Dear R.H. Conwell Families,
Hope this message finds you well. This week the weather made a dramatic shift and the mornings are chilly! Please make sure to send your child(ren) in with layers. Please see the attached document for how we determine if children will be indoors or outdoors during cold weather.
Weather Determinations – Parent/Guardians
Thanks to all the families who participated in parent/teacher conferences this week. I sat in on a couple of conferences and enjoyed hearing the updates.
Time Change: Don’t forget that Daylight Savings time ends on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 2:00 a.m. and you need to set your clocks back an hour!
Virtual Meeting with Superintendent/Principal: Please join me on November 17 at 7:00 for our monthly virtual meeting. The meeting agenda will include guest speaker, Brian Smith, from TDS. Mr. Smith has been working with our students at Conwell to support them and teachers with social skills. A link will be sent the week of via SWIFTK12. We hope you can join us!
School Busses: Please be mindful of the school buses while driving through town. It has been reported that cars are passing the buses while they are loading and unloading students. Thank you in advance for helping us keep our kids safe!
The law in Massachusetts requires stopping for a bus that has flashing lights and an extended stop sign, whether you are driving from behind or toward the bus. You can only resume driving when the lights top flashing or the sign folds back in.
PTO: Today your t-shirt and sweatshirt orders went home with your kiddos. Please let me know if you are missing anything. Or if you’re unhappy at all with your order, I will do my best to fix it. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED. We were able to make a profit of
$467.20!
The PTO meeting scheduled for Monday, November 8th needs to be rescheduled for November 15th. Sorry for the delay.
News from, It Takes A Village: It Takes a Village, provides free postpartum and early parenting support to families with babies and young children throughout the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. We believe families are resilient and communities are stronger when everyone works together to welcome the newest members of their village. Here are ITAV’s three very popular programs!
- The Village Closet is so close by! Located at 2 East Main Street in Huntington, it’s a great place in a beautiful space to find free clothing and gear, like strollers, Pack ‘N Plays, and car seats. Everything at the Village Closet is free to all families, regardless of your income or where you live.
- Our Home Visit Program matches a trained volunteer with a Hilltown family for twelve weekly visits any time during the first year of your baby’s life. Our volunteers are caring, non-judgmental and respectful of your family’s privacy and the importance of confidentiality.
- Our Parent Support Groups are led by a qualified facilitator. The groups meet weekly via Zoom and in person, providing emotional support and resources to decrease isolation and provide essential connections to other parents.
To donate, find out more about our programs, sign up for home visits, or learn about volunteering, jump on our website at https://www.hilltownvillage.org/
All Things Covid-19 …
The Covid-19 Vaccination from Pfizer-BioNTech has received emergency authorization for children ages 5-11!! This vaccination is a two dose series, but is a smaller dosage than the adult vaccine.
DESE notice about student vaccination: Please see the attached letter from the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education regarding student vaccinations against Covid-19.
Student Covid-19 Vaccination Clinic: In partnership with the Hilltown Community Health Center and the Northampton Department of Public Health, we will be hosting a Covid-19 vaccination clinic for students ages 5-11 on Saturday, November 20, 2021 from 9-12 in the Cafeteria. Please keep an eye out for a flyer regarding this clinic in your child(ren)’s green folders. Pre-registration is highly encouraged to ensure you get an appointment – https://home.color.com/vaccine/register/northampton
*A second dose clinic for those vaccinated at this clinic will be scheduled for 3 weeks after this clinic on Saturday December 11, 2021 from 9-12.
Additional Pediatric Covid-19 Clinics: Northampton Area Pediatrics is hosting Covid-19 Vaccination clinics for 5-11 year old patients of NAP each weekend starting tomorrow November
6. Registration is available on your patient portal.
Covid-19 Parent Informational Zoom: Northampton Area Pediatrics is hosting a parent informational zoom session to answer questions or concerns around Covid-19, vaccines, testing, policies, guidelines, and the local numbers. This zoom session will be on Sunday, November 7, 2021 from 4-5:30. If you have any questions you would like to address, they ask that you send them in advance to contactus@napeds.com. Please see this flyer for more information.
Covid Testing Updates: Nurse Sam has received confirmation from the Department of Education that volunteers that come to the building on a regular basis are now eligible for BinaxNOW Rapid Antigen testing that is being performed at the school. This would include any regular volunteers that will be subject to weekly testing due to the vaccination requirement.
Please reach out to Nurse Sam at spease@hr-k12.org for more information.
| Covid-19 Data Dashboard | |||
| This Week (10/29/21) | Last Week (10/22/21) | Changes from last week | |
| Positive Cases at R.H. Conwell | 0 | 0 | — |
| Internal Close Contacts | 0 | 0 | — |
| External Close Contacts in Quarantine | 0 | 0 | — |
| BinaxNOW Rapid Antigen Tests Conducted (last 7 days) | 1 | 2 | ↓1 |
| Positive Cases in Worthington (last 7 days) | 3 | 3 | ↑ 3 (new cases) |
| Positive Cases in Hampshire County (last 14 days) – Updated 10/12/2021 | 231 | 219 | ↑ 121 |
| Positive Cases in Massachusetts (last 14 days) – Updated 10/12/2021 | 16,063 | 17,081 | ↓1,018 |
Upcoming Events:
November 11, 2021: No School
November 17, 2021: Virtual Zoom with Parents – 7:00p.m. Guest Speaker is Brian Smith from TDS who will talk about the social/emotional work he is doing with students
November 18, 2021: School Committee Meeting
November 23, 2021: Noon Dismissal
November 24- 26, 2021: Thanksgiving Recess
December 9, 2021: School Committee Meeting
December 13, 2021: Noon Dismissal
December 16, 2021: Virtual Zoom with Parents
Have a wonderful weekend!
Gretchen Morse-Dobosz
Superintendent/Principal
gmorsedobosz@hr-k12.org