The sustained local prevalence of Covid-19 cases compelled the Shorewood School District to adopt a mostly online approach to teaching and learning for this academic year’s first semester. Making the best of the new format while ensuring that the District meets its goals for student academic progress and social-emotional support has required flexibility and determination from teachers and students, as well as plenty of innovation and collaboration from Shorewood educators.
Atwater Elementary sixth-grade science and social studies teacher Marisa Riepenhoff, who is new to the District, says she is buoyed by the teamwork of her colleagues, particularly during weekly virtual meetings to plan curriculum and share resources. “I have never before worked in such a supportive environment, surrounded by a team of educators who put student wellness first, who value equity and excellence for all students, and who share best practices so openly,” she says. “I love the way we build on each other’s creativity and expertise.”
For a fall ecosystem unit, Riepenhoff relied on these shared resources to orchestrate nature journaling and scientific drawing lessons that culminated in her students creating scientific models of food webs for local organisms. Through a program called Book Creator, students added their scientific drawings to an online ecosystem picture book, and optionally narrated their own pages so the book could be read aloud online to kindergarten through second-grade classes.
“Some of our students loved the nature journaling so much that they requested an ongoing nature journaling club, so now we meet Tuesdays at lunch outside in the Atwater community gardens,” Riepenhoff says.
Photo (by Patrick Manning): Teacher Marisa Riepenhoff, far right, and Atwater sixth-graders meet at the school’s community gardens for nature journaling.
At Shorewood Intermediate School, orchestra teacher Melissa Honigman and band teacher Justin Olson are also finding innovative ways to unify their students through new online curriculum tools and in-person lessons for small groups.
“I’m using a music software program called SmartMusic that makes practicing and tracking student progress really easy,” says Olson. “SmartMusic records students while they are playing, assesses them and gives them feedback about their performance. It’s great that the students can engage in their own individual practice sessions in a more meaningful way.”
Honigman says she networked extensively with other orchestra teachers globally to develop lesson plans and activities that work online. She’s also found safe ways to meet with students in-person by coordinating small-group outdoor rehearsals, with masks and physical distancing.
“My strongest desire during this time is to motivate my students to play their instruments as much as possible,” she says.
“Virtual learning has certainly pushed me out of my comfort zone, but it has been emotionally fulfilling to find opportunities to play music together again.”
At Lake Bluff Elementary, 5K teacher Tricia Mandella is modeling perseverance and adaptability for her students.
“Since our 5K students thrive in a play-based environment, we've had to get creative in tweaking our instruction to fit the virtual mold," she says. "We've sent home materials packets" — including play-doh, dice, counters and dry-erase boards — “to provide some hands-on, screen-free learning opportunities.”
Students, too, have stepped up to address virtual learning challenges. Members of the Shorewood High School National Honor Society started a virtual math tutoring service for SIS students and younger SHS students. Spearheaded by Molly Fox-Kincaid, Nick Buccerelli, Ellie DeWeerdt and Emma Stenzel, the service addresses concerns from SIS parents about student math struggles and at the same time helps NHS students meet volunteer-hour requirements.
For District updates related to Covid-19, visit shorewood.k12.wi.us/apps/pages/covid19.