Dear HM Families,
I hope you are all well. It has been a bit of a crazy month in the Nardelli household. My wife Christine spent the month in Florida taking care of her mom. Sadly, her father became ill with Covid-19 in early November and passed away after a very short battle with the disease. I stayed home to juggle the demands of the kids and work and thankfully I had plenty of support from neighbors and family. My wife returned home shortly after Thanksgiving and we've just now started to return to a more normal schedule.
I've also been touching base with teachers during this conference period to see how families are doing. I know that there is a wide range of experience out there. Some are doing well, relatively speaking, while others are struggling with day to day needs, managing work and parenting, and trying to stay safe. If there is some way our school can support you, please feel free to reach out.
Also, I know the holidays are here and this week, many families will be celebrating Hanukkah. Happy Hanukkah to those of you celebrating this week and next. Here are some resources for those of you interested in learning more:
https://pjlibrary.org/beyond-books/pjblog/november-2020/hanukkah-2020-with-kids
ESSENTIAL INFO: In the interest of making things more accessible, I’ve highlighted key info here:
WINTER BREAK SCHEDULE - NO SCHOOL from Thursday, December 24th - Sunday, January 3rd
SCHEDULE CHANGES FOR K-2 - In person schedules for students in K-2 will be changing starting January 4th. Students in K-2 will attend school until 2:00 pm on their “In-Person Days”. See below for a more detailed explanation...
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:
K-2 Schedule Change - Below are some bullet points about the upcoming schedule change. I will communicate a more detailed update PRIOR to the December break for students in our High Needs category and our Educator Program.
COHORT/IN-PERSON DAYS
- K-2 students will stay until 2:00pm beginning January 4th. Grade 3-5 students will continue to be dismissed at 12:30pm.
- We will have buses that run at 12:30, 2:00pm, and 3:00pm. Crossing guards will also be present at those times.
- Students will have a 30-minute lunch and recess. Students will eat in classrooms. They can bring lunch from home. We will also have a hot and cold lunch option at no cost to families.
- In addition to lunch/recess, students will have one additional hour of instructional time in person with their classroom teacher.
- Students in a High Need category will also stay until 2:00pm (on Cohort days and Non-Cohort days).
- Students in the Metco Program and the Educator Program will be with their cohort until 2:00pm and then in the Metco/Educator Program spaces until 3:00pm.
- Students attending DAD will attend school on Cohort days until 2:00pm and then go to DAD.
NON COHORT/REMOTE DAYS
- The overall schedule/flow of the day will not change for remote days, although some details will change.
- The following changes will take place from 2-3:00pm (K-2 only)
- Most K-2 classroom teachers will no longer be available to connect with at home students during this hour. Teachers will be with children straight through the day from 8:20-2:00pm, with a 30-minute lunch break. 2:00-3:00pm will be prep time for teachers.
- We are working to find a time for the classroom teacher to have one check-in with at-home students for 15-20 minutes, either in the morning or a bit later in the day. We aren't yet sure that this will be doable.
- Students will have roughly 30 minutes of independent work time each afternoon. There will also be one live Zoom for all K-2 students during this hour (at either 2:00 or 2:30):
- An added specialist time (with Art, Library, or PE)
- OR
- An assigned check-in with another HM staff member.
- We also have a grade 2/3 split class and a grade 1 hybrid/DLA class. Both Ms. Sandison and Ms. Thorne WILL be available for the 2:00pm hour; 3rd graders and DLA students will not notice any change to their remote experience.
A comment from the Superintendent regarding the longer day: “We have also been asked about hybrid students in grades 3-5. Please know that we made the K-2 hybrid shift because our youngest students have been experiencing the most significant challenges with distance learning. However, we recognize that many 3-5 families would like more in-person time, which was indicated in our recent survey. While we are able to staff the additional in-person time for K-2 with available staff, and our schools have been able to identify spaces for students to eat and have small group instruction, we are challenged by staffing and space constraints to expand this extended in-person time for all our students.”
FORJ/Staff Partnership - A group of parents and staff have come together to discuss plans for expanding our offerings to families around issues related to diversity and inclusion. Through stories and activities, we hope to pilot at least one evening activity session for parents, staff and students to attend together via Zoom. We have a second planning meeting next week and we hope to have more information to share in the new year.
Hawk Hunt - Be on the lookout for hidden hawks in and around our school and community, starting in January. More details to follow!
FORJ SAVE the DATE!
UPCOMING FORJ CITY-WIDE MEETING
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 16th, 7-8:30
December 2020 FORJ Meeting - Restoration and Reflection
Join us for our December city-wide FORJ meeting on Wednesday, December 16th from 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Amy Behrens will lead us through an uplifting meditation, guide us through reflection on our racial justice work of 2020, and provide time for us to connect with each other. Walk away restored and ready to take action in 2021.
Amy Behrens is a co-founder of FORJ who served as the FORJ coordinator from 2015 to 2018 and is now an advisor to the Board. She is a parent coach, educator and group facilitator. RSVP HERE
FORJ DISTRICT HIGHLIGHT
Horace Mann's Elementary School's Food and Culture Night
This month we wanted to highlight Horace Mann’s Food and Culture Night which ran digitally in November. Parents organized a compilation of videos from families that highlighted a particular dish and/or culture. Along with the video, the committee put together a recipe book with the event’s dishes.
Here is the evening's program:
Garba/Dandiya dance
Egg noodles and ricotta gnocchetti
Sushi rolls
Kashur kahwa (traditional saffron drink)
Alfajores de maicena
Kids’ strawberry shortcake
Pan fried dumplings
Sheero
Okonomiyaki
Italian sausages
Empanadas
Indian rice flakes with peas
Taino dance
How to use rice paper
Brigadeiro
Interested in running a food and culture night and have questions? Contact Kate Carpenter Bernier at katecarpenter1@yahoo.com
You can watch the video here:
HORACE MANN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'S FOOD and CULTURE NIGHT 2020
and read the cookbook here:
HORACE MANN COOKBOOK
School District Attendance Policy - I am sharing the following document regarding Newton’s attendance policy. This includes attendance on Zooms during remote days, and more. Please review the information here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oqKIpqdALH6msPBTLdVALXXW7VSs5YSoEAfxA20_Ixc/edit
Travel Considerations and School Attendance - Again, with holidays coming up, please be aware of travel guidelines, particularly if you decide to leave the state of Massachusetts. You can find more information here regarding those guidelines:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order
Embedded within you will find a link to a FORM that must be completed if you are traveling out of state and returning to school (see the site for exemptions).
Thank you and have a safe holiday season.
Mark Nardelli
Principal
