Welcome Back Families!
Sorry we missed our communication last week. We have so appreciated the bustle that comes with the January return to school! Students have enjoyed the chance to reunite with friends and teachers, especially after such an abrupt start to our break - one day early. Things are changing quickly in our world and not always in a predictable direction, especially in regards to Covid-19.
We want to acknowledge that things are really challenging right now. We continue to live with uncertainty, and we are all experiencing this difficult time through our own lenses. Your loved ones may be significantly impacted, you may have felt no escape from the media coverage and updates that appear to be alarming, you may be struggling to make sense of the newest guidelines, and you may feel conflicted about the competing opinions on the best way to proceed. Whatever the past few weeks have brought your way, we want you to know we understand and we are with you.
We are committed to keeping our doors open for in-person learning. This will continue to take patience, diligence and flexibility on everyone's part. Thank you for continuing to keep your children home if they are sick - even with one symptom. Thank you for taking universal precautions (hand washing, physical distancing, masking) seriously.
We also want to speak to some the things that Superintendent Nease addressed in her letter last Sunday. We are committed to keeping school open as we believe that is what is best for our student and community right now. This will take some creativity as we navigate many staff and student absences daily. Some classes have full attendance and others are missing many students. The classrooms impacted change daily based on who has contracted or come into contact with the virus. Our teachers and staff have stepped up and will continue to step up in order to keep academic learning going while supporting the social/emotional needs of our students. Each morning we make a plan for how to cover staff shortages and then our teachers do what they do every day; teach our students, show them love, and make learning fun. We will continue to meet our students learning needs and guide their progress forward. This includes students home in quarantine.While our teachers main focus will be the students in front them,we are able to provide a limited amount of at-home work to support student's learning. Please be patient with our teachers as the work may not be available right away. We also do not expect students to complete any assignments if they are truly sick.
Finally, please remember that as public school employees, we are bound to protect all students' and families' privacy and information under FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). The nurses and administrators are working diligently to notify close contacts, ensure a safe environment while maintaining confidentiality of those who have tested positive. Please don't ask us to break confidence.
We hope that 2022 brings health, peace and joy to your household:) We will get through this.....together!
With you,
Chris & Sarah
Third and Fourth Grade- iMove CANCELED
We have had to make a tough decision to cancel the upcoming iMove days. Due to the unpredictability of the times during the recent Covid surge and the staffing shortages we are experiencing we do not have the capacity to run this program. Even with the willing volunteers there are still too many uncertainties to safely make these days happen. We plan to create our own mini cross country program here at school allowing us to possibly ski even more days than planned. We are truly bummed! Thank you parents and students for your patience and support and we look forward to still getting out on snow with students! Thanks so much to our volunteers. Although it did not work out this time, we appreciate your willingness to come join the fun! -The 3/4 Team
Check out this flyer from Confident Care for Kids
Reminders:
Please help us all by ensuring your child(ren) are in school before 7:50am so they are not tardy.
Please help your child look for and return overdue library books!
Students should keep an extra mask in their bags!
Students should bring snow pants, boots, hats, gloves and jackets for recess.
Please send your child with a water bottle to school so they can stay hydrated!
Please make sure your child has sneakers on PE day!