Greetings Community,
Happy New Year! Hope you and your family had a nice holiday season. It’s such a relief to have
2020 in the rear view mirror! With this new year, I am hopeful with the distribution of the COVID vaccine, but the virus is still very present and health officials are reporting a second holiday surge. We are so excited to welcome the students and faculty back this week. We ask that all caregivers continue to be vigilant and aware of the health and safety protocols we have in place at Conwell in order for us to stay with the in-person learning model. Last Monday all families received a SWIFT k12 email with an attached letter from Nurse Sam about those health protocols. I am including the link for you if you have not had a chance to read the letter.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14DljL2PsABFgqVyq3m8U_MaBYwB1ICGe-PKoyWDbNC8/edit?usp=sharing
Below are district updates and friendly reminders.
- Tomorrow, January 4, 2021 is a PD day for the classroom teachers. We are excited to welcome the students back on Tuesday, January 5, 2021.
- PLEASE make sure to send your child to school with warm clothing. Classes are using the outdoors on a daily basis for snack, lunch and teaching and learning activities.
- Thank you all for completing the survey about how the district is doing with teaching and learning during this pandemic. The results will be shared later this week. We received some excellent feedback and suggestions for us to consider as we move forward this winter. My door is always open if there is anything you would like to discuss further or if you have questions about teaching and learning at Conwell.
- My weekly Sunday Newsletter will now be sent out Friday afternoons. This change is in direct response to the feedback we received in the December survey. The Friday brief will include information for the upcoming school week and hopefully allow for parents to have information ahead of time for planning purposes.
- Student Data: Teachers will be administering mid-term benchmark assessments during the second and third week of January. We will use the ½ day on January 29th to analyze student growth since the fall assessments.
- Nurse Sam is expecting her second child and will be taking maternity leave later this month. We welcome back Meg Breymann who has been spending many office hours with Nurse
Sam and other stakeholders preparing to take over the maternity leave. Nurse Breymann is well versed in the health and safety protocols the district has in place, and will have access to all the resources available to us during this time. Nurse Sam will return just before April break.
- Martin Luther King Day is on January 18, 2021: NO SCHOOL
- Professional Development DAY on January 29, 2021: NOON DISMISSAL
I hope you have a wonderful day and as always, I can be reached at [email protected] or by phone 413-238-5856. I look forward to hearing from you.
Warmly,
Gretchen
Worthington School District 147 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
413-238-5856
[email protected]