Extended Day Activities Build Community During Remote Learning

We've been impressed by the creative approach KLS Extended Day Coordinator Arden Simone and our Extended Day staff havetaken to planning remote Extended Day extracurricular activities to keep KLS students connected while physically distant. We know building community while remote is a challenge many schools are facing right now, so we wanted to share our approach here. All the Extended Day activities mentioned below are happening remotely, over Zoom, for the fall term.

KLS Extended Day activities are split into 3 main categories. The first category is teacher-led classes. This year, these remote classes include opportunities like Spanish, Mandarin, Dance, Piano, Speech & Debate, a humanities PBL course called Global Changemakers, and a coding class called Hello World Hacking. KLS Music Teacher Jacob is also teaching a Band class.

Student-led clubs are the next category of Extended Day activities. KLS students submitted applications for clubs they wanted to host and found an adult sponsor to supervise the club. Students organized clubs for activities like Chess, Comix Quest, Robotics, Improv, and more. There was a "virtual club fair"where students could sign up for clubs they wanted to participate in. A picture of one of the club tables from the virtual club fair is below. Students loved that Arden made it so the club tables looked like they were actually in the KLS school space!

In addition to the teacher-led classes and the student-led clubs, the KLS Extended Day program is also hosting at least 2 Community Social Gatherings each week. These events launched this week and are open to the entire student body. Students played bingo & online pictionary during Monday's game day and participated in yoga & mindfulness activities on Thursday. Future Community Social Gatherings will include digital escape rooms, virtual field trips to National Parks, Open Mic nights, Karaoke, and more. KLS students do not need to register or sign up in advance for Community Social Gatherings. They can just visit the activities that interest them as their schedule allows!

All of this information is organized on our Extended Day website. The site is password protected for safety, but it is available to all KLS families after they log in.

In addition to the formal activities, students can usethe Extended Day site's chat feature to talk with KLS friends between 4:45 pm & 6:30 pm each weekday. There arevirtual field trips for students to visit with friends and weekly challenges for the whole community. KLS families, make sure you check out this round-up of fun podcasts, animal live cams, and other fun after-school activities for kids on the Extended Day site here.

Thank you to our Extended Day team for their creativity & hard work in organizing all of these activities! We're grateful you're keeping us connected at a safe distance.