Director Message
Posted on March 24 2020
Dear Academia Cotopaxi Community Members, I hope you had a chance to listen to my message sent to you yesterday. In addition to those words of…
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Director Message
March 24 2020
Dear Academia Cotopaxi Community Members,
I hope you had a chance to listen to my message sent to you yesterday. In addition to those words of encouragement, I just want to reassure you that everyone at Academia Cotopaxi and IMAGINE is thinking of every member of our community and their loved ones. Learning will continue, we are committed to this, it is our promise to you. At the same time, the most important thing is that we are all safe and healthy. This is a global community effort. It is sadly ironic that it takes a microscopic threat to remind us all of what is most important and our common humanity.
As I mentioned in the video, not only your children’s teachers and administrators are here for you, I am too. If you have any questions or needs, please count on all of us as part of your extended family. I can be contacted by email at: director@cotopaxi.k12.ec.
Peace to all.
Sincerely,
Robert van der Eyken
Director
Elementary School News
Posted on March 24 2020
Dear Families, Around the world, educators and parents are joining together to help all of us navigate these new waters while we all become agents…
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Elementary School News
March 24 2020
Dear Families,
Around the world, educators and parents are joining together to help all of us navigate these new waters while we all become agents of change. Thank you for the actions that you are taking with your families and your community to care for humanity.
I invite you to read through this distance learning post which has wonderful invitations for families during this lock-down time. Enjoy!
I am also including a link to our latest parent communication sent via email on March 22 for your reference. This week, you will receive the parent survey on Thursday and we will continue to use your feedback as we reflect on our distance learning practices.
We are all in this together!
With appreciation,
Paola de Pereira
Elementary School Principal
Middle School News
Posted on March 24 2020
Thank you for the incredible amount of support you are providing for your child at home as we enter week two of distance learning. We are each…
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Middle School News
March 24 2020
Thank you for the incredible amount of support you are providing for your child at home as we enter week two of distance learning. We are each working out the details of creating distance learning environments in our own homes, and the past week was challenging for everyone. I am so proud of our MS students, of their parents and teachers. We are all doing our best to quickly adapt to our current reality. We continue to welcome your feedback regarding what we can do to make distance learning a better experience for your child.
Thursday, March 26
As noted in my email communication last week, the Middle School and High School will not hold Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences on Thursday. Rather, Thursday, March 26 will be a report writing day for MS and HS faculty, and we will NOT hold regular student class meetings on this day. Students may use this day to catch up on classwork, or reinforce tech tools (the AC Student How To site is a great resource). March 25 is a distance learning Day A and March 27 is a distance learning Day B.
The MS Quarter 3 ends on April 1, and Progress Reports will be shared with parents on April 3, as originally scheduled.
You are welcome to contact your child’s teacher(s) at any time to schedule an individual meeting. Teachers will also be reaching out to some of you in the coming weeks to set appointments. In the MSl, we have built this time into our daily schedule, from 1:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m. This is the time for student/teacher, parent/teacher, student/parent/teacher, or other needed meetings.
Middle School Distance Learning Student Expectations
We are all very proud of the way most MSers have adapted to Distance Learning. Please take time to go through the Middle School Distance Learning Expectations for Students with your child(ren), to reinforce our agreements.
Counselor’s Corner - Ms. Aubrey Jordan
The Counseling Team is continuing to update our AC Counselor Corner website to assist and support you during this time of distance learning. One of the resources we have listed under the Well-Being Tips page is an article about free mindfulness apps to try at home. In the Middle School Bulletin, I have been posting pre-recorded mindfulness exercises for students to try in their own time. Mindfulness is a great tool to train the mind to focus, to learn to observe thoughts, feelings, and body sensations, as well as to calm and relax during times of stress.
I greatly look forward to the time when we see one another on campus. We are all in this together!
With kind regards,
Sheryl
Sheryl Gruber
Middle School Principal
sgruber@cotpaxi.k12.ec
(593-2) 382-3270 ext. 2001
"We are responsible for being informed global citizens who understand and affect positive change."
High School News
Posted on March 24 2020
Dear High School Parents and Students, I am impressed and proud at how our High School community has dived into the opportunities and challenges of…
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High School News
March 24 2020
Dear High School Parents and Students,
I am impressed and proud at how our High School community has dived into the opportunities and challenges of distance learning. We are all learning together. Today I wanted to take this opportunity to remind us of the adjustments in the High School.
New HS Schedule from Monday
Student-Led Conferences - March 26
HS and MS will not hold conferences this time around. We are going to use this day to finalise report cards so we are keeping this day as a day with no classes, as per our calendar. There will be no-online sessions with teachers. Nevertheless, it will be crucial for High School students to use this day to reinforce their learning, continuing and finishing some assignments. You are, of course, welcome to contact teachers at any time to schedule an individual online meeting. Teachers will also be reaching out to some parents in the coming weeks to set appointments.
Report Cards
We are slightly postponing the issue of report cards. They will be posted on Skyward on April 1st.
Google Meet vs. Zoom
We are going to slowly phase out Google Meet to adopt Zoom as the platform for online sessions with teachers. Zoom is proving to be a platform more conducive for robust interactions and we will exclusively use Zoom from this week.
Seniors Capstones
As Mr. Shulman wrote yesterday, we have to modify the way we would normally run the Seniors Capstones. Seniors are going to screencast their presentations and we will assess them in an asynchronous fashion. This will provide a different but nevertheless meaningful way to celebrate eighteen months of CAS learning.
Counseling Tip: Be intentional about your social media usage
On one hand, social media makes it easier than ever before to stay connected with our loved ones and colleagues around the world. On the other hand, there is a lot of negativity and distraction to be found. The key here is to take control of your social media experience; don’t let it control you. You can do this by:
- Scheduling time to use social media and establish usage time parameters. There are apps that can help block you from certain sites at particular hours of the day or by tracking the amount of time you use social media.
- Setting an intention before going on social media: “I’m going on Twitter to find some inspiration from other colleagues” or “I’m getting on Facebook to ask for help with this digital tool I am trying to use” or “I’m getting on WhatsApp to check in on a friend I am concerned about.” Then set a timer for 15 minutes increments to see if you are still sticking with that intention.
- Noticing your emotions as you scroll through social media. It is common for us to compare our holistic experience with what we think our colleagues and friends experience, but based on only what they choose to show on social media. We all know these images and texts are curated and never tell the full story. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Be vigilant by practicing self-awareness and protect that joy.
May 2020 IB Exams Announcement
Here is the letter I sent to all seniors and their parents on Monday morning.
Thank you,
Fred Bordaguibel
High School Principal
