April 12, 2020
Dear Community:
The sun is out and it’s a beautiful day for a walk, hike or time outside! After brunch this morning, I went for a long walk and found many signs of spring. The daffodils and tulips are beginning to push through and their vibrant colors certainly brightened my day and gives me hope that spring is here!
Last week was incredibly busy with virtual meetings at the local and state level. I continue to meet with the Hampshire and Franklin County Superintendents. Our weekly agenda is packed, as we discuss the current educational landscape, challenges we are experiencing in our respected districts related to remote learning, and finds ways to offer support to one another. In addition to those meetings, I held virtual meetings with all the teachers. Our time was spent discussing Google Classroom, offered technology support to one another, and talked about the strong turnout with the learning activities posted in their Google Classrooms! Thank you for trying the assignments, writing back to your classroom teacher and attending Zoom sessions! All teachers loved hearing from the students. During week two, teachers will continue to update the learning assignments and communicate weekly with all students in Google Classroom. I want to stress that we do not intend for our remote learning plan to create additional frustration, stress or work for our families. Our goal is to try and maintain some normalcy with our learning plan, support routines and keep our students connected with their teachers and peers. Thank you all for your support!
A few additional updates and community announcements:
April School Vacation:
The School Committee voted on April 9, 2020 to suspend April vacation for two reasons:
- Our students and faculty are just getting into a routine, and we want to keep that momentum going forward.
- By agreeing to this, we eliminated 3 days at the end of the school year and the new last day of school is June 11th.
There is NO school on Monday, April 20 (Patriot’s Day), remote learning will continue from April 21-23, 2020.
Food Pantry:
With the temporary closure of the Food Pantry in Goshen, The Hilltown Pantry and Northampton Survival Center have provided food supplies to the Town of Worthington to help residents in need of groceries during this national health crisis.
Free of charge, prepacked bags are available for drive by pick up on Thursdays, from 1:00-1:30pm at the rear of the R. H. Conwell school. One bag per resident is available every two weeks.
To reserve your bag of groceries:
- Call or text 413-238-1999 before 10am on Thursday
- Or email relief@worthington-ma.us.
If you do not have the transportation to pick-up your groceries or are otherwise incapacitated and need delivery, please also leave your name and address.
Meals Cooked at The Rabbit Hole:
With the assistance of the Rabbit Hole and a group of generous donors, the Town of Worthington is providing meals for anyone who may have a need based on finance or access during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meals are available for pick-up at the Rabbit Hole on Fridays & Tuesdays from 1-1:30pm. To reserve meals please contact us before 11am Monday for Tuesday’s meals and before 11am Thursday for Friday’s meals.
- Call or text 413-238-1625
- Email relief@worthington-ma.us
If you do not have the transportation to pick-up a meal or are otherwise incapacitated and need delivery, please also leave your name and address.
Donations:
While the meals program is being administered with help from the town, this is not town funded and is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you would like to support this effort, please send a check to the Town of Worthington, with subject line: COVID-19 Relief.
Please let me know if you have any questions about any of this and thank you for your support during this stressful time!
Warmly,
Gretchen Morse-Dobosz
Superintendent/Principal
Worthington School District
147 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
gmorsedobosz@hr-k12.org