Dear HM Families,
I hope you are all doing well after our first two full weeks of school (and our first week of having grade 3-5 students in person). This update is intended for all HM families, including those enrolled in both the hybrid and DLA programs.
ESSENTIAL INFO: In the interest of making things more accessible, I’ve highlighted key info here:
- PTO INFORMATION MEETING - Monday evening at 7:00pm. The purpose of this meeting will be to share the role of the PTO, share some important events, and mention ways that families can get involved.
MEETING LINK - meet.google.com/kru-adfn-hqs
- DLA Materials Pickup - Thursday and Friday, OCTOBER 8th and 9th 1-3:00pm
Please just pull into the bus loop and we will bring the materials out to your vehicle.
- Flu Vaccine Clinics -
- Saturday, October 10, 9 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Newton North High School - (457 Walnut Street)
- Sunday, October 18, 9 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Newton South High School - (140 Brandeis Road)
- Registration is not yet open for these clinics. Online appointment registration will open by early next week at www.newtonma.gov/flu
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:
There have been a number of challenges in getting our school model off the ground this fall. One of the challenges has been navigating the fact that we have Horace Mann students and teachers operating in two different environments (Hybrid and DLA). At first, we thought that these models would operate as two completely separate schools each with its own staffing, culture, etc. However, as we’ve seen things play out and as we’ve heard from families, we realize the need to keep a close relationship between our two school communities, both for the sake of connection, as well as to make sure we are running two equitable programs. In the coming weeks, we will make a concerted effort to address several items:
- Community Building - We will make an effort to include all children with the chance to take part in community building efforts at our school. We will share school wide videos (the first will come out next Wednesday, October 7th), stories, community events, etc. We will also offer opportunities for students to participate in school wide projects.
- Communication - DLA families will hear from myself and Jen Shore on important events and developments. The HM PTO will also communicate to all families regarding school events (like Food and Culture Night or the Talent Show). On this note, we will host a PTO Information meeting this coming Monday evening at 7:00pm. The purpose of this meeting will be to share the role of the PTO, share some important events, and mention ways that families can get involved.
Meeting Link - meet.google.com/kru-adfn-hqs
- Interventions and Check-Ins - As I hire more staff (see below), we will make a concerted effort to provide students in both the hybrid and DLA models with access to adult support on days when the classroom teacher is not available.
- Some literacy interventions in both DLA and hybrid will begin over the next two weeks.
- Small group grade level check-ins (math and social)
- Success will be heavily dependent on staffing and I will prioritize younger grades first as I do hiring.
- DLA Materials - We will be scheduling monthly pickups for materials here at Horace Mann. Please make every effort to come during these pickup windows as the number of deliveries have become overwhelming for a small group of staff who are donating their time. The next window is scheduled for October 8th and 9th from 1-3pm each day. Please just pull into the bus loop and we will bring the materials out to your vehicle.
I also wanted to share some of what has been happening in the building over the first two weeks.
- Teacher Update - Teachers are truly excited for the opportunity to work with students in person after our long closure. They are also really committed to providing a solid and engaging home experience that allows students to be increasingly independent. I wanted to also share some bullet points about what the workload is like for many of them:
- Teachers are creating lessons for the REMOTE COHORT, for Wednesday (all REMOTE) and for the IN-PERSON COHORT. They worry greatly about being absent for any reason and worry about who could step into their shoes given the complexity of this model (I have the same worries).
- Special educators and ELL staff are managing schedules for multiple classrooms while also being responsible for their own lessons, for IEP services. The schedule for these teachers is really complex and we’ve been working to improve it on a daily basis.
- Most staff are working 14-16 hour days and throughout the weekend.
- All are spending a great deal of time learning technology, adapting curriculum, etc.
- Staffing Updates - We’ve been busy hiring staff to run our model more effectively. AS of next week, we will be fully hired for special education aides and behavior therapists. We’ve also hired a building aide and two grade level support staff to help with remote day check-ins and in-person programming. I am still looking to hire a number of grade level aides to help with check-ins for students on remote days.
- Assessment/Intervention/Check-Ins - This week, we will begin assessments in literacy for both hybrid and DLA students. This will include letter ID, sight word recognition, and reading comprehension for students in all grades. We will use the outcome of the assessments to determine who is in need of additional reading support. We will then create groups for our most needy students. These groups will take place mostly during remote days.
- SeeSaw and Google Classroom - Teachers comfort level for these platforms continues to grow. We met as grade levels this week to share different approaches to communicating and assigning work and to learn from one another. The formatting and use of the platforms will continue to evolve, and we will increasingly be using these platforms as the primary way to communicate and offer remote programming to students.
- Afternoon Schedules and DAD - I know several families have been asking about afternoon school activities for students who attend Day After Day.
- As of now, we are not including students in afternoon sessions due to space and technology constraints. Currently, every space in the school is in use from 2:00-3pm and in order to set students up to Zoom, we would need multiple available spaces, enough laptops, and enough headphones for each child. We simply can’t meet those expectations right now.
- Thankfully, the vast majority of students in DAD were in school that day, and don’t have a Zoom requirement in the afternoon. However, they will have an activity or assignment that may need to be completed at a later time.
- Crossing Guards and Walking Routes - I apologize for not sending this out sooner, but I wanted to share where our crossing guards are posted as well as some suggested walking routes. Click on this link to access those details:
- Cleaning Protocols - Rose and I spent some time this week reviewing responsibilities and best practices, and asked for feedback from teachers regarding cleaning protocols.
- Classroom teachers initially have taken on the bulk of responsibility for keeping student spaces and materials clean. They have done a great job managing materials and keeping student spaces clean, particularly during the changeover between cohorts (on Tuesday afternoons and Fridays).
- This week, we also reviewed expectations for our custodial staff on the additional disinfecting that must occur during the transition days in classrooms (beyond what teachers were being asked to do).
- Rose and I will continue to monitor disinfection of high touch areas and bathrooms to ensure cleanliness.
- Technology - We are getting closer to having technology available for all of our students. This means Chromebooks for students in grades 3-5 and iPads for students in grades K-2. A much more detailed email will come out with instructions...likely next week.
Flu Vaccine Clinics
Newton’s Health and Human Services Department has initially scheduled two drive-through/walk-up, appointment-based, weekend flu clinics open to Newton residents and Newton Public Schools students and their families.
Registration is not yet open for these clinics. Online appointment registration will open by early next week at www.newtonma.gov/flu.
Adults and children older than 6 months may be vaccinated at these clinics. Some high-dose flu vaccine will be available for adults who are at least 65 years old. These clinics are free and health insurance information is requested, but not required. If you do not have a vehicle, you may walk-up to receive a vaccine.
Saturday, October 10, 9 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Newton North High School
(457 Walnut Street)
Sunday, October 18, 9 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Newton South High School
(140 Brandeis Road)
Additional dates may be added depending upon demand.
Appointments are required and may fill quickly. Alternatively, consider getting a flu shot at another time and place; they are available in many locations, including primary healthcare provider offices, local pharmacies and urgent care clinics. A list of some additional options for flu shots can be found at newtonma.gov/flu.
