Staying on the Ledge: It Takes a Village
In case you haven’t noticed, the historic and dangerous COVID-19 pandemic is challenging our Springs community. Our Return to the Ledge plan acknowledges that SMSA cannot promise to limit “exposure” to COVID-19. Nor can any government or organizational plan. Our plan is, however, designed to mitigate “transmission” of COVID-19. We are determined that our campus precautions – if faithfully executed – will indeed prevent the spread of the virus.
The success of our SMSA plan depends on every member of the Springs community – parent, student, faculty and staff member – to be awake – fully conscious, thoughtful and focused on successful mitigation strategies. The partnership between school and families has never been more critical. SMSA students and parents must increase their vigilance to limit risk for all. Our theology classes teach that we are the body of Christ – all connected in God’s plan of salvation for the world. While a mysterious truth, we see in this pandemic the profound ripple effect that a single life choice has on another life…and another…and a family…and a school…and a whole community. Our lives are indeed woven tightly together in the Springs community. Individual decisions may be personal, but they always have social, communal effects. We cannot escape this spiritual and biblical truism. We each impact the lives of others, and now, it is imperative that we choose to make our social impact positive. Especially during a time of crisis, social anxiety increases and family decisions have an even greater ripple impact on the choices available to other families.
If we truly desire and value in-person schooling on the Ledge, then our community must get on the same page of the Return to the Ledge playbook. We must all work to mitigate the potential for the virus to spread. The faculty and staff are responsible for keeping matters positive, healthy and under control on campus. We pledge our highest and best effort to this end. Of course, we need our parent partners to hold up their end. Specifically, we need parents to fully embrace the mission and values of SMSA, and to stoke the fire of empathy and compassion that our common faith inspires. I ask our parent community to help us engage with the challenge of these times and commit to positive communication and to the principles of healthy communities. Parents, we ask you/need you to increase vigilance in monitoring the mobility and activities of teens and children when not on the Ledge. I believe that the viability of in-person learning on the Ledge depends on this point in particular! All parents must to lean-in together and be willing to hold each other accountable for maintaining safe homes, neighborhoods and schools. Without a community of parents and educators fiercely pulling together in the same direction, school may become a sadly compromised experience for our students. Our Ledgers deserve the best we can imagine and execute together as a community. Like almost anything worthwhile, flexibility, sacrifice and compromise can be expected. But let’s pledge to not allow anyone or anything compromise our mission to keep kids learning and growing in a safe and healthy environment. With God’s grace and our common efforts, I am confident that we will stay on the Ledge and accomplish our desired state of school for 2020-21!
Welcome!
I am delighted to welcome our new colleagues, Dr. Khaled Hussein and Mr. Ed Mueller. Dr. Hussein will begin teaching this week. He is a professor at UW-O and will be the virtual/remote instructor for the CAPP Stats course! Dr. Hussein will partner with Michael Craze to assure a great experience for the seven SMSA students enrolled in Stats for college credit! Mr. Ed Mueller is a proud Ledger alumni and has been coaching at SMSA for 20 years. He will be the permanent classroom aid assigned to partner with Mrs. Lindborg’s British Literature course.
September 11 – Final Day for Semester I Schedule Change Requests
As we shared in January, the course selection process is key to building a master schedule for SMSA and to staffing and operational decisions. Because of potential disruption to other students and to personnel, schedule changes are discouraged unless deemed essential to a student’s academic well being. August 17 began the final designated period of time for students to request schedule adjustments from the Counseling Office (Mr. Mahaffey). Please remember that beginning this year, like with many schools, any schedule change not initiated by SMSA will require payment of a nominal fee ($50). Not all schedule change requests will be approved, as they may not be possible or advisable due to a variety of factors.
Ledger Learning Guide
The Virtual Learning Guide which served us so well in the Springtime virtual learning term has been permanently rebranded as the Ledger Learning Guide! Parents are encouraged to check the LLG to keep updated on course expectations and learning targets for their children. The LLG can be found on the Website under Parent & Family Resources. SMSA Ledger Learning Guides Home Page
Many thanks to Mr. Kyle Sackett who has been the architect of this informative and helpful guide. Mr. Sackett was part of the original design team for the Spring VLG, and then dedicated extra hours this summer to redesign and improve the rebranded Ledger Learning Guide. He also has been assisting high school colleagues with their preparations regarding the LLG.