“The teachers have my daughter fully engaged. She’s getting a lot out of the Wellan Wired experience. Is there a way to fully express the gratitude I feel for a school that does not allow the disruption of a worldwide pandemic to disrupt my daughter’s learning progress? Please let me know so I can double it!”
—Parent of a Wellan Upper Elementary Student
What is Wellan Wired?
Wellan is a fusion of ancient and modern words created to describe our unique school identity.
Wellness. Educational excellence. Depth of knowledge. Intrinsic motivation. Freedom of choice.
Wellan Wired is a new educational endeavor that applies the meanings of Wellan virtually in the interest of public health, for the benefit of students and families.
Inspired by Maria Montessori’s use of the scientific method to transform education in the early 20th century, Wellan Wired is ever-evolving and ever-innovating in response to student needs and family feedback. Our goal is to meet not only the needs of public health and wellness, but also to meet students' needs of social, emotional, and physical wellness. In the same way that students benefit from personalized curriculum and close ties with teachers at school, Wellan Wired is personalized and structured to keep students connected to teachers and to one another.
On March 15, Head of School Beth Black sent a video to students to explain the need to learn virtually and what it would look like.
Watch as she introduces Wellan Wired for the first time.
What does Wellan Wired offer?
At Wellan, we recognize that mandated remote learning in response to a global pandemic presents challenges for students, teachers, and parents. Replacing a full school day with a full day of online classes is not considered best practice nor would it be age-appropriate for our students.
Wellan Wired is designed to provide support for individualized and independent learning in this new context. We offer educational programming tailored to each age group from Toddler – Grade 8.
Our program allows parents of younger students to choose from an a la carte menu of synchronous and asynchronous options to select activities that will engage the child. For older students, the model builds on the strengths that Montessori students practice in the classroom, which include developing and following personal learning plans with teacher guidance and strengthening their ability to concentrate and complete schoolwork on their own. Unlike students in traditional teacher-centered classrooms, our students are accustomed to taking some of the responsibility for their own education.
Wellan students are able to experience:
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Personalized attention from the teacher in a weekly 1:1 call
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Individualized weekly learning plans
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Live/synchronous academic lessons in small groups
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Pre-recorded/asynchronous lessons and educational materials for at-home learning
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Specials curriculum by age level
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Social connection with classmates via live synchronous full class meetings (daily for younger students; weekly for Elementary) and virtual lunches together
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“Elementary work time” – opportunity to log in to have peer company and a teacher as a resource while working on assignments at home
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After-school story or activity at 4:30 pm or 5:00 pm
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After-school enrichment classes (optional add-on)
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School community spirit, displayed through optional student/family participation in creative challenges and virtual community service
Wellan Wired is hosted on a secure, password-protected, custom-designed platform.
At a time when many schools and community groups are relying on Zoom and have faced serious security issues, this internet safety feature is a top priority for our school.
Remote learning sessions are displayed in a calendar format on the Wellan Wired software platform so there’s no digging through emails for meeting invitations. Updates to both the curriculum offered and user features on the platform have been and continue to be made in response to student and parent feedback.
What does Wellan Wired look like?
Experience a sample lesson via the links below. Then, check out the ways we’ve kept our community spirit strong via social media.
Free Lesson Downloads by Age Group:
Follow Our Remote Learning Journey:
“We at Wellan” Book by Primary Writers’ Workshop
At Wellan, Primary Year 3 students attend Kindergarten Workshops that help prepare them for the Elementary program: Science Workshop, Readers’ Workshop, Readers’ Theatre, and Writers’ Workshop. After school buildings closed due to COVID-19, the Writers’ Workshop teachers crafted a project that would help their students reflect on their school year (including their experience with remote learning). The teachers wrote a story and students contributed illustrations. If your family is curious about our year at Wellan, we invite you to listen to this special story!
Curious for more information on how Wellan managed school during building closures?
Find communication from the Head of School, parent resources, and more here.