Dear Eagles,
Beginning the second semester of the school year, Thursday, January 28th, Oakdale Middle School, along with all other FCPS middle schools, will transition to a new bell schedule in preparation for many of our students returning to in-person learning in a hybrid instructional model. The transition will be made much easier for students if they are already following the hybrid bell schedule. By the end of next week, we will send a new copy of your child’s schedule for the second semester through the mail.
There are three changes you will notice as you review the new OMS Hybrid Student Bell Schedule. First, the length of each class period on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday will be extended from 55 minutes to 72 minutes. Second, we will be moving from an A Day/B Day rotation for PE and elective classes to an A Week/B Week rotation. Third, school will begin at 8:00am and will end at 3:00pm. Advisory lessons will now take place M/T and Th/F from 8:00 - 8:30am. As always, it is imperative that all students attend Advisory as all logistical and safety information will be delivered in Advisory prior to returning to hybrid instruction and throughout the school year.
When students are permitted to return to school (tentative date is February 16th), the hybrid model of instruction will simultaneously include both in-person and virtual instruction. This is known as concurrent teaching. Students in Cohort A will attend in-person instruction on Mondays and Tuesdays, and students in Cohort B will attend in-person instruction on Thursdays and Fridays. All students will be virtual on Wednesdays. Benefits of beginning the hybrid model of instruction and concurrent teaching include the following:
Students will have the same teachers and courses when we transition to hybrid model. All Schoology accounts and Google Meet links will remain the same with longer blocks of instructional time for students.
If needed, we can pivot back to a virtual-only model without changing schedules or assignments since the hybrid schedule accommodates all students.
Students will continue to have access to all specialized courses and programs at all levels.
Live instruction will continue day-to-day using the hybrid bell schedule provided.
Both the at-home students and the virtual-only students are expected to log on to their courses according to the bell schedule when they are not physically present in school.
Students will follow an A week/B Week rotation for their PE and elective classes.
I am very proud of our teachers and service providers who have been working really hard to deliver the best instruction and services to our students during the first semester, and we thank you for your continued support of their work. We will build on what we have learned during the first semester, as we move to this next phase of our re-entry plan and beyond. Again, your student will receive another copy of their schedule through the mail next week. Furthermore, as we move closer to returning to school, orientation materials, videos/screencasts, and other information will be shared with our community and discussed with students during Advisory.
As a reminder, we will have our virtual “Hybrid Town Hall Meetings” on Wednesday, January 20th at 6:30pm and on Friday, January 22nd at 9:00am. Specific information about the virtual meetings, including Google Meet links and directions, will be shared with our community early next week via a Find Out First.
Please know that, together with the support of our families and the community, we will work to ensure a successful transition to the hybrid model while continuing to provide quality instruction for our students.
Sincerely,
Daniel Enck
Principal