Longridge Community Update
The Best Part of LR is the People!
Opening Message
I hope that all of you have had a wonderful Spring Break. It is amazing how we are starting our 8th month of school is what has been a unique and challenging year. You, our students, and our staff have worked so hard this year to support each other and I am so proud of everything that we have been able to do given the circumstances that we are under.
Much of this Community Update will be focused on the possible reopening on April 19th. I say "possible" because we have yet to receive any updated guidance from NYS Department of Health as of April 01, 2021. Even as I write this, I understand that news may be released by the State between now and Monday that may change the course of the information within this update. As a District, we are committed to bringing back as many students as possible, as safely as possible. Even though the CDC has provided their updated guidelines, schools in NYS must follow the guidance of the NYS Department of Health, which has not changed any of their guidance as of 04/01/2021. As you can imagine, this has created excitement for some, frustration and worry for others, and confusion for many as messages can be mixed.
As a building, we have used voice from students, staff, and parents in the form of surveys, mid-year review, and 1:1 dialogue to make the recommended changes in the event that the District moves forward with a fuller reopening.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us in the main office at 966-5851.
Jason Juszczak
Principal
Celebrating Longridge!
Students in grades K, 1, and 5 are involved in a collaborative partnership to help kindergarten and first grade student build their number recognition and counting to 100. This partnership between Ms. Peown, Mrs. Rogers, Ms. Reihs, Mrs. DiProspero/Carroll, Mrs. Bubel, Mrs. Holohan, Mrs. Lang, Ms. Barthelmann, and Mrs. Male is going strong. Student leaders are emerging, relationships are being built, and math brains are being strengthened!
Reopening Updates-Longridge Edition
1. Arrival/Dismissal: We have updated our arrival procedures to allow for students to be dropped off earlier in the morning if we move forward with a full reopening. Students would be dropped off beginning at 8:40 a.m., with access to breakfast beginning at 8:45 a.m. A full description of what this would look like can be found at the link below:
2. Lunch: We will be making changes to the seating arrangement in the cafeteria to support students eating three feet apart while not facing each other. Additional barriers can be put in place where needed. We will also be looking at alternate locations for lunch so as to be able to support the social distancing of students during lunch time. If you or someone that you know is interested in becoming a lunch monitor, please contact the main office at 966-5800.
3. Instructional Model for Fully Remote Students: We have over 600 students that have committed to returning to in-person learning. With that being said, most of our fully remote students will be in classes with predominately in-person learners beginning April 19th. The letter below will outline the guidelines for remote instruction for families. This was what was originally communicated in the Family Reopening Handbook in August. Both the letter and the Handbook can be linked below. The attachment referenced in the letter can be found in the handbook.
4. Social Emotional Learning and Academics: The Instructional Sub-Committee reviewed the updated guidance, as well as our performance in the first half of the school year in both SEL and Mathematics. We made huge strides in the area of SEL Skill #2, with 87% of our students demonstrating that they are on-target or possessing an area of strength for this skill. As mentioned in a previous section, we are addressing our math performance at this time as the hybrid model has had an impact on student growth overall. We will be reallocating some of our SEL blocks during the week for additional support in mathematics. We are confident that the foundation of positive relationships built thus far this school year during SEL will help our students to make a successful transition back to in-person learning!
5. Classroom Layouts: As mentioned earlier, schools are planning for a fuller reopening with the guidance of 3-feet between students. As a result, classroom layouts will be changing slightly. We have inventoried furniture against class rosters and will be moving the necessary furniture into classrooms. Students will either be seated at individual desks or tables. Our standard sized tables allow for three students to be seated at least 3-feet apart (see image below).
6. Cohort Confirmation: Beginning April 19th, students will either be attending school 4 days a week or fully remotely. Parents/guardians were asked to submit their intention to the District by the end of the day 03/25. Based on this information, we know that a little over 600 students will be returning to in person learning. Over the course of the next week, we will be sending home confirmation of your child's cohort for the remainder of the school year. If there are changes that need to be made at that time, we ask that you contact us in the main office at 966-5800.
Miscellaneous:
- Students are now able to sign-out books in the library. Safety measures are being taken and books continue to be placed in quarantine if necessary.
- The Little Free Library, located in front of our main lobby, is now open (it is the little house located just below the word "Longridge" in the photo at the top of this page). Families are invited to take a book to enjoy, free of charge. Thank you to our Reading Interventionists for stocking our Little Library with books each week!
- Mask expectations continue to apply. Please be sure that you wear your mask if accessing the front lobby or if you are picking up your son/daughter at the end of the school day.
Weekly COVID Updates
Take Home Meal Program
Thank you to our amazing Kitchen Staff for coordinating the preparation and delivery of meals!
Contact Information
Website: www.greececsd.org
Location: 190 Longridge Avenue, Rochester, NY, USA
Phone: 585-966-5800
Twitter: @LongridgeGCSD