Learning Information Hub
Welcome to the 2021-2022 Academic Year
Our Learning Continues!
We're in this together.(Please see our Campus Reopening Page for more information)
#ISPSDifference
Updated April 19, 2022
Our ISPS Learning experience aligns with our ISPS Learning Principles. Our students will be empowered to make choices about how they reach clearly defined learning goals; be engaged in collaboration to solve authentic problems; feel safe to take intellectual risks while persevering through challenges; be supported with modeling, differentiation, specific feedback, and opportunities for reflection and revision; and, will continue to be passionate, intrinsically motivated, and inspired to action.
All School Bell Schedule
Elementary School
DAILY SCHEDULES
Elementary School Bell Schedule
PERIOD | MONDAY | TUESDAY | wednesday | THURSDAY | FRIDAY |
7:30 | Teacher Post | Teacher Post | Teacher Post | Teacher Post | Teacher Post |
7:30 -
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9:15-9:30 | Break | Break | Break | Break | Break |
9:30- 11:00 |
Math |
Math (Problem solving, Math Talk, Mental Math, Number Sense) /Specialists Language Arts |
Math (Problem solving, Math Talk, Mental Math, Number Sense) /Specialists Language Arts |
Math (Problem solving, Math Talk, Mental Math, Number Sense) /Specialists Language Arts |
Math (Problem solving, Math Talk, Mental Math, Number Sense) /Specialists Language Arts |
11:00-11:30 | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch |
11:30-1:45 |
Specialists Music, PE, Art, IT, Library, Guidance Class Time Guidance Class Flexible Schedules |
Specialists Music, PE, Art, IT, Library, Guidance Class Time Guidance Class Flexible Schedules |
Specialists Music, PE, Art, IT, Library, Guidance Class Time Guidance Class Flexible Schedules |
Specialists Music, PE, Art, IT, Library, Guidance Class Time Guidance Class Flexible Schedules |
Specialists Music, PE, Art, IT, Library, Guidance Class Time Guidance Class Flexible Schedules |
Office Hours for Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 4 (ONLY) | |||||
1:45-2:15 | Office Hour | Office Hour | Office Hour | Office Hour | Office Hour |
Notes:
- Teachers are available to assist students with questions. For example, if the period ends, and the student has a question about the subject, the student may contact the teacher.
- Classes online during schedule times are instructed as follows: whole class, small groups, or individual sessions.
- Teacher check-ins with students and parents occur weekly.
- Independent work( SeeSaw) is administered after instruction from the teachers.
- Students receive instruction in numeracy and literacy usually in the first two blocks before lunch.
- Specialist classes for the PK and K occur before lunch; Grades 1-5 classes usually occur after lunch. Optional classes may occur with students from mixed grades (4 & 5).
ISPS Digital Learning Platforms
ISPS utilizes a comprehensive set of online systems to facilitate teaching and learning. Below is a chart summarizing the key features of each system.
SYSTEM | division | summary |
Gmail | PK-12, Faculty | All ISPS faculty, staff and students in grades PK-12 have access to @isps.edu.tt email accounts. Emails can be sent via Gmail. LOGIN Here |
SeeSaw | ES | This system will be used for teachers to assign lessons or share out resources, such as video tutorials. Please click link for tips: Remote Learning with Seesaw for Schools |
G Suite | 3-5, MS, HS | Core productivity platform for online storage and document creation. LOGIN Here |
Google Meet | PK-12 | Online video conferencing within G-Suite. Meet may be used for online learning, meetings, PD or other online gatherings. Start a video meeting Join a video meeting Add people to a video meeting Change screen layouts in a meeting Pin, mute, or remove Hangouts Meet participants Record a video meeting Present during a video meeting Plan and hold meetings from anywhere Troubleshoot issues with Hangouts Meet Known issues with Hangouts Meet |
IXL | K-12 | A Comprehensive tool that provides math and language arts practice. See tips here: Video 1 Video 2 |
PowerSchool | PK-12 | Main learning management software for grades 3-12. Contains course work, assignments, resources, calendar and communication tools. LOGIN Here |
Zoom | PK-12 | Zoom provides modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing and chat. Click to link below to get started on learning how to effectively use Zoom: Zoom Training |
Middle School
DAILY SCHEDULES
Middle School Bell Schedule
monday - tuesday - thursday - friday | wednesday | |||||||
Period | Start | End | Period | Start | End | |||
Homeroom | 7:30 | 7:35 | Homeroom | 8:45 | 8:50 | |||
1 | 7:40 | 8:15 | 1 | 8:50 | 9:25 | |||
2 | 8:15 | 9:00 | 2 | 9:25 | 9:55 | |||
Break | 9:00 | 9:15 | Break | 9:55 | 10:10 | |||
3 | 9:20 | 10:00 | 3 | 10:15 | 10:45 | |||
4 | 10:00 | 10:45 | 4 | 10:45 | 11:20 | |||
5 | 10:50 | 11:30 | 5 | 11:25 | 12:00 | |||
Lunch | 11:30 | 12:10 | Lunch | 12:00 | 12:40 | |||
6 | 12:15 | 1:00 | Homeroom | 12:45 | 1:20 | |||
7 | 1:05 | 1:45 | 7 | 1:25 | 1:55 | |||
8 | 1:45 | 2:30 | 8 | 1:55 | 2:30 |
High School
DAILY SCHEDULES
High Bell Schedule
monday - tuesday - thursday - friday | wednesday | |||||||
Period | Start | End | Period | Start | End | |||
Homeroom | 7:30 | 7:35 | Homeroom | 8:45 | 8:50 | |||
1 | 7:40 | 8:15 | 1 | 8:50 | 9:25 | |||
2 | 8:15 | 9:00 | 2 | 9:25 | 9:55 | |||
3 | 9:05 | 9:45 | 3 | 10:00 | 10:30 | |||
Break | 9:45 | 10:00 | Break | 10:30 | 10:45 | |||
4 | 10:05 | 10:45 | 4 | 10:50 | 11:20 | |||
5 | 10:50 | 11:30 | 5 | 11:25 | 12:00 | |||
6 | 11:35 | 12:15 | Homeroom | 12:05 | 12:40 | |||
Lunch | 12:15 | 1:00 | Lunch | 12:40 | 1:20 | |||
7 | 1:05 | 1:45 | 7 | 1:25 | 1:55 | |||
8 | 1:45 | 2:30 | 8 | 1:55 | 2:30 |
Parent & Faculty Guidelines
Tips for Parents
ISPS Approach to Distance Learning
Our Suggestions for Parents (Success During Online Learning)
The ISPS Online Learning experience aligns with our ISPS Learning Principles. Our students will be empowered to make choices about how they reach clearly defined learning goals; be engaged in [online] collaboration to solve authentic problems; feel safe to take intellectual risks while persevering through challenges; be supported with modeling, differentiation, specific feedback, and opportunities for reflection and revision; and, will continue to be passionate, intrinsically motivated, and inspired to action.
The success of our Online Learning endeavor is a partnership and is dependent on careful planning by our dedicated faculty, appropriate student motivation and engagement, and strong parent support for this alternative mode of instruction. The result of such learning experiences will expand student academic progress and attend to student social and emotional well-being.
Please click on the images below for more information on things parents should consider while supporting their children through distance learning.
Guidelines for Faculty
Distance Learning Home Stretch Tidbits & Using the 5 Es to Design and Online Lesson
As we continue this journey of online learning, there are 2 very important components we need to sustain...
Dialogue and Structure
Dialogue
Dialogue leads to engagement and connection!
Structure
Routine and structure lead to a predictable environment. Predictability gives us all comfort.
To Create More Dialogue
- Consider starting class with a Zoom Poll.
- Ask students a question to review content.
- Take a feelings poll.
- Create a “would you rather…”
- Consider playing a game to begin or end class.
- Consider having students answer questions using the chat feature. Let students engage and discuss components of the course with their peers and you, their teacher, by using the chat box.
- Consider using interactive platforms like:
To Create More Structure…
- Consider telling students what the class agenda will be for the day.
- This could be posted on a powerpoint with a shared screen or you could simply tell them when they enter the class. This gives them a mindset for how long they need to stay engaged.
- Consider posting or stating the learning objective for the class. Check in at the end of class having students reflect on whether they reached the learning goal (or not) and why.
- Consider creating a routine that you follow for every class so that students know what is expected each day, or changing up your routine with a new structure to add some variety into the class.
Final Tidbits:
- We are in the home stretch of this difficult journey.
- Celebrate your awesomeness!
- Try something new!
- Keep doing the things that are working!
FOR ISPS ONLINE LEARNING, ALL COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION AND ACTIVITIES WILL BE SENT THROUGH POWERSCHOOL UNIFIED CLASSROOM & SEESAW FOR ES, AND POWERSCHOOL UNIFIED CLASSROOM FOR MS & HS.
- PLEASE MAKE SURE TO CHECK YOUR ACCOUNTS FOR UPDATES AND INFORMATION.
Roles & Responsibilities
Faculty
school roles and responsibilities | |
Teachers |
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Specialists |
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Learning Support Teachers |
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Counselors |
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Instructional Coach |
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IB/ AP Coordinators |
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Librarians |
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Teaching Assistants |
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Online Tech Support Team |
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Students
sTUDENT roles and responsibilities |
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Parents
PARENT/ GUARDIAN ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES |
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Online Learning Resources
ISPS utilizes a comprehensive set of online systems to facilitate teaching and learning. The main features of each system - together with key links - are listed below:
Teaching & Learning Platforms
PowerSchool
PK-12
Main learning management software for grades 3-12. Contains course work, assignments, resources, calendar and communication tools.
SeeSaw
ES
This system will be used for teachers to assign lessons or share out resources, such as video tutorials. Please click link for tips:
Remote Learning with Seesaw for Schools
IXL
K-12
A Comprehensive tool that provides math and language arts practice. See tips here:
Communication Platforms
PowerSchool
PK-12
The Activity Feed for your classes allows you to stay involved and up-to-date on what is going on in the classroom. Teachers post a variety of communications to keep you informed.
Gmail
PK-12
All ISPS faculty, staff and students in grades PK-12 have access to @isps.edu.tt email accounts. Emails can be sent via Gmail.
Google Meet
PK- 5
Online video conferencing within G-Suite. Meet may be used for online learning, meetings, PD or other online gatherings.
Zoom
PK- 12
Online video conferencing within Zoom. Zoom may be used for online learning, meetings, PD or other online gatherings.
Counselor's Corner
Online Schooling and Mental Health Impacts
In order to do our part in staying healthy and preventing the spread of COVID -19, we have undergone dramatic adjustments to our personal and professional routines. For some, this is a period of new and exciting learning, a period filled with opportunities for family togetherness, a time for a much-needed respite from the busyness and demands of 21st century living - while for others, this experience – the uncertainty, the added roles and responsibilities, the “new normal,” the social isolation – ranges from stressful to traumatic.
Now, more than ever, we are realizing that the little things ARE the big things –
- Visiting our neighbors
- Kicking ball with our buddies just for a ”sweat”
- Meeting and chatting with a friend at the supermarket
- A Saturday morning swim at the beach before “the crowd”
- Giving someone a lift to work
- Getting a haircut
- Hugs!
- Hi Fives!
We look forward to the day when all of these “essentials” will return but in the meantime – for however long this lasts – it is important to recognize, prevent and minimize the mental health impacts.
As we go forward, the Counseling Corner will provide tips, resources and support for students, parents and staff during this period of online schooling. We also encourage your questions and requests for information on any aspect of social-emotional and psychological well-being.
As we head out to our Easter break with very limited “social” options, very different family structures and dynamics, and very different work situations – here are some suggestions for how we can care for ourselves and those close to us –
- Nature walks/runs – can bring peace, brain break from screens and scheduling demands
- Reach out to a colleague, a neighbor by phone – just to check in
- Creative interaction with our kids - https://www.ahaparenting.com/blog/were-all-suddenly-homeschoolers
- Home exercise routine – use online exercise videos or be creative with home basics
- Tackle those home projects that you have been putting off eg packing a cupboard – to feel a sense of accomplishment
- Start a journal about this once-in-a-lifetime experience – the highs, the lows, the new learnings
- Daily relaxation and mindfulness exercises – there are many free apps available from apple or goggle play stores https://www.mindful.org/free-mindfulness-apps-worthy-of-your-attention/
Additionally, if you need to speak with someone – the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Psychologists is offering FREE psychological support. See flyer for numbers in your area.
Tech Apps, Links & Tips
The list of educational applications, platforms and resources below aim to help parents, teachers, schools and school administrators facilitate student learning and provide social care and interaction during periods of school closure. Most of the solutions curated are free and many cater to multiple languages.
Zoom: Cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat and webinars.
EdPuzzle: Video lesson creation software.
PearDeck: Facilitates the design of engaging instructional content with various integration features.
Buncee: Supports the creation and sharing visual representations of learning content, including media-rich lessons, reports, newsletters and presentations.
Kahoot: Teachers, students, businesses and parents all use Kahoot! for group learning, e-learning, distance learning, and self-study everywhere.
Scholastic (K-8): Free lessons for all content areas.
Newsela: (upper elementary/secondary): Nonfiction texts at different independent reading levels paired with activities, including news articles, science pieces and social studies pieces.
Dreambox (K-8): Gamified, adaptive, online K-8 math program designed to develop mental math strategies (paper/pencil should not be used). Currently free.
PBS Learning: PBS and your local station have curated FREE, standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans, and more just for teachers like you.
YouTube Learning: a new channel featuring some of the best how to, DIY, tutorial, and educational videos on YouTube.
National Geographic Kids: Grades K-6.
Scholastic Learn at Home: Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing. The site will be updated weekly until 20 days of content is available.
GoNoodle: Movement lessons and activities.
Cincinnati Zoo: Plans to live stream several animals and exhibits starting March 16, every week day at 3PM.
Boom Writer: Begin with a story starter and students log in to write. After the different developments are read, students decide which direction the story should take. Edits and conferences abound until students agree the story is finished. Then it is published! - grades 3-8.
Screencast-O-Matic: Create and share high-quality screencasts without breaking the bank.
Screencastify: Is a browser plugin allowing teachers to add video and share with students. The plugin allows students to make their voices heard and their thinking visible with fun, interactive videos. A free plan is available but is limited to five minutes.
MysteryScience: Has made their resources free in response to the Coronavirus.
CS First: A free computer science curriculum that makes coding easy to teach and fun to learn.
Guiding Principles
Our Beliefs
Distance Learning Goal
The ISPS Online Learning Plan is designed to address the following scenario:
- Asynchronous learning to ensure the opportunity to learn for all students in all time zones.
- Synchronous engagements to support learning and socio-emotional well-being of students through real-time engagements.
ISPS is committed to monitoring the ISPS Online Learning Plan and student experience. The tools used for monitoring may include, but are not limited to:
- Data on student engagement from digital learning platforms - Seesaw, and PowerSchool Unified Classroom - provide tremendous data on student engagement.
- Feedback from students, parents, and teachers to help us understand how the plan is impacting student, family and teacher experiences, and to provide data on what improvements we might make going forward.
- Review of PowerSchool and Seesaw postings as a form of data collection to support teachers and students in aligning learning to the Online Learning Plan.
Learning Expectations
- Courses will run according to the revised online schedules from Monday, September 21st .
- Learning materials are shared via PowerSchool Unified Classroom,
- Learning Activities are shared via Seesaw (Elementary School), Google Classroom (Middle & High School).
- Learning activities are engaging, inquiry-based.
- Learning activities may be completed:
- independently online.
- collaboratively online, via chat, video conference or other collaborative tools.
- Learning activities have a number of purposes:
- allow students to engage with new learning.
- practice, discuss or apply learning.
- demonstrate knowledge and skills in relation to learning.
- enable more personalized learning.
- increase room to explore a wide range of resources
- Learning connects to current units and curriculum.
- Assessment tasks enable students to demonstrate their understanding.
Support
The IT Department will be available to support teachers, students and parents. We encourage faculty, students, and parents to contact techsupport@isps.edu.tt for any tech related question and to expect a response within 24 hours. This email account is managed by our Online Tech Support Team.
Low Priority: Creating a ticket by sending your responses to;
Via email to, techsupport@isps.edu.tt
Or completing our Google Form, ISPS Technical Help Desk
High Priority: Call our ISPS HelpLines at;
1(868)723-1290 for PowerSchool help
1(868)689-9453 for Technical help
Please note that the HelpLines are only active when ISPS OLP is in effect.
FAQs
Is my child expected to sit in front of their computer all day?
No. Online learning will be a blend of face-to-face video, collaborative group work using online tools, independent learning and, as much as possible, real-world authentic learning experiences.
Will online learning days count towards attendance requirements?
ISPS is working hard to ensure online learning days will be treated as regular school days.
How does ISPS’ child protection guidelines apply during online learning?
ISPS has established comprehensive guidelines to ensure the safety of all ISPS community members in an online environment.
What do I do if my home internet is not working?
Please contact your internet service provider.
What do I do if my student cannot login to their student account(s)?
First, please email your teacher to ensure they are aware of the issue. Next, please email techsupport@isps.edu.tt
LOW PRIORITY | HIGH PRIORITY |
Creating a ticket by sending your responses to; Or completing our Google Form, ISPS Technical Help Desk |
Call our ISPS HelpLines at; |
FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT | CONTACT |
*First contact via email. Face-to-face video conferencing available as needed. | |
a course, assignment, or resource | Teacher |
a technology-related problem or issue | Teacher, techsupport@isps.edu.tt |
a personal or social-emotional concern | Counselor |
other issues related to online learning | Teacher or Principal |
Watch our community at work...
We're so proud of how our community is rallying together in the face of Covid-19. Share with us your online learning experiences on Social Media - and take a look at what your friends and teachers are up to...
Student Testimonials
I entered ISPS in grade 5 so I have experienced Elementary, Middle, and now High School. It has been a rollercoaster of classes, friends, and now COVID. Through this, though I have learned that ISPS is like a family to me. If I am confused or concerned my teachers are always available to assist me with the material so that I can perform to the best of my ability. Even if it takes a while I always come out feeling a sense of achievement.
I am beyond excited to help lead the middle school to a hopeful and exciting year. I hope that by the end of the year I help make online leaning more enjoyable and help make everyone more persistent to stay positive.