December 3, 2020
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to December! How quickly the school year is flying by. Before we know it, 2021 will be here! The first trimester ends this Friday, December 4, and report cards will be sent home with students next week. Please feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions about how your child is doing in school.
At Home Learning Expectations
As we get ready to start the second trimester, we remain deeply appreciative of everything parents and guardians are doing to support your child(ren) in our Hybrid Learning model. We know the remote days of learning require a lot of time and support on the part of families and we appreciate your commitment to your child’s education. To help all families understand the learning expectations for remote days, here are a few reminders:
Students are required to attend live meetings scheduled for remote days and watch video recordings teachers post in SeeSaw or Google classroom.
Students must log onto Google Classroom or SeeSaw on remote days and will be responsible to submit all assignments posted. Attendance is tracked on remote days through students’ responses to online questions.
Students must complete any paper/pencil work that the teacher sends home and bring the completed work back to school on their next cohort day.
It helps to keep a schedule for remote days. The closer this is to a ‘school schedule,’ the easier it will likely be on everyone. We understand that this isn’t always possible, so please let us know what you need for support.
Thank you for supporting your child(ren)’s participation and engagement in Remote Learning days. Please continue to let your child’s teacher know when you need materials or help with the work.
Safety in the Parking Lot!
Thank you to all of our families who have helped make morning “drop off” and after school “pick up” safe. The morning “drop off” time before school and “pick up” time after school has students and parents negotiating a very busy parking lot. PLEASE DRIVE SLOWLY AND CAUTIOUSLY and put the safety of our students first. The drop off lane is a “kiss and go lane,” so please pull all the way forward and to the right, stay in your car, give your child a kiss goodbye and send them out to the sidewalk. Please make sure your child gets out on the right hand side of the car since other cars may be driving around your car. We would like the drop off and pick up line to move efficiently. If you need to get out of the car, please pull into a parking space to park, but please remember not to come near the staff or students waiting to be picked up on the sidewalk.
Daily Symptom Check
December marks the time of year when we start to see more illness caused by colds and the flu. In order to have the best chance at staying in school the longest, we need your help to keep any illness from spreading. Just a reminder that if your student has any of symptoms of illness, you should keep them home. Please contact Nurse Lynn if you have any questions.With the current rise in COVID cases, it is very important for parents and guardians to take the time to check your children for COVID-19 symptoms each day before sending them to school. The symptoms to check are:
Fever
Chills
Sore throat
Cough
Shortness of breath
Loss of taste or smell
Nausea-with vomiting or diarrhea
Nasal congestion with runny nose
Body aches
If your student or anyone in your family tests positive for COVID, or have been identified as a close contact for a positive case of COVID, or have any signs or symptoms that are consistent with the COVID virus, please call your physician. Then, please contact Nurse Lynn (874-8210). We will start the designated protocols in accordance with the Maine CDC and PPS and be in touch with your students' teacher to give them an accurate reason for your students’ absence and arrange for any work to be sent home.
Masks
Since September, we have focused on maintaining a safe and healthy environment for staff and students in our Hybrid Learning model. The vast majority of our students have done an amazing job complying with mask wearing and social distancing. Please pack a few extra masks if possible so students can change them out as needed. Also, please remember to wash masks after they are used. Please note that students are required to wear a mask when riding the bus.
New Specials
Monday, December 7 and Tuesday December 8 mark the first days of the new rotation of Specials (Garden, Library, Art, Music, or Physical Education) for your student! Our Specials teachers are wonderful and provide a variety of great activities for your students in spite of the restrictions. Students will be in their new Specials class until the end of the trimester.
December Break
December Break is coming. There is no school from Dec 23 - January 3rd. Classes resume Monday, January 4th. All the best over the holidays and Happy New Year!
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, December 15, PTO meeting, 5:00
Wednesday, December 23 to January 3: No School, Winter Break
Cordially,
Ann Hanna
Principal
