Pearson, IStation, etc. Please know that we are in this together with you. Our priorities are 1) preservation of life, and 2) ensuring your child is appropriately armed with the skills and knowledge he/she needs to be prepared for success as they enter the next grade level in the 2020-21 academic year. The district has provided learning plans for students who cannot access technology (please see attachments). Please consider the needs of your family and sanity, to decide if that is the best option for you. Communicate openly with your child’s teacher(s), and talk through your situation to arrive at a conclusion that is feasible for you and all your household.

DeSoto ISD Learning Plan Grades K-2.pdf
DeSoto ISD Learning Plan Grades 3-5.pdf
Distance Learning Plan Elementary Applied Academics.pdf

Today closed out the 5^th six weeks progress reporting period. Due to our departure from campuses, at this time we do not foresee that paper copies of progress reports will be printed and mailed out. Please continue to monitor your child’s completion of academic work through Google classroom, or reaching out to your student’s teacher(s) directly.

 

For those with technology and Internet access:

• Please use the information attached to assist with logging into the various platforms your teachers may be using to complete distance learning assignments.

 

Elementary_Technology Resources Info Graphic.pdf

• As you are aware, the first week of each month, IStation assessments are conducted to monitor your child’s progress in math and reading. We are still able to collect this information while in distance learning mode. Please ensure that you set aside time between April 1-3 for your student to log in and complete their monthly ISIP assessments for reading and math. These typically take about 30 minutes to complete, and should be done at a time when your child can work in a quiet space and focus, in order to do their best.

 

Parents: take a deep breath, and get some rest this weekend! We know most of you are now working two jobs, and as educators we can attest that nothing is harder, or more exhausting, than homeschooling your own children. I promise that you are doing an amazing job, and this time will establish precious memories that will remain with your scholars for the rest of their lives. We are here to help you in any way we can, so please don't hesitate to reach out. Next week, we will be sharing a document with you that will have all staff contact information in one location for your convenience. Have a fabulous Saturday and Sunday! We'll "see" you back on Monday for Week 3!

Update for March 23, 2020:

Please ensure you have all essential items to comply with the Dallas County shelter-in-place, to go in effect tonight, until April 3, 2020. Details for this order can be found here: Dallas County Shelter in Place Order.pdf

Be sure you have connected with teachers by joining their Google Classroom, or reaching out in ClassDojo, or through email (email format for teachers is firstname.lastname@desotoisd.org and hyphenated last names are together as one, ex. Mrs. Harris-Pratt is harrispratt), and let them know any needs or concerns you have regarding distance learning.

We have several things in motion this week to prepare for a "new normal routine"; however, to give our families and IT department time to access all the digital resources they need, please adhere to these schedules through March 27:
DeSoto ISD Learning Plan Grades 3-5.pdf
DeSoto ISD Learning Plan Grades K-2.pdf
Distance Learning Plan Elementary Applied Academics.pdf

Stay safe, and let us know how we can assist!

Update for March 20, 2020:

Thank you to those who were able to join the virtual town hall this evening! We hope the information was helpful. For those who could not make the meeting, here are the highlights, and additional announcements for March 19, 2020:

In order to join Google Classroom:

1. Go to classroom.google.com
2. Students need to log in to Google Classroom using their school email account (firstname.lastname@desotoisd.net), and their password for that account will be the first letter of their first name capitalized, the first letter of their last name lowercase, their lunch number, and an exclamation point (ex. platinum.student@desotoisd.net, Ps12345!)—if this does not work, try changing the domain from .net to .org—this has worked for about 90% of students.
3. Choose “Student” if asked to select your role.
4. Click the + sign in the upper right to Join a class. You will need the class code from your teacher (it will be a 6- or 7-digit combination of lowercase letters and/or numbers)—it is likely posted in their ClassDojo, or may have been emailed to you. Please contact your child’s teacher(s) if you do not have a code.

     

   In order to access IStation, IXL, Pearson, and other distance learning resources:

   1. Go to https://launchpad.classlink.com/desotoisd
   2. Enter username as Firstname.Lastname
   3. Password is first letter of their first name capitalized, the first letter of their last name lowercase, their lunch number, and an exclamation point (ex. Platinum.Student is the username, Ps12345! is the password)
   4. If this does not work, try repeating the instructions, but entering all lowercase letters for the username (i.e. platinum.student)

       

      From our library clerk, Ms. Agee:

      Students can access library e-books from home! Please scroll down on the main homepage near the bottom, to find the book icon, and click on the link. The student sign in is their first initial, last initial, and their student ID#.  Their password is their student ID#.  We have a number of e-books and audio books at their disposal.  Many of these books can help with social studies, math, and science goals, in addition to increasing their reading comprehension.  We have Light Box books which give them access to online content including interactive web pages, quizzes, etc.  The great thing about the online catalog is that if they forget to “’turn in” the book, the system will do it for them when the book is due.

   What do I do if I need help with…?

   1. Always contact your child’s teacher first.
   2. If you cannot get assistance from your child’s teacher:
      1. Direct questions about accessing IStation, IXL, Pearson, etc. to RYE instructional coordinator Nicole King at nicole.king@desotoisd.org
      2. Direct questions about your child’s mental and emotional wellbeing, or 504 accommodations to RYE counselor Melendra Johnson at melendra.johnson@desotoisd.org
      3. Direct questions about your special education child’s accommodations and supports to RYE special education lead J’Necia Jackson at jnecia.jackson@desotoisd.org
      4. Direct questions about Google Classroom, and other concerns, to RYE assistant principal Janel Morris at janel.morris@desotoisd.org

Please be sure to include your name, student’s name, grade level, student ID (lunch number), and as many details as possible (screen shots are great!) so we can quickly assist.

For your family’s wellbeing and fight against cabin fever, consider “visiting” museums and aquariums online (see links below). There is also a movement to hang Christmas lights on houses, as driving around to view these is a “social distance” safe activity, and who doesn’t love looking at Christmas lights? 😊 If you participate, send a picture to your teacher!

MOST IMPORTANT: Do not stress about this new distance learning--not having a device, Internet, being able to log into Google Classroom, assignment deadlines, etc. We are in this together, and it is new for us all! The district has created a plan to carry us through March 27 that will enable us to troubleshoot these concerns. We are not concerned about assignment deadlines at this point. Our priorities are 1) health and safety, and 2) providing our scholars with the learning they need to be successfully prepared for promotion to the next grade, as we are mindful of the fact that school will be online indefinitely, and we don't want that to mean a loss of instruction for them. For the time being, follow the district guidelines (attached below), and begin working through assignments from your teachers in Google classroom. Communicate with them if you have trouble joining, accessing assignments, or completing/submitting work for grading. Together, we will grow stronger, and closer, through this time! We appreciate you all partnering with us in your child's education!

Breakfast and lunch information is as follows:

Free meals will be available to all children ages 18 years and younger at the following distribution sites--in light of the current shelter in place restrictions, we will provide additional information if there are any changes to this distribution schedule:

• The Meadows Elementary
• Frank D. Moates Elementary 
• DeSoto High School - Freshman Side
• Woodridge Elementary -via Food Truck (from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.)
• Amber Terrace DDC - via Food Truck (from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.)

The packaged meals will be distributed from 9 AM to 1 PM on Monday through Friday in a drive-thru fashion. No one will need to exit their personal vehicles, but all participating children must be in the vehicle. Children do not have to be a student at the campus to qualify for the meal, and families can visit any of the participating sites.

Please visit www.DeSotoISD.org/CoronaVirus for the most up-to-date information from the district, and continue to communicate with your child’s teacher(s) regularly during these challenging times. Thank you for your continued support, and please keep your families safe.

Information about student nutrition and home technology access for continued remote learning can be found in this flyer:
Student Nutrition and Home Technology Access.pdf
Nutrición estudiantil y acceso a la tecnología del hogar.pdf

• The 2019-20 Campus Improvement Plan is available here: 2019-20 RYE CIP

        

Find out about our Library      e-Books HERE

http://www.desotoisd.org/about_de_soto_i_s_d/for_parents

• Enrollment information can be found at the link above. Please email julia.ruiz@desotoisd.org if you need help with enrollment or withdrawals.

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