Dear Community:
As this week comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect that this week, two years ago, our school closed for what we thought was going to be two-weeks due to COVID. Who could have imagined that this pandemic would last for two years, and have such an impact on all of us? Personally, I am incredibly proud and grateful to our faculty and school community for their extraordinary effort and dedication. During the beginning of the pandemic, I asked our community to be kind, patient, and supportive of one another during these difficult times. And, because of the unwavering support and kindness, we were able to keep our kids in-person in school throughout the pandemic. We were all asked to stretch in ways that none of us imagined. Our teachers worked overtime to keep a steady sense of normalcy for our students and families. Thank you all so much for your partnership. I’m so proud to be a part of the Worthington community!
FY 22-23 Calendar: Next year’s calendar was approved by the school committee and can be found here. The first day of school will be 8/31 for K – 6 with a noon dismissal. Preschool’s first day will be 9/7 with a noon dismissal.
School Choice: The district has openings in the following grades: One spot in Kindergarten, two spots in First Grade and two spots in Third Grade. Applications are due by April 15 and can be found here.
Davis Bates: Storyteller Davis Bates will visit Conwell on March 29, 2022.
Musical at Hampshire Regional Middle/High School: The musical (Jane Eyre) is the spring feature this year. The program has invited all girls in grades 5 and 6 to be in the orphanage scene.
R.H. Conwell is excited to share that we have a couple of girls participating! Below is the schedule for the Musical.
-Thu 3/31 Opening Night, @ 7:00
-Fri 4/1: @ 7:00
-Sat 4/2: @ 7:00
-Sun 4/3 @ 2:00
Health and Safety Policy: Last night, the school committee voted to approve our new health and safety policy. This policy includes optional masks for all while in the building and on the school buses. This policy also removes the requirement for visitors and volunteers to show proof of vaccination against Covid-19 prior to entering the building. Please see the following policy, and letter to families that went out last night for more information.
Health and Safety Policy – Approved March 10, 2022 & Notice to Families – March 10, 2022
Local Basketball News: I’m excited to share that several Conwell girls in grades 3-6 played in a basketball tournament for the Mohawk league. The coach, Kim Rida, reported they had awesome attitudes and really represented our school and community. We are very proud of them and their hard work! Cheers to our RH Conwell players: Grace Sampson, Holly Sampson, Anna Tompkins, Madison Rida, and Kaleigh Rida.
Volunteers Needed: Looking for a volunteer to assist at breakfast Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.
Preschool/Kindergarten Open House: Will be held on Saturday, March 26 from 9:30 – 11:30.
Flyers were sent home this week.
Next School Year: It’s that time of year when we begin to look at classroom configurations for the next school year. If your family is considering making other considerations for the next school year, please let the office know as soon as possible. This allows us to make any necessary adjustments to the classrooms.
Nurse Sam Update:
Please check out my new website for the most up-to-date information and updates from the nurse’s office. https://sites.google.com/hr-k12.org/rhc-nurses-office/
★ At-Home Covid Tests: You may still sign your child up to receive our weekly at-home covid tests. If you would like to begin receiving these tests, please reach out to me at
*Covid Test Reporting Form: At-Home Covid Test Reporting Form
★ Routine Covid Safety Checks: If you would like to have your child begin participating in our routine covid safety check program, please reach out to me at spease@hr-k12.org.
★ Covid Updates: As you can see in my data chart below, we are seeing a significant decrease in covid cases throughout the state and in our area. This data is very reassuring that we are heading in the right direction through this pandemic. However, please continue to be mindful of others while out in the community or whilst inviting those outside your household into your homes. Spring is near, and together we can all get through this!
| Covid-19 Data Dashboard | |||
| 3/11/22 | 3/4/22 | Trend | |
| Positive Cases at R.H. Conwell | 0 | 0 | – |
| External Close Contacts in Quarantine | 0 | 0 | – |
| BinaxNOW Rapid Antigen Tests Conducted | 0 | 0 | ↓ |
| Positive Cases in Worthington (last 7 days) | 0 | 0 | ↓ |
| Positive Cases in Hampshire County (last 7 days) | 575 | 876 | ↓ |
| Positive Cases in Massachusetts (last 7 days) | 11,176 | 15,662 | ↓ |
| Weekly Routine Covid Safety Checks | ||
| Date Safety Checks Completed | 3/8/2022 | 3/1/2022 |
| Number of Individuals Participating | 43 | 44 |
| Number of Pools Tested | 5 | 5 |
| Number of Positive Pools | 0 | 0 |
| Number of Negative Pools | 5 | 5 |
| TOTAL NUMBER OF WEEKLY CHECKS COMPLETED: 8 TOTAL NUMBER OF NEGATIVE POOLS TO DATE: 69 TOTAL NUMBER OF POSITIVE POOLS TO DATE: 1 |
Upcoming Events:
March 21, 2022: Noon Dismissal – Faculty PD
March 21 – 26, 2022: Scholastic Book Fair (More info will be out next week)
March 26, 2022: Preschool and Kindergarten Open House beginning at 9:30 – 11:30
March 24, 2022: School Committee Budget Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Gretchen Morse-Dobosz Superintendent/Principal
Worthington School District
147 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
413-238-5856
gmorsedobosz@hr-k12.org