Hope this finds you well. During the Inauguration on Wednesday young poet laureate Amanda Gorman shared a beautiful reading titled The HIll We Climb. The link to this video is below. It’s certainly worth listening too and such an inspiration to our children and young adults.
Youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman reads The Hill We Climb at Biden inauguration – video
As we near our 100th day of school, I am grateful and proud of the partnership and support from our community. A huge thanks and appreciation to our teachers, school committee, families and children for working so hard to follow the health and safety protocols. Keep up the terrific work!
Parent Zoom:
On January 20 we hosted a Parent zoom attended by a couple of families and several faculty. Some topics discussed included what kinds of masks (paper/cloth/doubling up) are most efficient, the new strain, parking during drop-off and pick-up, and how recess can be boring because of the safety protocols that are in place. Thank you to the families and faculty who attended. We plan to host another parent zoom meeting on February 24, 2021. We will send a link out as we get closer to the date.
Laptop Protection Plan:
An optional laptop Protection Plan to insure district owned computers that are issued to students is now available for the 20-21 school year. The Protection Plan is offered through a self-insurance program administered by the district. Please follow the link for further information and instructions about how to sign up. Forms will be sent home on Monday.
Worthington School District Laptop Protection Plan
Parking:
The church parking lot during drop-off and pick-up seems to be congested with many parents coming and going. As of Monday, January 25, 2021, we would like to ask all families that park in the church parking lot to enter through the second entrance to the church. If you are coming from Huntington(up RT 112) please enter through the first entrance.. You may exit the school driveway after yielding to cars in the line for drop off and pick-up. This will allow the flow of traffic to run smoothly. Thank you in advance for your attention and cooperation.
Lynn Lyons:
Lynn Lyons is a psychotherapist, author and speaker in Concord, New Hampshire. She specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders in adults and children. She is hosting a virtual workshop, The Anxiety Audit this Saturday, January 23, 2021 from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Check out her website if interested. Lynn Lyons: Helping Anxious Kids and Families Manage
Bus:
Thank you for your patience with the bus changes this week. Beginning Monday, January 25, 2021 both buses will be running at their usual scheduled times. Ms. Cathy will be the substitute driver for Bus 162.
School Committee News:
Worthington School Committee
147 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098 1/20/2021
Dear Community Members,
I am sorry to share that Susan Warner has decided not to run for re-election to school committee this spring. We have so appreciated Susan’s generous service to the committee and the community over the past three years. Thank you, Susan. We recognize that she also wears many other hats for the community and appreciate her desire to focus her energy on these many other realms. She will be missed on the school committee.
There will be an open seat on the school committee in the May election. We encourage anyone interested in supporting the school and representing the community by holding public office to consider running for the seat. Town Clerk Katrin Kaminsky can provide nomination papers and information about how to run: townclerk@worthington-ma.us Nomination papers with signatures are due 3/27.
Curious? Attend a school committee meeting to check it out. Community members are always welcome. Our next meetings are Thursday 1/28 and Thursday 2/11 at 6:30pm. Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/92159901144?pwd=S3l5d0UxVjM4dEdBQ3R1ZEphYXlBUT09
Alison Todd,
Chair Worthington School Committee
home: (413) 238-0198
cell: (413) 374-7605
atodd@scm.hr-k12.org
MCAS:
Commissioner Jeff Riley explained that the Department will significantly reduce testing time for students in grades 3–8 through a session sampling approach, in which each student will take only a portion of each MCAS assessment in each subject. Instead of taking two sessions each of
English language arts (ELA), Mathematics, and science and technology/engineering (STE), students will take only one session each. Please see the table below for the testing window for specific subjects. In the coming weeks, I will share a detailed testing window for Worthington.
| Subject Area Test | Testing Window |
| ELA | April 5–May 7 |
| Mathematics | April 26–May 28 |
| STE (Grades 5 and 8) | April 27–May 28 |
A Weekly Covid Update from the Nurse’s Office (1/22/2021)
Number of positive cases within the school community: 0
Overall health of the school community: HEALTHY
We are continuing to have great success with our health and safety protocols within our school community, and we continue to thank you all for your support in keeping our students safe and in person learning.
UPCOMING DATES:
- Professional Development Day: January 29, 2021: Noon Dismissal
- February 11, 2021: School Committee Meeting beginning at 6:30. Gretchen Morse-Dobosz is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.School CommitteeTime: Feb 11, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)https://zoom.us/j/92159901144?pwd=S3l5d0UxVjM4dEdBQ3R1ZEphYXlBUT09 Meeting ID: 921 5990 1144Passcode: 917327 One tap mobile+16468769923,,92159901144#,,,,*917327# US (New York)
- Winter Break: February 15 – 19,2021.
- Parent Zoom: February 24, 2021 beginning at 6:30 Have a wonderful weekend!
Warmly,
Gretchen Morse-Dobosz,
Superintendent/Principal
Worthington School District
147 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
413-238-5856
gmorsedobosz@hr-k12.org