LPS Update
February 12, 2021
Social Emotional Support Resources for Parents
As we approach one year since the pandemic began, we wanted you to know that we are here to support you and your children during this incredibly challenging time. Each of our schools have school adjustment counselors who have put together resources and websites for our school community. As always is you have concerns or questions, please feel free to contact your child's school adjustment counselor.
Huckleberry Hill School- Gabriela Brennet
https://sites.google.com/lynnfield.k12.ma.us/adjustment-counselor-hhs/home
Summer Street School- Heather Hunt
https://sites.google.com/lynnfield.k12.ma.us/adjustment-counselor-sss/home
Lynnfield Middle School- Marisa Botta
https://sites.google.com/lynnfield.k12.ma.us/lms-counseling-corner/home
Lynnfield High School- Kristen Dee
https://sites.google.com/lynnfield.k12.ma.us/adjustment-couns-page/home
Alternating Wednesdays
As a reminder, we will shift to in-person instruction for alternating cohorts on Wednesdays starting on February 24, 2021. Wednesdays will be a half-day for students. Each school will dismiss at their normal half-day dismissal time. Specific details about each school's schedule for Wednesdays will be sent out by the building principals as we get closer to February 24th.
The community's public health data must continue to trend in a positive direction in order for us to sustain this model. Thank you to all of you who have diligently followed all of the health and safety protocols to decrease the community spread of the virus in our community! Let's stay positive and test negative!
Updates to Hybrid Plan
Below is a summary of the steps we are taking in our plan to return our students to more in-person school. We will continue to update you as we work to bring in more students in-person. This process is in collaboration with our educators and the safety and well being of our staff and students is foremost in our planning.
Alternating Wednesdays - February 24th: We are adding more in-person time in our hybrid plan by adding Wednesday mornings for in-person learning by alternating our cohorts. We will implement this change starting with Cohort C on February 24th. Cohort A students will attend in-person every Wednesday morning.
Kindergarten Full In-person: With the improved health metrics in Lynnfield, our students now having reached a level of proficiency with our mitigation strategies and safety/classroom routines, we plan to bring all of our Kindergartners back full time (4 full days and one half day) around the first week in March. We will communicate with our Kindergarten full remote parents as well as our hybrid parents about the specifics of this entry plan before February vacation.
Teacher Vaccinations: We plan to have our teachers vaccinated as soon as possible because we know that getting our educators vaccinated is an important step in getting our students back to more in-person school. Once eligible, our educators will need to receive two doses of the vaccine, at least 28 days apart. We currently do not have a date for when our educators will be eligible or know exactly how long it will take for the process to be completed. This decision about timing for eligibility is made by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Updated DESE and CDC Guidance on Schools: DESE has stated that once the Commonwealth has reached the stage of teachers being eligible for the vaccination, updated school safety guidance will be given. In order to bring more of our students back to full in-person, we need updated guidance from DESE, DPH and CDC. We do not have the space to accommodate all students at 6ft of distance, which is the CDC guidance.
Parent Commitment: A few weeks after our educators become eligible to be vaccinated, we will ask parents to make a commitment to a learning plan (full remote or in-person) for their child/children for the remainder of the year. At that point, we will be able to provide families with information as to what remote learning will look like so you can make an informed decision.
District Wide Report Card
LPS District-wide Report Card Communication
LPS District-wide Report Card (accessible from Families tab under district and each school web page)
In Partnership With A Healthy Lynnfield: Parenting In A Pandemic
Upcoming Calendar Dates
February
15-19 No School - Winter Break
22 LHS Fall Sports II Begin
23 School Committee Meeting 6:00 PM via Zoom
24 Alternating Wednesdays Begin, Beginning with Cohort C & A, Half Day
25 Self Regulation Strategies Grades K-12
Program for Parents 6:30-8:00 PM www.ahealthylynnfield.org
March
1-5 Kindergarten Orientation Video Released to Families
8-12 LMS Wellness Week
8-12 Kindergarten Registration Material Emailed to Families
9 School Committee Meeting 6:00 PM via Zoom
19 LMS 2nd-Trimester Grades Close
23 School Committee Meeting 6:00 PM via Zoom
March 8-April 26 Kindergarten Registration Packets Returned to Schools