Remote Learning - Briarwood Christian School

Our teachers have worked diligently to create an engaging purposeful weekly plan that will help keep students engaged in learning. We understand there will be some adjustments to this new learning style and hope that by providing resources online, we will equip our students with the tools needed to have a successful experience. We desire this learning experience to be meaningful, enjoyable and challenging, but manageable. We believe we are ready to offer students a robust and reasonable academic program via our campus-specific remote learning plans. In the midst of this trying time, we remain grateful to God for each one of you and fully anticipate a tenacious student body full of good cheer and well-motivated to tackle this new opportunity.

Lower School

Letter from Mrs. Tasha Holliday

K-2nd Resources

3rd-6th Resources

Tips for Remote Learning

One thing that is important to remember is that while school is not happening in the traditional sense, it still needs to be happening each day, albeit in a much different way! While we know that the plan for daily supervision for your children may vary from family to family, we encourage you to develop a consistent schedule for your child each day that includes time set aside for school work. As we all know, children thrive with routine and setting a good schedule/daily routine will help them make a smooth transition to the remote learning plan. We are asking each parent/caregiver to assist children in completing assignments each day to retain the skills we have worked on during this year and to keep learning moving forward. Daily engagement with the assignments and tasks will also ensure that students will continue to grow academically. Please remember, your children will adopt your response to this remote learning plan. We encourage you to present this in a positive light each day and see this as a sweet time for you to engage in your child’s learning. We also encourage you to see this time at home as a special gift to just “be” with your child(ren) and enjoy a different season of life that is not frenzied or over-scheduled.

Weekly Lesson Plans

Teacher Availability

We thank you in advance for your patience. If challenges or concerns do arise, let’s do our best to extend kindness and grace to each other while we problem solve or make revisions to this plan. Please know that we are all available during this time to answer questions and support you in any way. Feel free to email your child’s teacher or the administrative team at any time. Teachers and Administrators will have daily “virtual office” hours from 9:00 am-2:30pm and will regularly check and respond to emails. Email will be our preferred and recommended mode of communication during this time. In an effort to monitor and make adjustments to the remote learning plan, we will be sending brief surveys to solicit parent feedback on our LIONS UNLEASHED program.

Academic Support Plan

We will continue to offer counseling, tutoring, and student support services to our families and students, as needed. If your child is currently participating in any of our student support services, the directors and/or teachers of these services will be reaching out to you the week of March 30th to discuss a plan for assisting your child. Also, feel free to email your child’s teacher or division principal, if you would like to utilize these student support resources.

Grading

How will grades be given? Teachers will ask for some assignments to be “turned in.” The teacher will give specific instructions for submitting an assignment, test, or quiz to be graded. Often this will involve taking a picture of a completed assignment, test, or quiz and emailing it to the teacher. We ask that tests and quizzes be monitored by a parent according to the teacher’s instructions.

Special Area Classes

What about Special Subject Area Classes? The Special Area Teachers will provide additional enriching activities that will supplement your child’s learning at home. While these special area class assignments are not required, they can provide some opportunities to enrich learning for our students. There will also be opportunities for our Special Area teachers to assist your
students with homework assignments or assist with the understanding of new concepts. If you feel your child would benefit from these services, please contact your child’s teacher.

Connecting with Students

It is the desire of our faculty and staff to remain connected to our students during this time. To help us stay in touch with our students, teachers and administrators will send personal messages to you to share with students and make arrangements to personally connect with each individual student and/or classes via video, phone call, or Zoom during the week. Our classroom teachers will provide more detail soon! The administrative team will provide a weekly devotional every Monday, a “Wednesday Wave” video, and chapel lesson each Friday. Thank you for sharing these with your child.

Technology

There are so many cool Apps and learning platforms like ZOOM conferencing, Google Classroom, etc. Why aren’t we using these?

Yes! There are many, many cool learning platforms and tools that would greatly benefit remote learning. In developing this plan, we had to consider the fact that some students may have varied or limited access to technology/tech devices and may have different types of daily supervision during this time. For example, some families may have multiple children, but one home tech device. We also considered that some children may be under the supervision of grandparents, or neighbors, who are not “tech savvy” and may not be able to assist students with online learning. We decided to keep things simple and just email assignments and materials each week to parents to view or print.

Please note: Some teachers may include some assignments involving on-line resources like our IXL, SeeSaw, and SuperKids program, YouTube video links and pre-recorded lessons. Teachers may also include other websites for learning and review. While these do require access to a tech device, these assignments can be completed as devices are available and under parent/caregiver supervision. Many teachers have offered alternative options within their lesson plans in the event that technology is not available. If you have any challenges with these assignments or do not have access to technology, please let your teacher know and they can modify on-line assignments.

Upper School

Letter from Dr. Shawn Brower

Junior High Resources

High School Resources

Apps on student iPads
Gmail
Google Docs
Google Slides
Google Classroom
Google Forms
Notability
IXL
Quizlet
iMovie
Camera
Bible
etextbooks
Procreate (art students)

Access on Personal Devices
Zoom https://zoom.us/
AP Central (AP students) https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/
Turnitin.com https://www.turnitin.com/
Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/
HTML pHet (Physics) https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/html
OWL (AP Chem) https://www.cengage.com/owlv2/
Google Translate (World Languages) https://translate.google.com/

Tips for Remote Learning

Weekly Lesson Plans

LEARNING PLANS Our teachers have worked diligently under the watchful eye of our Dean of Academics, Dr. Heather Mays, to create engaging, purposeful weekly plans that will be sent to students Monday morning between 7- 8am. Instead of sending daily work, the focus of our planning has been to create and provide meaningful units of study where most are designed to be completed by Thursday at 3pm. During this first week, we understand there will be some adjustments to this new learning style. I have heard of schools where students have felt absolutely overwhelmed at the daily amount of work given and this most certainly is not what we want for our students here at Briarwood. We desire this learning experience to be meaningful, enjoyable and challenging, but manageable. During the planning process, each of our teachers submitted their plans to both their departments and their grade levels for evaluation to ensure that the type of work and the amount of work being required were both reasonable and manageable for our students. Running each weekly plan through this grid, we believe we are ready to offer students a robust and reasonable academic program via remote learning. Friday will be used for teacher grading and assessment feedback to students.

WEEKLY RHYTHM OF INSTRUCTION We will NOT be assigning work over the weekend. New assignments will be posted Monday morning between 7-8am. The rationale for this is two fold:

1. Teachers need time to adjust lesson plans based on work submitted from students and their own evaluation of how each week progresses.

2. It is my sincere hope that our students sabbath from their remote learning. If we give students new work on Friday, the days and weeks will run together as some will start work immediately. Our kids and families need to step away on weekends. Get outside and enjoy the spring weather!

Teacher Availability

All upper school teachers will be accessible to students Monday - Thursday 9am-12pm. Each teacher will notify students of the best way to communicate with them during this time.

Central to the mission and work of Briarwood are the relationships between faculty and students. We are committed to maintaining those relationships despite our required “social distancing”. Our
aim in remote learning is to create a learning environment in which instruction and conversations would be undertaken in much the same manner as if things were continuing in a normal fashion.

Academic Support Plan

Devotional Guide

School Counseling

For School Counseling Support please contact the following:

SENIORS: Mrs. Latta: blatta@bcsk12.org
JUNIORS: Mrs. Sowell: tsowell@bcsk12.org
SOPHOMORES: Mrs. Sowell: tsowell@bcsk12.org
FRESHMEN: Mrs. Ezelle: aezelle@bcsk12.org

To reach the registrar for transcripts or records:
Mrs. Miller: mmiller@bcsk12.org

* Counselors are continuing to review course selections and will contact you if there are questions about your selections.

If you need immediate crisis assistance:

The Crisis Center (Central Alabama)
Main Line: (205) 323-7777
Teen Line: (205) 328-LINK (205-328-5465)
Kids' Help Line: (205) 328-KIDS (205-328-5437)
Senior Talk Line: (205) 328-TALK (205-328-8255)

Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)
24-hour nationwide

Connecting with Families

It is our plan to send videos to you that would provide a semblance of some of our communal gathering events that are meant to encourage, inspire, and give you a sense of our continued connectedness and belonging. We would very much encourage EACH students to begin their Monday morning opening up the Monday morning devotion before jumping into your academic
work. In addition, we would encourage all students to take a break on Thursday and to open up the brief chapel talk around 10:30am. We love the idea that at around 10:30am, all students are hearing the same message simultaneously.

● Monday - video daily devotions
● Thursday - video chapel message
● Friday - “Friday Flashback” - we will send you a great BCS video of something that has occurred in the past to (3Rs) reflect, remember, and rejoice in the great experiences the
Lord has allowed us to enjoy together.

Community Service Hours

Considering that we are in the middle of a pandemic, you may be wondering how you are going to earn the rest of your service hours or if we are even still requiring students to complete their
service hours. The truth is the world around us needs us now more than ever and, as Dr. Brower mentioned in his talk, this pandemic has provided us with an opportunity to “extend [our] arms”
and serve others. Therefore, we are still requiring students to complete their required hours as part of their grade for their Bible course (10 hours for freshman and sophomores; 20 hours for juniors and seniors). While there may be opportunities for you to serve your neighbors—mowing a neighbor’s lawn, making a run to the grocery store for an elderly neighbor—we want to encourage
you to practice social distancing and to only engage iopportunities that your parents are comfortable with. Understanding that this may greatly limit your opportunities, we want to expand
your options by allowing you to serve those closest to you—your family. There are plenty of great ways to do this that will make things easier on your family as your parents attempt to navigate
uncharted waters. Service must still be voluntary and you can’t receive payment for your services, but there are many great ways to serve around the house including: mowing the lawn, “babysitting” younger siblings, cooking a meal, making a grocery run, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, and more! As you log hours, simply list your parents as the supervisor—be sure to include their email address—and have them verify your hours. As many of you still have yet to create an X2VOL account or join your groups and goals for the year, we have included brief instructions on how you can do that (see below). We look forward to seeing all the great ways you serve in the midst of the storm.

First page of the PDF file: CommunityService2020reduced

AP Content and Exams

By now, our AP teachers and students have received official word via email from College Board that AP course content and exams have been altered to accommodate the unique learning environments of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, March 21st, our AP teachers reviewed the content that will be on each exam and made adjustments to the remaining units of the semester and their exam review plans. They will be rolling out their new plans with students on March 30th, including student access to daily live reviews through the AP website and information about free-response questions for review. The College Board will be providing additional information about the at-home exams on April 3rd; we plan to update students and families as soon as we have more
information. To get the latest updates in real time, you can follow College Board's account on Twitter, @CollegeBoard.

Tutoring List

Briarwood Youth Group BYG & Raiders

BRIARWOOD YOUTH GROUP - BYG / RAIDERS
Jay Shaw, the Youth Pastor at Briarwood, and the Briarwood Youth Staff, are producing content specifically designed to help your student in their walk with the Lord during this season. This content includes weekly talks, student testimonies, daily devotionals, and even some fun online games/challenges. You can access all of this content through Instagram, Youtube, or the Briarwood youth website at www.briarwood.org/youth.

The BYG (senior high) Instagram is: Briarwood Youth Group. The Raiders (jr. high) Instagram is Briarwood.raiders. The Youtube channel is: Briarwood Youth Group.

I would encourage all of you to follow them on these social media platforms. In addition, the youth staff has made themselves available to minister to any of our students who have a need. If you would like for one of the youth staff to reach out to your student or you would like to receive weekly parent emails from Jay, please email the Student Ministry Administrative Assistant at cyoungblood@briarwood.org.

End of the Year Lower School Chapel

May 15, 2020

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Upper School Legacy Chapel

May 13, 2020

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Morning Devotions with Mrs. Amy Butler

May 11, 2020

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Chapel with Coach Young

May 8, 2020

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National Day of Prayer

May 7, 2020

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Chapel with Jay Matthews

May 6, 2020

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Monday Devotions with Mrs. Laura Cloud

May 4, 2020

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Friday Chapel with Mrs. Holliday

May 1, 2020

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Senior Chapel

April 29, 2020

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Morning Devotionals with Mrs. Bandy Week 5

April 27, 2020

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Monday Morning Devotional Week 5

April 27, 2020

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Chapel with Mrs. Holliday & Special Guests

April 24, 2020

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Thy Kingdom Come Chapel with Sophie Hudson

April 22, 2020

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High School Devotions with Christian Ferguson

April 20, 2020

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Morning Devotions with Mrs. Morris

April 20, 2020

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School Counseling

School Counseling

For School Counseling Support please contact the following:

SENIORS: Mrs. Latta: blatta@bcsk12.org
JUNIORS: Mrs. Sowell: tsowell@bcsk12.org
SOPHOMORES: Mrs. Sowell: tsowell@bcsk12.org
FRESHMEN: Mrs. Ezelle: aezelle@bcsk12.org

To reach the registrar for transcripts or records:
Mrs. Miller: mmiller@bcsk12.org

* Counselors are continuing to review course selections and will contact you if there are questions about your selections.

If you need immediate crisis assistance:

The Crisis Center (Central Alabama)
Main Line: (205) 323-7777
Teen Line: (205) 328-LINK (205-328-5465)
Kids' Help Line: (205) 328-KIDS (205-328-5437)
Senior Talk Line: (205) 328-TALK (205-328-8255)

Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)
24-hour nationwide

For further assistance, we refer families to these outside counseling services.

Briarwood Presbyterian Church Counseling Services (Altadena House)

Individual and Family Counseling

Marital and family counselors help individuals, couples, and families to deal with issues from a Christian perspective. Our counseling includes:

relationships
substance abuse
grief
marital conflict
divorce
financial matters

To the extent possible, counselors are assigned according to their areas of expertise.

Pre-marital Counseling

Becoming One consists of six to eight hours of intense counseling and a PREPARE compatibility assessment of critical areas of married life:

Communication
Religious Orientation
Family and Friends
Family Closeness
Family Flexibility
Equalitarian Roles
Personality Issues

Career Transitions

Individuals dealing with layoffs, downsizing and other career transition issues are assisted in approaching these issues from a Christian perspective.

Altadena House

Covenant Counseling and Education Center

We are a group of licensed professionals who seek to maintain the highest professional standards in our fields and whose Christian faith is central to our lives and practices.

Founded in 1994, Covenant Counseling and Education Center serves Birmingham and the surrounding areas, offering counseling for individuals, couples, and families.

Areas of Treatment Include:

Marriage Counseling
Premarital Counseling
Depression
Grief and Loss
Anxiety and Stress
Adolescents
Sex Addiction
Substance Abuse
Eating Disorders
Career Counseling
Nutritional Counseling
Recovery from Abuse
Group Therapy
More

covenant Counseling

Wellspring Christian Clinic

Our mission is to provide professional and comprehensive psychiatric care, psychotherapy/counseling services, psychological/vocational/intellectual evaluations, and education that are consistent with Biblical teaching and our Christian faith. All of our programs are designed to meet the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of our clients. We are not affiliated with or funded by any particular church denomination. Our staff is comprised of highly trained, experienced, and licensed mental health professionals who are firmly committed to a personal faith in Jesus Christ. Please take a moment to read more about the education, professional training, background, and treatment specialties of our staff members.

Wellspring

Have a question about Remote Learning? Feel Free to visit our FAQs Page

F AQS Page

"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses... Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)

We would love to pray for our families in this time away from each other. If you want to share your prayer requests here, they will go to a prayer team staff member who will be praying on a daily and weekly basis.

Prayer Requests can be made here

One of the greatest blessings of the Briarwood family is the relationships we enjoy and the community that unites us. Of course, it’s easier to enjoy and strengthen those bonds while we are physically together, but we can find ways to nurture them even while we are not together each day. Let's be intentional and take time to remain connected and close.

We would love to stay connected through the means of social media sharing. We would love for our students, teachers or family members to share photos of how you are using this extra time together as a family this week, or what e-learning looks like for you, or even creative ways you have made the best out of this difficult situation.

We may post it in our social media feeds as the days pass. Let's be creative! We can't wait to see how we as a community embrace this new style of learning and continue to press on in the face of this uncertainty. #wearebriarwood #inspiringlearners #equippingleaders

Feel free to tag us in your social media posts as well, we will miss seeing your faces over the next few weeks.

Share your social media here