Internet Safety: Go Guardian Alerts
The 2019-20 academic year is the first time that SMSA has been a one-to-one Chromebook environment in high school. That choice is certainly paying great dividends, and especially now! The one-to-one Chromebook approach fully supports and enables our efforts to continue learning for students in an exclusively virtual environment.
Parents may recall that at the same time as the one-to one Chromebook program was launched, SMSA invested in a software program called GoGuardian which helps schools manage their one-to-one Chromebook devices, better understand their students and keep students safer online. With more reliance on Virtual Learning in recent weeks, we have experienced a spike in GoGuardian alerts. Alerts are generated when inappropriate or questionable online searches originate from a school issued Chromebook. As such, I urge parents to renew the habit of “virtual vigilance” at this time. Please make regular time to check the Internet searches of your teen. Some searches we are seeing are highly inconsistent with our SMSA core values and mission, and more importantly, potentially harmful to young people.
I invite you to contact our Dean of Character Development, Kyle Krueger kkrueger@smsacademy.org or school counselor Tallen Mahaffey tmahaffey@smsacademy.org should you have further concerns or questions around student Internet safety.
Celebrating the Class of 2020
With greater clarity from the Governor’s order to keep schools closed through this school year, SMSA plans for Virtual Learning to continue for the remainder of the year. Celebrating the Class of 2020 is our highest priority! During the weeks ahead, surveys and meetings will provide feedback that will help to inform final plans for our seniors. At this unique and historic time students, parents, faculty and staff will all be engaged in shaping plans around the end of year events. I am confident that the good Lord will also be a partner in guiding our school planning for the important end of year celebrations that are so meaningful to our Springs community. We are all in this together, And while our celebrations may look different this year, with communal patience and goodwill as our guide, we will find the right ways, with just the right spirit to celebrate the Class of 2020!
Virtual Learning Guide
The Virtual Learning Guide has been developed as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for parents, students and educators during this term. It is accessible to all equally. The HS course pages/Table of Contents are updated weekly by each teacher. By clicking the department links, the viewer is taken to bookmarked pages that have been completed by each teacher for each of the courses for which they are responsible. Please click here to visit the guide.