My Virtual Final Project : Virtual Assemblies as PD Inspiration and Community Building
The Background: As in common in most schools, our elementary school has a tradition of gathering once a month together. COVID has forced us to rethink how this occurs in our school and I’m happy to say that we have found a way to adapt. My principal started virtual assemblies earlier in the year and, although at the time it was considered quite a success to create a meeting on Microsoft Teams and have everyone successfully join, our virtual assemblies consisted of one activity and an encouraging message from the principal. When changes in my schedule permitted, I volunteered to take over this role to help relieve some of the workload from the principal but soon realized what a gift planning virtual assemblies could be. When used thoughtfully, they can provide a channel that not only connects the school, provides some levity and excitement, but also showcases technological skills that could be adopted to a virtual learning setting. It is my hope that by celebrating these types of activ