How We’re Learning: H.A.L.L. and Learning Resources, Fall 2020

What does academic support look like this fall for Middle School and High School students? That’s the focus of the following article, covering resources, team updates, and the Hopper Academic Learning Lab (H.A.L.L.). We’ll keep this brief because we know you are managing a lot (see: Time Management below).

Learning Resources

The MS and HS teams are regularly updating the following resource pages. They’ve included notes on managing your workspace, communications and technology, wellness, time management, and upcoming events. Bookmark these pages for easy reference.

• HS Learning Resources Team Document
• MS Learning Resources Team Document
• Hopping into 2020-21 Learning Resources on the GDS website

New Team Members

The High School and Middle School Learning Resources teams welcome two new team members this year:
(left–right) Learning specialist Jasmine Watson joins Meredith Chase-Mitchell and Kim Palombo, the chair of GDS all-school learning resources, on the HS Learning Resources team.

(left–right) Learning specialist Krystal Jones joins Cristina Watson (no relation to Jasmine) on the MS team.

Hopper Academic Learning Lab (H.A.L.L.)

“This year,” Meredith explained, “we have increased H.A.L.L sessions to every week to offer students additional support during GDS Virtual Campus.” The upcoming H.A.L.L sessions are focused on developing skills vital to success in virtual and in-person learning. Students are encouraged to attend every Wednesday from 12:15–12:45 p.m. (immediately following assembly).

For the first meeting in October, Meredith welcomed students to plan how to stay organized and create a functional workspace at home. After one week off due to fall break, H.A.L.L. will return on October 21 with a session led by Jasmine on active reading. She’ll focus on reading tips for retaining essential information and saving time. Jasmine will return the following week to teach study strategies to help students prepare to show what they know.

We encourage students to take ownership of their learning and plan to attend these important sessions. At the same time, we also know that students sometimes benefit from a parent prodding in the right direction—H.A.L.L. is the right direction.