We are excited to welcome our students back to the classroom beginning Tuesday, January 19th!
Parent/guardians received an email from Mrs. Trampe the morning of Monday, January 4th (which is detailed below). Parents/guardians should complete the survey indicating their child's Quarter 3 cohort assignment by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, January 6th in order to guarantee any transportation changes beginning February 1st.
We understand you may have some questions, so please review the below Q & A:
Q. Is the district really planning to open on Tuesday, January 19th?
A. Yes, we are planning on returning to our hybrid instructional model that we had at the beginning of Quarter 2 (beginning of November).
Q. When schools reopen on January 19th, it's still Quarter 2. I already filled out a survey for that before. Why did you send me another survey on January 4th?
A. When school reopens on Tuesday, January 19th, students will continue with the cohort they had before Thanksgiving. The new survey is to let us know your intentions for Quarter 3 (which begins on Friday, January 29th). We need to know if there are any changes so we can adjust the bussing (if necessary).
Q. My child was in-person (either cohort A, B, or C) for Quarter 2, but I now want them to be full virtual (cohort D) for the remainder of Quarter 2 and not return to in-person instruction. Can I do that?
Because WDMS is able to live stream our instruction, yes, you may have your child move to full virtual (Cohort D) for the remainder of Quarter 2. HOWEVER, you MUST email Mrs. Trampe at ctrampe@wdeptford.k12.nj.us to notify her of the request.
Q. I keep getting notifications of Covid-19 cases from the schools. Why is the school sending these when we are full virtual?
A. Schools are required to notify parents when there are positive cases, even if the school is in full virtual model.
Q. Are the Covid-19 positive cases being logged and tracked to ensure that individuals that test positive do not return to school earlier than they should?
A. Yes. Whenever we learn of an individual (staff member or student) who tested positive for Covid-19, our school's contact tracer documents the required information and determines if there are any close contacts at school. If there are close contacts identified, the school notifies those individuals of possible exposure and recommends that they should quarantine.
Below is additional information regarding our transition back to hybrid instruction.
- From January 4th - January 15th: all students will continue with full virtual instruction
- Monday, January 18th: Schools are closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- From January 19th - January 28th (the remainder of Quarter 2): hybrid instruction (in-person and virtual) will return and students will return to the Quarter 2 cohort you had selected for them earlier in the year (Unless you contact Mrs. Trampe to indicate otherwise).
- For example: If your child was Cohort A, B, or C and attended in-person hybrid instruction from November 9 - November 25 (when the buildings were open for in-person instruction) they will continue this schedule for the remainder of Quarter 2 (January 19 - January 28)
- For example: If your child was Cohort D and attended full virtual instruction from November 9 - November 25, they will continue with this schedule for the remainder of Quarter 2 (January 19 - January 28)
- Friday, January 29th begins Quarter 3 and is a Virtual Friday for all students (no in-person instruction)
- Monday, February 1st will begin the Quarter 3 hybrid instruction. Your child has been assigned to the same cohort for Q3 as they were assigned to for the beginning of Q2. On January 4th, a parent survey was emailed to all families regarding this cohort assignment. If you were unable to complete the survey or have questions regarding your child's cohort, please contact the WDMS Main Office.
Please see below for a review of the Cohort options:
Cohort A:
Students who have a last name beginning with the letters A-K, will attend in-person instruction on Mondays and Wednesdays. Students will learn virtually on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. On these Virtual Days, this cohort will be expected to log into their first period class by 7:55 am.
Cohort B:
Students who have a last name beginning with the letters L-Z, will attend in-person instruction on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students will learn virtually on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On these virtual days, this cohort will be expected to log into their first period class by 7:55 am.
Cohort C:
These students will attend in-person instruction Monday through Thursday and will participate in virtual learning on Fridays.
Cohort D:
Students who will participate in virtual learning daily, Monday through Friday, and will not be attending any in-person instruction. For WDMS, fully virtual students will still be asked to complete the attendance form by 8:30 am every morning and log-into their first period class by 7:55am.
In the event, you have children with different last names, and they have not already been assigned to the same Cohort, please contact Jodi Thayres at jthayres@wdeptford.k12.nj.us to correctly assign your children to matching Cohorts.
