Principal Newsletter 1/28/2021

Thursday, January 28, 2021

  • This is a long newsletter with a lot of information, please read carefully.

  • There is NO school for students tomorrow, Friday, January 29 for Turn Around Day.

February 8 is fast approaching, and in anticipation of students in school for hybrid learning  I’d like to share with you some additional information you may find helpful.

  • Your child’s classroom teacher will not change when we go hybrid.

  • There will be changes to your child’s schedule particularly lunch/recess.  We will no longer have one common lunch/recess time that serves grades Prek-grade 6. Instead, there will be one lunch/recess hour from 11:20-12:20 for grades 4 and 5 and another  lunch/recess hour from 12:30-1:30 for grades 2 and 3.  Teachers are currently working on updating their schedules and will share them with you soon. Specials time will also change.  Staff will include times students who are remote should be logging into the meet link to view instruction happening live in the classroom.  We are still fine tuning how to conduct reading groups with remote only students.  Please be flexible and patient as we work this out.

  • Your child will need to bring their chromebook to school each day when they are assigned to attend in-person learning.  For health and safety reasons, a chromebook case needs to be a personal purchase.

  • We recommend headphones for each student to participate in LLI (Leveled Literacy Intervention), i-Ready, and Guided Reading Groups. This will need to be a personal purchase also and unfortunately the school will not be able to provide them.

  • Some families have chosen to keep their child/ren remote.  If you decide you would like to send your child/ren in for hybrid learning, you will need to call the Sheffield Main Office (413) 863 - 9326 and Nurse Sue (413) 863 - 7441.  Students will need to quarantine for two weeks before returning to in-person learning.

  • The following information is from our district nurse: As per Massachusetts travel restrictions, staff and students that travel out of the New England states and New York, are reminded that they will need to quarantine 14 days after returning to Massachusetts before returning to school or work. Excluded from this is the  New York City area; quarantine is necessary if you have visited here.  If you plan to be traveling or have just returned from traveling, please contact your school nurse so that any questions can be answered and appropriate planning for timelines for return can be discussed.

 Thank you for your assistance in maintaining the health and safety of our school community.

For more information on Massachusetts travel ban:

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order

  • Please return all health forms to Nurse Sue prior to our February 8 reopening for hybrid date.  The school office is open daily from 8:00-4:00 for drop off.

  • Please return to the office all beginning-of-the-year paperwork provided to you at your child’s materials’/supplies’ pickup.

  • Students are required to wear masks in school.  Masks need to be provided by the home.  Per our hybrid plan: Students in grades 2-5 must wear a mask at all times unless otherwise directed by faculty or staff. In the event that a student removes their mask or does not wear their mask without permission, a teacher or staff will conference with the student and encourage the student to comply with the expectation. If the student continues to refuse wearing a mask, the teacher will call the office to request assistance from counselor, nurse and/or the principal. When a student continues to not comply, the parent will be called to pick up their child.  The student will attend school remotely until it has been determined that they will comply with all safety protocols. 

  • Students will be required to wear masks outside at recess. They will still be required to be 6 feet apart as well for safety.  If your child has not been wearing a mask, please begin to ask your child to wear one and increase the time by 5 minutes each day before they return to school so they become familiar and comfortable with it.

  • Students in-class will be facing the same direction in desks 6 feet apart for safety.

  • We will not be accepting snacks from home. Breakfast will be provided to each student free of charge.  Any leftover breakfast can be saved by your child and eaten by them at lunch or taken home to avoid sharing food.

  • Students who are remote and at-home will need to have cameras on and participate in live lessons from the classroom when assigned. 

  • The dress code applies to in-person as well as remote participation.

  • Our district nurses have created videos that address many questions your child may have about accessing the Sheffield building and expectations for moving in the classroom and hallway.  Please review with your child.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_40ElTl-gbaa6M0wPzV0A8qgHC63JvP7/view?usp=sharing

  • As we start to plan for in-person teaching, here are a few reminders from the Nurse’s Office. All students will need to wear a clean mask while in the school buildings, packing an extra mask each day would be very helpful. Please have all medications and medication orders from your child’s pediatrician’s office ready for administration at school. Medication needs to be brought to school in the original medication bottle with all current information listed on the bottle. Annual Student Health forms will need to be returned to school before the first day in person. All contact information needs to be up to date with an Emergency Contact that will be available during school hours.

  • We ask that all students are evaluated each morning for the following symptoms, please KEEP STUDENT HOME IF:

  • ·       Fever (100.0 F or higher), chills or shaking chills.

  • ·       Cough (not due to other know causes, such as asthma or seasonal allergies)

  • ·       Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.

  • ·       New loss of taste or smell.

  • ·       Headache, when in combination with other symptoms.

  • ·       Sore throat

  • ·       Muscle aches or body aches

  • ·       Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

  • ·       Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms.

  • ·       Nasal congestion or running nose, when in combination with other symptoms and not seasonal allergy related.

  • Please remember to register your student for the BianaxNOW rapid test, the test information will be posted on the Sheffield website. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation; I am so excited to see your student in person, as always please call with any questions or concerns.

  • Suzanne Martino, BSN, RN, Sheffield School Nurse

 

  • Sheffield has a 21st Century after school program supervised by Christine Bates.  At this time the three offerings are staying remote, and will continue this way for a few weeks.  More information will be coming out soon with updates.  If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to her at 1 413- 824-1223

  • Our monthly SEL book this month focused on Stereotypes.  Next month’s book will be on adoption.

Thank you for reading all of this.  If you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

With Sheffield Pride,

                                                           Melissa Pitrat