Friday, October 16, 2020

NewsNotes 10/16/20

Dear HM Families,


ESSENTIAL INFO: In the interest of making things more accessible, I’ve highlighted key info here:





ONE TIME SCHEDULE CHANGE
  • Tuesday, November 3rd (Voting Day) - will be a WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE
  • Wednesday, November 4th - COHORT A Day



DETAILED UPDATES: If you would like more detail about what’s been happening at school, feel free to read the rest of the updates below:




Family Update:

The Nardelli family is adjusting to life in the hybrid school format, along with all of the other tasks that come with the various stages of life that we are in.
  • Eliana studied hard over the summer to take a history course so she can stay on track for graduation this spring. She also got her learner’s permit this fall (we still have a long way to go before she drives anywhere but a parking lot) and just got her first paying job, working a couple of hours a week at the local book store.
  • Julia is a sophomore and has her hands full with physics, algebra and a full slate of courses. She’s hoping to join the gymnastics team at the high school in December, and is training for volleyball, which will now take place in February.
  • Alora turned 10 this September and spends her remote mornings getting her work done as quickly as possible so she can go out and play. She spends her other time participating in soccer and gymnastics as well.
  • Finally, Vincent turns five on October 20th. He’s still in preschool and enjoying time with his friends, both at preschool and in our neighborhood. He has no problem wearing his mask for a good chunk of the day; it seems to be a normal part of every day life. We start hockey together next Saturday.


School Updates:


Every day, I am thankful that we get to come to school and see both staff and students in person. I am hopeful that with our plan in place, we can continue on this path for as long as possible. I know there have been questions about possibly extending the school day to 3:00pm. You should expect to hear from Superintendent David Fleishman next week on this topic.



Back to School/Curriculum Nights - We are currently planning several evening sessions on Zoom to share curriculum expectations for the school year and to offer you some time to connect with your child’s teacher. We are scheduling dates for the week of October 26th and/or November 1st. I will update you with specific dates and Zoom links next week.



Parent/Teacher Conferences - Conferences will take place later in November as well. More details to follow.



Assessments -  We are well underway with reading assessments in grades 1-3. We should be able to create small reading groups next week for those grade levels. We will then assess our K students as well.
For all grades, we are using the Investigations Math program assessments to gauge where students are at in math.
For 4th and 5th grade students, we are using an online platform called iReady for our reading assessments.



Feedback Loop -Now that we have a few weeks under our belt, I have received emails from families about how things are going so far. Please keep those coming. I am also meeting with individual teachers and with grade level teams to find out what’s working and what’s not working in a number of areas.
  • Remote schedule
  • In-person schedule
  • Technology
  • Specials
  • Assignments and workload

We plan to do a more formal survey of all families, but if you have feedback that you’d like to share with me at any time, please email me at nardellimv@newton.k12.ma.us




BOOK FAIR THIS SUNDAY!


Stop by the tents behind HM from 9am-4pm this Sunday, October 18, to check out an amazing selection of books. Do some early winter holiday shopping, buy the new book that has a long wait list at the library, or get a treat for the readers in your family.

You must wear your mask and sanitize your hands before entering the tent. We will limit the number of shoppers allowed in the tents at a time. Credit card or check only; no cash.


Or, shop on-line through October 24 at https://www.scholastic.com/bf/hmbookfair




FOOD AND CULTURE NIGHT


Every October, the Horace Mann community hosts International Night, which last year became Food & Culture Night.

As is the case for most school events, we will not be able to have it in-person this fall. But we invite you to take part in this annual event in other ways. We hope you can all join us virtually to celebrate this wonderful HM tradition!

When: Friday, November 6, 2020, 6PM onwards

Where: Horace Mann PTO's website (www.horacemannpto.com) and on Zoom!

Who: All of us! - kids, family members, teachers....

Food & Culture Night (formerly International Night) has grown to be a sizable, memorable and fun evening celebrating the diversity of Horace Mann. Most of us have roots in other countries and states far from Newton. Food & Culture Night is an opportunity to share our cultures in different ways.

To celebrate this day, Horace Mann families are invited to introduce food, photos, games, dance, music clothing and more from countries, states and cultures where they have roots, or are interested in. This year, we invite everyone to get involved by:

  • Sending a recipe, recording a cooking video, or sending us local restaurant recommendations (with a recommended list of items to order).
  • Hosting a country table in your home and have people Zoom in to visit you in your country home!
  • Sending a video of your family participating in a dance, game, art/craft, song, dressing up in cultural attire, or another activity - teach us how.
  • Sending a video of you and your child reading a children's picture book from your country, state or community.
  • Sending us other ideas of things you can share digitally.

SIGN UP HERE:

Food & Culture Night Sign Ups

Please note that there are tabs for each area/type of sharing/volunteering.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Kate Carpenter Bernier, Heena Bhatt, Leah Even Chorev, Shanu Mehta

Food & Culture Night Committee 2020





UNDERSTANDING OUR DIFFERENCES


Although in-school events are on hold, you can still access the Understanding Our Differences curriculum at home. This program is aimed at grades 3-5, and they offer many resources for having powerful discussions at home.


From their website:

"Understanding Our Differences (UOD) is a nationally recognized, award-winning program that uses a hands-on, participatory curriculum to foster respect, acceptance, and inclusion for people of all abilities in elementary schools and communities at large.

The UOD approach is grounded in the belief that children are naturally curious about differences, and that accurate information can be the difference between acceptance and discrimination. The UOD program teaches students to be more inclusive and friendly, and to become allies of people with disabilities."

You can find the at-home resources here.





UPCOMING FORJ MEETING


Thursday, October 22nd 7:30pm - 9pm

School Leaders Meeting 
Please come join us for an evening of connection and restoration with School Leaders. (Here is our 2019-2020 School Leader's Report.) We miss you, and miss being able to connect before and after meetings. We will use the evening to hear from other school FORJ groups on what they are planning for the year and and how we can more easily replicate initiatives across the district. Also we'll have updates about city-wide initiatives and ways to become involved. It will be an interactive evening with both opportunities to connect and learn. RSVP Here






Thanks and  Enjoy your weekend


Mark Nardelli

Principal