The MI Virtual Hub
We hope that this letter finds you and your family safe and well. We understand that everyone is facing the new normal with their own set of challenges. As educators, we know how important it is to innovate educational practices to prepare kids for the future in the new normal. Our teachers and adminstrators have been working very hard over the ECQ period, to prepare for the MI Virtual Hub (V-HUB). Best educational practice and listening to needs of parents, have informed our decisions. We continue to commit to Future Ready education and have invested heavily on technological platforms and tools, to make the MI Virtual Distance Learning program, a meaningful and rich experience for all our MI kids, while keeping them safe at home.
Learning from a teacher, having a regular class routine, being with familiar classmates, and being enriched with formation and community activities, are all part of student life at the MI V-HUB. We may be going online but we will make sure that holistic education, in the context of a community of learners, will be fostered in the MI V-HUB. We have invited our students and teachers to take ownership of the Virtual Village as they embrace it, promote various ways to continue to build community, and allow our students new ways of leading.
We would like to reiterate the key points already communicated and shared in the Information Sessions. We are also highlighting the educational and financial priorities, as well as the various ways the school hopes to support parents. Thank you for your trust and partnership. We are committed to ensure that our shared VISION and VALUES continue to shape the future of our MI Kids. We recognize that with an unprecedented future ahead, our children will need for our MI Village to continue to give them the empowerment to learn, the belief in themselves, and the love and care they need. This will help them thrive amidst all the challenges and changes ahead.
Mary Joy Canon Abaquin, Ed.D.
Founding Directress
The Virtual Hub Innov8 Advantage
VHUB ADVANTAGE 1
Learning Community: A Structure Virtual School Day
“What will the schedule of the Virtual Distance Learning be like?”
Students will be given a daily online schedule that will be like a school day. Attendance will be checked for all synchronous classes. The class schedules will be a combination of classes led by teachers virtually and students will be given time to do asynchronous or independent work. A regular Calendar of Activities will be given out. Students will feel that they are part of a class and a community with regular co-curricular and community activities so they can maintain their social well-being at home. We will create a “Virtual Village” that includes parents and teachers.
VHUB ADVANTAGE 2
Differentiated Learning: Small Groups Breakout
“I am worried that my child’s needs won’t be noticed or addressed in a virtual class.”
The MI V-Hub program will continue to uphold the MI educational practice of differentiated learning. Given the de-congested curriculum, the V-Hub will enable teachers to conduct differentiated lessons in small groups similar to regular class to address students’ various needs. Some students need more time to understand a lesson while others can do more advanced work. A tracking system will allow both child and teacher to set targets.
VHUB ADVANTAGE 3
Personalization of Learning: 1-1 Mentorship and Consultation
“My child might have a hard time focusing and keeping up in a virtual classroom.”
MI recognizes that being in a virtual learning space is new for students, teachers and parents, and there will be a need to learn new behaviors and tools for learning. Teachers will reach out to students and address student’s individual needs through Mentorship and Consultation hours. If needed, Resource Programs and Learning Support Programs will be given for students who have a hard time coping. Personal behavior management strategies will also be given so students develop the right work ethic in virtual classrooms. Every day, there will be Office Hours for kids to ask teachers for help.
VHUB ADVANTAGE 4
Holistic Development of the Multiple Intelligences: Beyond Academics Programs
“I don’t want my child’s education to suffer and want to ensure that they have meaningful learning to help them succeed beyond MI and in college.”
We understand that parents often confuse online learning, or doing homeschool academic modules at home, for Virtual Distance Learning school-based programs. There may be similarities and differences, but in the V-Hub, students have the advantage to continue to be given the opportunities to engage in different programs and hone their different intelligences with fellow students and mentors. This is especially important for Middle and Upper School students, who are looking into developing career pathways.
VHUB ADVANTAGE 5
Formation and Wellness: Guidance and Homeroom
“How do I ensure that my child develops character, self-motivation and maintain a healthy mental state as they are working isolated at home?”
Learning from home, has the same mental health challenges, as employees working-from-home. We understand that students might lose motivation to work from home or even feel very isolated. During the ECQ, the Guidance office run the Mental Health Recovery program to help students with their issues. In the V-Hub, Wellness Programs will be integrated in routines and in lessons, for students to develop a growth mindset and learn to be resilient amidst all the changes.
VHUB ADVANTAGE 6
Work Skills and Discipline: R4W Formation Programs
“My child has no discipline for work and I am worried about compliance and submission of work.”
It is part of the goal of the MI V-Hub program to help students acquire the discipline of work. Since students will learn to work more independently, they need to be given productivity tools, such as calendars, timelines, schedules, project deliverables etc, as 21st century R4W work tools that they can be an asset for life. The MI V-Hub is a well-thought-out program which has the clear aim to make kids ready for the new normal of how to succeed in the virtual world of work. Parents will be given a learning management App in their phones to help track the performance of their child and see their academic status at the tips of their fingertips. In this way, teachers and parents can work with ease in supporting students.
VHUB ADVANTAGE 7
Digital Literacy for the 21st Century: R4W Digital Toolbox
“I am worried about how younger children will engage in virtual learning.”
Digital Literacy is a must for students to succeed in the Future of Work. Students need to be able to manipulate a variety of programs, communicate dynamically across various mediums and adjust with using various platforms as technology changes. To survive and be globally competitive, students not only need to have a strong digital literacy, but they equally need strong ethical standards, as well as meet the international technology standards. The MI V-Hub will expose and teach students these tools as part of their daily life in the Virtual Distance Learning Program and in their eventual face-to-face learning.
VHUB ADVANTAGE 8
Globally Competitive Learning Standards: MAP Growth
“I want to make sure that the advantage of an international school education is a worthwhile investment that gives my child an advantage over other children.”
The mode of learning may change, but the commitment of MIIS to raising globally competitive students has not. Borders of countries might be closed but in the virtual world, employees around the world, are all the more connected and continue to collaborate. Our MI Students will need to lead in this kind of world and will need to ensure that skills they learn are benchmarked internationally. The school will be investing in international benchmarks and growth programs that will hold students accountable to their learning journey and will help parents and teachers ensure that students continue to meet learning targets. These reports will be given to parents.
