April 5, 2021
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We continue to work on developing our plans to bring hybrid students back for increased in-person learning after April vacation. As you may recall, Superintendent Botana informed everyone recently that Portland Public Schools has decided elementary hybrid students will attend school in person four days per week beginning on April 26. This means that both cohorts of hybrid students will be coming to school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesdays will continue to be remote learning days. School hours will continue to be 7:45am to 12:30pm. Breakfast and snack will be served at school and lunch will continue to be sent home with students. Also, please note, students who are not attending all four days will be considered absent for any day they are not in person. Remote Academy students will continue in Remote Academy through the end of the school year.
At Talbot, we will continue to practice the same health and safety protocols that have allowed us to keep our school safe for students and staff thus far this year. Those include:
· Wearing masks at all times except when eating breakfast and snack.
· Following physical distancing guidelines of 3ft in classrooms
When students are eating, they will be 6 feet from others. We will utilize outdoor spaces and the cafeteria for meals as needed
· Please continue to do the daily symptom check and do not send students to school if they have symptoms or if they have been tested and are awaiting results.
We do have large numbers of students in grades 1 and grade 3 which makes it challenging to maintain the distance protocols throughout the school day. As a result, we are hiring two new teachers who will work with the current teachers to create overflow classrooms in grade one and grade three so students will have more room to spread out for small group instruction. Other changes that will help address the increase in the number of students include the following:
Two bus runs. First Bus students will begin arriving at 7:25am
Students in grades 1, 2, 5 will enter through the front door and use hand sanitizer before going to classroom.
Students in grade K, 3, 4 will enter their classroom from the exterior classroom door and use hand sanitizer.
Students who are dropped off should be dropped off by the playground and enter through the Community center door as usual. Please see the following drop off times to adjust for the increase in traffic:
Cohort A drop off time is 7:25-7:35 a.m.
Cohort B drop off time is 7:35-7:45 a.m.
If you arrive after 7:45 a.m., you will need to enter through the main entrance
Pre- K students will continue to meet their teachers at the Pre-K doors between 7:50-8:00a.m.
Bus students will begin dismissal at 12:20 p.m. There may have to be two bus runs depending on the number of students taking the bus home each day.
Students who are picked up should be waiting by the playground with their teacher in the grade level spot. Please stay in your vehicle, a staff member will assist the students to your vehicle. To adjust for the increase in traffic, please try to adhere to the following schedule:
o Cohort A pick up time is 12:20-12:25 p.m.
o Cohort B pick up time is 12:25-12:30 p.m.
§ If you arrive after 12:30 p.m., your child will be waiting at the main entrance with an adult.
· Pre- K students will continue to be picked up at the Pre-K doors between 12:15-12:20 p.m.
To give school teachers and staff enough time to prepare for welcoming increased numbers of students in classrooms, we are making schedule adjustments to the week preceding the April break. On Wednesday, April 14, there will be no remote work for elementary students. Also, no elementary student cohorts will attend school in person on Thursday, April 15. Instead, that day will be a remote learning day for ALL students. This will allow teachers and other staff time to set up classrooms and ensure everything is in place for a smooth transition when students return to school the Monday following April break.
Thank you for your understanding and support as we take these steps toward more “normalcy.” We believe they will result in more positive learning experiences for students to close out this year and help prepare them for what we hope will be a full return to in-person learning this fall.
Sincerely,
Ann Hanna, principal
Upcoming Dates
April 12: PTO Bingo Night
April 14: No school, no remote work, Teacher classroom set up day
April 15: Asynchronous Learning Day, No Students at School
April 16: April 23- No School, April Vacation
April 26: All Hybrid Students return
