All grade 6-12 students will have a Google Classroom site for every course they take at HTS as well as one for Advisory or Homeroom. Together with Google Calendars it will serve as the child's digital agenda and function similar to how a paper agenda has been used in the past. All children in grades K-5 will use the Toddle Student app and Google Calendars in a similar way. 

Students in grades 6-8 will refer to Google Classroom and Google Calendars by using the corresponding installed apps on their ipads.

Students in grades 9 - 12 will refer to Google Classroom and Google Calendars by going to classroom.google.com and calendar. google.com on their laptop, using the Chrome browser.

More specifically, the purpose of a digital classroom is to:

• Share detailed information about tasks and activities that are to be completed in each course.  If an instruction is shared in class, that same instruction will be shared through the platform.

• Structure learning. Provide students with clear expectations and due dates. These dates are also visible in Google Calendars.

• Share work that was created during Live discussions eg. Recorded Videos, Slide Decks

• Links to needed resources and files as they relate to each assignment.

• Share general information like curriculum documents, review materials and general announcements.

• Link formative and summative assessment and evaluation guides and tools together with assignments.

• Track student work completion and resubmission

• Notify students of incomplete work.

• Provide teachers with a mechanism to share cycles of feedback through anecdotal comments, rubrics and marks.

• Provide students with a mechanism to clarify instructions and ask questions related to each assignment.

• Store examples of student work. Students should be able to see the progression of their learning by looking back at submitted work and the feedback they received on that work.

• Help students organize their files.

The purpose of Google Calendars is to:

• Share the student schedule so it is clear what day it is and when HTS classes and activities are happening. This very dynamic framework allows us to quickly share information with our students as soon as there is any change (eg. an altered schedule)

• Share information about individual appointments eg. working with a specialist for extra help

• Provide an entry point to Google Meets, particularly when students are working remotely as well as clarify when they need to login.

• Inform students about critical dates and events.

• Inform students about scheduled co-curricular options.

• Provide students with a  means for viewing each other’s calendars and teacher's calendars so that they are able to easily schedule appointments as needed.

• To book resources that are needed, such as tools in the innovation lab.

Here are our recommendations to parents in terms of supporting their child/ren with managing their digital agenda.

Grade K-5 Students

For parents of grade K-5 students, we recommend that they review the Toddle app with their child (on the child's personal iPad) at least twice a week. Parents should also install the Toddle Family app on a personal device that they regularly review, such as a personal phone. Homeroom teachers will send home instructions on how to login early in the school year. If you have not received anything by October 1 of the school year, please reach out to the homeroom teacher for guidance. Once logged in,  parents will have access to shared assignment details through the family app. 

Parents may also choose to subscribe to their child's Google Calendar so they can see the child's full schedule. This can only be done by logging on to your child's account on a computer. Details of how to do this can be found here.

At HTS, we have a  goal to foster greater independence and student self-management in our students. Therefore, it is our hope that parents will be able to review the Toddle family app less frequently as their children move through the grades.

Grade 6-8 Students

For parents of grade 6-8 students, we recommend that you begin the year by reviewing the Google Classroom and Google Calendar app with your child (on the child's personal iPad) a few times, following the guidelines outlined in this document to ensure that they are familiar with routines and expectations.  Beyond the first few weeks, it is not necessary for you to regularly review Google Classroom with your child, unless you have evidence that they are struggling with routines and organization.  If you are not sure if it is necessary, please reach out to your child's homeroom teacher or division head to consider your child's specific needs and experience.

Although parents have the option to install Google Classroom and Google Calendars on their own personal devices and subscribe to their child's Google Calendar, we hope that this will only be done with the child's permission and because there is evidence that their child is struggling with organization after some time to allow them to adjust. Trusting your child to navigate routines and manage themselves with less support from you helps them to become more independent and better able to self-manage. It is an important building block of learning.

Parents may choose to sign up for the summary parent emails, but please note that these emails are not comprehensive and share only a small snapshot of the information available in Google Classroom.

Grade 9-12 Students

For parents of grade 9-12  students, we recommend that you begin the year by reviewing the Google Classroom and Google Calendar's links with your child a few times, following the guidelines outlined in this document to ensure that they are familiar with routines and expectations.  Beyond the first few weeks, it is not necessary for you to regularly review Google Classroom and Google Calendars with your child, unless you have evidence that they are struggling with routines and organization.  If you are not sure if it is necessary, please reach out to your child's homeroom teacher or Division head to consider your child's specific needs and experience.

Although parents have the option to install Google Classroom  on their own personal devices, we hope that this will only be done with the child's permission and because there is evidence that their child is struggling. Trusting your child to navigate routines and manage themselves with less support from you helps them to become more independent and better able to self-manage.

Parents may choose to sign up for the summary parent emails, but please note that these emails are not comprehensive and share only a small snapshot of the information available in Google Classroom.