Worthington School District
147 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
413-238-5856
May 27, 2022
Dear Community:
This week we were deeply saddened by the news of a school shooting in Texas. Although we may be many miles away from Uvalde, Texas, we all feel the impact of violence that touches a school. We offer our deepest condolences to the families, students, staff and community that are grieving such a profound loss.
Student and faculty safety is our utmost priority. Earlier this week we met as a faculty in order to review the systems and plans we have in place to keep us as safe as possible.
We’ve also carefully monitored our students for anxiety, sadness, and other feelings, and have made sure to give them support and space if they need it. I know firsthand that our teachers are extraordinarily gifted at keeping ears and eyes on the students, so please know your child is in good hands at school.
Letter to the Community: Community letter: May 24, 2022
I’ve included some additional resources below in case you need them.
Resources:
Talking with Your Children About Traumatic Events Children and Trauma
PTO: We are looking for parents who are interested in leading our PTO for next year. Please contact louellet@hr-k12.org if you are interested.
Council on Aging: The COA invited the 3-6 grade classes to the Town Hall to listen to the Ragtime 5 Brass Quartet. The presentation included jazz music from the 1920’s. The musicians spent time sharing about their brass instruments and the origin behind the songs they were playing! The kids really enjoyed the presentation!
Preschool News: During our rainy Thursday, preschool broke out a build-it-yourself food truck that was donated by a friend’s parents. We enjoyed the process of building, coloring, and playing in it! Plus, we were able to work on our letter recognition when following the construction steps (each tab was labeled with a letter) and while deciphering the text on the truck itself.
Lost and Found: We have several items in the lost and found. Please have your child check the lost and found before the end of the year if they are missing a coat, sweatshirt, hat, etc. Parents are also welcome to visit lost and found too!
Wellness Committee Update: Our May water challenge was a huge success!! We reached our school-wide goal of 5,000 cups on Friday, May 20! We will continue to count classroom totals through the end of Tuesday of next week to determine which classroom had the largest amount of water consumed. As a school-wide prize for doing such an amazing job with this challenge we are scheduling a water-fun day for June 14! We will be sending home flyers with more information on the water-fun day in the coming weeks! We are so proud of each and every student for listening to what their bodies need, and hydrating so well this month. Our hope is that each individual has become more in tune with how much water they need on a daily basis to function at their very best. Our goal was to help all students feel great each and every day, and we feel as if we definitely did that!
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/
★ Personal Message from Nurse Sam: Please see this link for an important update from Nurse Sam. Letter to Community
★ Covid Testing Update: DESE has communicated this week that state funded in-school Covid testing will not be available next school year. Routine Covid Safety Checks and at-home testing will continue through the end of this school year but will not continue
moving forward. For more information, please visit the K-12 Covid-19 Testing section of the DESE website at https://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/testing/default.html
★ At Home Covid Test Reporting Form: At-Home Covid Test Reporting Form
| Covid-19 Data Dashboard | |||
| 5/27/22 | 5/20/22 | Trend | |
| Positive Cases at R.H. Conwell | 1 | 1 | – |
| Positive Cases in Worthington (last 7 days) | 4 | 7 | ↓ |
| Positive Cases in Hampshire County (last 7 days) | 1,576 | 1,659 | ↓ |
| Positive Cases in Massachusetts (last 7 days) | 50,455 | 49,877 | ↑ |
| Weekly Routine Covid Safety Checks | ||
| Date Safety Checks Completed | 5/24/2022 | 5/17/2022 |
| Number of Individuals Participating | 41 | 39 |
| Number of Pools Tested | 8 | 8 |
| Number of Positive Pools | 1 | 0 |
| Number of Negative Pools | 7 | 8 |
| TOTAL NUMBER OF WEEKLY CHECKS COMPLETED: 18 TOTAL NUMBER OF NEGATIVE POOLS TO DATE: 142 TOTAL NUMBER OF POSITIVE POOLS TO DATE: 3 |
Upcoming Events:
May 30: No School – Memorial Day
June 3: Senior Walkthrough Day at Conwell
June 7: Field Day (Rain Date June 14)
June 9: School Committee beginning at 6:30 p.m.
June 10: 6th Grade Graduation at 1:30
June 10: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR PRESCHOOL
June 14: Water Fun Day for K-6
June 17: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL – Noon dismissal
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
Gretchen Morse-Dobosz
Superintendent/Principal
gmorsedobosz@hr-k12.org