St. Mary parents can check out virtual learning

As part of ongoing preparations to launch a successful start to the school year, St. Mary Parish schools will conduct a series of overview sessions for parents who have elected virtual (online) learning for their children, according to a school system news release.
Each session is dedicated to helping prepare students and parents for the daily instruction and routines that will be required at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The sessions will walk parents through the use of Microsoft Teams, which serves as the central portal for lesson delivery at all levels, as well as introducing other platforms that will be used by district students.
Parents who have elected to enroll their children in the district’s virtual education program should attend overview sessions according to their child’s grade level. Since each overview is different, parents may need to attend more than one session. All trainings will be delivered online and can be accessed from any device that has internet access including computers, iPads, or mobile phones. Virtual option parents will receive information about each session through the school’s J-text system.
Parent overview sessions will be hosted over the course of several days beginning Tuesday, Aug. 11, with two time slots to accommodate a parent’s schedule:
—Elementary School: Tuesday, Aug. 11 (1-2 p.m.) and (5:30-6:30 p.m.)
—Middle School: Thursday, Aug. 13 (1 -2 p.m.) and (5:30-6:30 p.m.)
—High School: Wednesday, Aug.12 and Monday, Aug. 17 (5:30-6:30 p.m.)
These overview sessions will give parents the opportunity to carefully weigh the best educational option for their child and to more fully understand the model’s expectations for both parent and student. At the conclusion of these overview sessions, parents will have until Aug. 19 to make adjustments to their selection of online learning.
The district will not be able to honor any educational option changes after Aug. 19 as student schedules for both on-campus and virtual schooling will be finalized, the press release said.
As part of the enrollment process, parents choosing the virtual learning option are also committing to attend upcoming orientation sessions in order to fully prepare to assist their child in the online model. For additional information, parents may contact their child’s school or the district’s central office as needed.