Sunday Howl 5.30.21
Have a Happy and Safe Summer!
Final Grades
Grades, for Term 8 and Quarter 4, will be finalized and posted in PowerSchool’s Grade History screen by Monday at 3pm.
Domain change
This summer Explore Academy will change our domain from exploreacademy.org to explore.academy. Your student should be receiving information on their new email address sometime this summer.
Chromebook recommendations
Chromebooks are required equipment for Explore Academy students for several reasons, but mainly:
To run our monitoring software systems including Hapara and (new!) Go Guardian.
To get consistent look, feel, and functionality amongst the various Google Apps, to facilitate learning of them.
Streamline support
Pretty much any Chromebook with 4GB of RAM (or more) and a minimum of 10" screen will do. A lot of families buy the 11" Acer, non-touch screen, because they're inexpensive and pretty tough. There is a good selection of refurbished systems on Amazon, which can save a bit of money.
If you want to look at better systems, most manufacturers offer "business class" Chromebooks that are better built and offer more warranty options, like Accidental Damage Protection. An example is the Google Pixelbook.
Finally, a good computer bag, sleeve, or backpack will go far to protect the investment. Swiss makes and excellent computer backpack.
Survey from the PED about pandemic recovery money
The following is an excerpt of an email from the PED May 24th…
The New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) is seeking your insight and expertise!
What will we do next?
New Mexico will receive nearly $1.5 billion in total federal funds to support pandemic relief, recovery, and remediation in our school communities. Want to weigh in on how those dollars are spent? It’s simple:
Watch this 6-minute presentation by Secretary Stewart to learn more about our priorities for investing recovery dollars and then
Complete the quick survey at https://bit.ly/NMARPA21 to share your feedback with NMPED. We will incorporate feedback from communities and submit our report to the federal government within the next month – please complete this survey no later than May 28, 2021 to ensure your response is received.
What was this year like?
Similar to the spring community survey shared last year, NMPED is asking families, educators, and school staff to share a little about your experience during the pandemic. Please visit https://bit.ly/NMPEDSURVEY21 and complete the 8-minute survey to offer critical insight into our areas of strength and areas for growth moving forward. This survey will also provide an opportunity to join the NMPED community listserv, where you will receive monthly updates, resources, invitations to engage, and more! This survey will remain open through the end of this school year.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. If you have any questions that are not addressed in the presentation or feedback that is not addressed through these surveys, please reach out to community.engagement@state.nm.us and a member of our team will be in touch.