Our Third Street Clubhouse Program is now accepting applications for before and after school care.  Please use this link for additional information.  You can complete the online registration form here.

SME's Plan B

On October 28, K-2 students will shift to Plan B which means that half of our students will continue to learn remotely while other students will be learning face-to-face.  Students in grades 3-5 will make this shift November 18. View video for details regarding SME's Plan. 

This calendar provides an overiview of instruction for both Cohort A (Face-to-Face ) and Cohort B (Virtual).

Download the plan here.

 If you experience sound and/or video issues while using Zoom, please follow the steps to update your ChromeBook.  Mrs. Timmins has created a slideshow to support you in this process.  You may also watch this video for the same information.

Parent Portal

Make sure that you claim your account in the Parent Portal.  This will allow you to monitor your child's progress and view progress reports  

You will need an access code and password.  If you have not claimed your account, Mrs. Rowland will send this information to your email address.  If you do not receive an email, please contact Mrs. Rowland at Majoria_Rowland@abss.k12.nc.us.

PowerSchool Parent Portal

Linked here, you will find readily available resources to support digital learning at home.  Please access this document for support in troubleshooting technology concerns. 

*Frequently Asked Questions     *Clever     *Google Classroom     *Zoom     *Imagine Learning     *Achieve 3000

After utilizing these resources, if you still have trouble, please call: 

ABSS Tech Support 336-GET-HELP

(336-438-4357)

I’ve been having a lot of discussions with families in my clinic about how to best manage the extended screen time required for remote learning. I thought it might be helpful to share some of the pointers I give my patients, since a lot of us are in the same boat:

Screen Breaks
 Follow the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, have your child look 20 feet away (across the room, out the window) for at least 20 seconds. Our eyes are not built for extended periods of close work - they can fatigue out, or even get locked in a spasm. Taking brief breaks, to relax and reset, can make a big difference!

Position of the Screen
The screen should be at least your child’s forearm length from their face (have them make a fist - put it up to their nose - screen should be at least as far back as their elbow). The height of the screen should be at, or slightly below, eye level (not above).

Blink!

It sounds silly - but, remind your children to blink! (Blink, blink, squeeze - is the pattern I recommend.) When we focus on screens/devices our blink rate is reduced by up to 50%. Over a long screen time session, this can lead to symptoms like stinging, redness, tearing, and blurry vision. If your child is having an episode of discomfort - artificial tears (Systane, Refresh, etc) can be helpful as a “rescue”. Avoid Visine or other “get the red out” products.

Screen Brightness
Check the brightness of your child’s screen and adjust it to match the lighting level in the room. Additionally - if the device your child uses has an option to lower the blue light, you can try adjusting that setting - though available research on the benefits of reducing blue light is mixed.

Anti-Reflective Lenses

When we discuss getting new glasses for kids, I do highly recommend opting for an anti-reflective coating on the lenses. This coating cuts glare from the screen and improves eye comfort

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Computer Care

• To protect your computer, please place it on a table or other stable surface in your learning environment.

• Due to weak internet connections, you may experience gliches when using audio and video.  Turning off your video to speak will help eliminate the gliches.

• If you experience microphone problems, try recording a FlipGrid video to determine if it is a computer issue or a Zoom issue.

• Remove your headphones if you are hearing added background noise.

• If you have an ABSS HotSpot, it should only be used for school purposes.  There is limited data that is quickly used up when gaming.

• Each night, shut down the computer by choosing shut down from the power menu in the bottom left corner.

• Regularly clear the browsing history in Google Chrome:  In the top right corner, choose the 3 vertical dots, choose  More Tools, choose Clear Browsing Data. choose Clear.   You can also press Ctrl + Shift + Delete and then choose Clear.

New School Visitor Guidelines 

Beginning February 1, 2019, ABSS has new guidelines for school visitors.

View guidelines - English | Spanish