Dauphin News

Lower Dauphin Middle School recently issued the following announcement.

Hello Lower Dauphin Middle School Parents/Guardians,

I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy and well. And I hope you are finding silver linings to the cloud cast by the COVID-19 pandemic. I know a lot of information has been communicated to you recently and I would imagine if you do not already have many questions, you will soon. Let me summarize below what I believe to be some of the most important considerations as we begin to move into planned instruction through online learning.

• Starting Monday, April 6th, students will be required to complete school work on a daily basis. Teachers are posting instruction, activities, and assignments on Canvas. Students should check their Canvas email and each teacher’s Canvas course every school day.
• We will follow the 2019-2020 school district calendar. This means students will not be expected to complete school work on April 8, 9, 10, or 13th. 
• Students at the middle school level should anticipate approximately 20 – 30 minutes of work for each class each day. This can include a combination of activities such as a 10-minute instructional video and an assignment that should take about 15 minutes to complete. If your child is spending significantly more time than expected on school work, please check with the teacher(s) to problem-solve what might be going on. 
• Many students will be prompted on Monday, April 6th to share their parent/guardian email addresses with teachers. Please make sure your child shares your preferred email address for school communications with his/her teachers. Your child will need to share this information with all of his/her teachers. I apologize if your child has to share the same information multiple times with different teachers - we are working to ensure we have accurate parent emails for communication. 
• Canvas is our online learning management platform. We will be delivering our continuity of education plans through Canvas. Parents can sign up to be observers of student courses on Canvas. I highly recommend students and parent observers look through their Canvas notifications and tailor them to their personal preferences. 
• Sign up to be a Canvas observer 
• Set up to receive Canvas notifications
  • Observers
  • Students 
• District Canvas resource page with tutorial videos 
• Communication is key. LDMS faculty and staff will be making efforts to open communication with you as we navigate this transition to online learning. Please notify us if you have any questions or concerns. We will do our best to respond to your emails within 24 hours during the school week. 
• Technology issues should be directed to the helpdesk.
  • helpdesk@ldsd.org
  • (717) 566-5392 
• Issues related to specific courses should be directed to teachers.
  • Go to ldsd.org/middleschool and click on the Faculty tab for teacher email addresses 
• Issues related to specific student concerns should be directed to counselors.
  • 6th grade – Teresa Coller (tcoller@ldsd.org)
  • 7th grade – Lori Schaefer (lschaefer@ldsd.org)
  • 8th grade – Mark Beaver (mbeaver@ldsd.org)
• Issues related to school/district plans and concerns should be directed to administration.
  • Principal – Jill Freedman (jfreedman@ldsd.org)
  • Assistant Principal – Johnathon Breininger (jbreininger@ldsd.org)
  • Dean of Students – Karli Hatten (khatten@ldsd.org)
  • Middle School Office Phone – (717) 566-5342
• District communications
  • Continuity of education plan
  • FAQs
  • Letter for parents of students with special needs
  • District updates 

Our goal is to do our best to educate LD students. We need to consider what students can accomplish and what teachers and parents can handle. We realize every home situation looks different and it is our goal to be flexible and reasonable to accommodate you and your child as you figure out how to manage learning from home. 

We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we navigate these unprecedented times and new environments for learning. This is a difficult time for the world, our country, and our Lower Dauphin community. We want to support our LD families as we all adjust to staying home while continuing to move forward with our continuity of education plans. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. We are all in this together!

Warm Regards,

Jill Freedman

Original source: https://www.ldsd.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=237&ModuleInstanceID=1558&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=27209&PageID=2050