NEW LEBANON SCHOOL
Weekly Updates
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Hello Bobcat Families! We hope you all stayed safe and warm yesterday - it was not an easy morning for many, and we appreciate your patience and flexibility as important safety decisions were made.
As you know, the Greenwich Board of Education voted to lift the mask mandate and make masks optional starting on Tuesday, March 1st. This means families will have a choice on whether or not to have their child wear a mask to school. Please assist us in teaching our children to respect one another’s choices. Students should be prepared to see some of their classmates or teachers in masks and some without masks. Some students and teachers might have immunocompromised family members at home and still want to wear a mask. Each family has their own reasons for this important choice. Please know we will be sensitive to the needs of all students and teachers as we transition to this next phase.
Staff will not be asked to regulate mask wearing during school hours. If a parent has told their child to attend school with a mask, the student must do so willingly. It is important for parents to be clear with their own children. As of now, staff and students who test positive will be required to wear a mask when they return from quarantine for 5 days, and if they choose not to wear a mask in school, the quarantine period will be extended to a total of 10 days.
ALL students who ride the buses to or from school will be required to wear a mask on the bus. This is a federal regulation requiring that face masks be worn on all forms of public transportation including school buses. If your child rides the bus in the afternoon, please provide them a mask in their backpack to be worn on the ride home.
Many of you have asked about other mitigation strategies. At this time, the requirement for other mitigation strategies such as distancing in the classroom and the cafeteria will remain in place until further notice from the superintendent and the Board of Education.
As you saw this week, GPS is offering COVID-testing kits to families - your child's classroom teacher should have already reached out to you asking if you would like a test kit sent home. Unfortunately, the kits were delayed due to weather, and we hope to have them early next week.
Ms. van Roden
Starting next Wednesday, Ms. van Roden will be taking a short leave for a scheduled knee surgery. She plans to return to school April 25th. We wish her a swift recovery! In the meantime, Ms. Valdovinos, one of our daily building subs, will be taking her place. Ms. Valdovinos will be reaching out to the families of the students who she supports, so please be on the lookout for communication from her. Ms. Valdovinos is a New Leb and GPS graduate and her son attends Kindergarten at New Leb!
From GPS Superintendent Dr. Jones...
Mitigation Strategies- Mask Optional
Many of our staff, students, and families have asked about our COVID strategy moving forward. Masks become optional on Tuesday, March 1 for GPS. Every 2-3 weeks, GPS will be moving closer to our goal returning to pre-COVID times. The health team wants GPS to begin next week to make sure that we are not seeing a spike after the February break before we take the next step. Our goal is to continue moving forward with mitigation strategies loosening every 2-3 weeks. We are hopeful that our next step will be restoring the cafeterias to closer contact and more normal structure, which is especially important for the schools who have been utilizing their gyms for the past two years to have enough space for social distancing at lunch. We are excited to see our spring open back up with more in-person events like kindergarten visits, family events, and overall invitation to re-engage with in-person events.
Magnet School Lottery
Results for the 2022-23 Magnet School lottery were emailed directly to families today. Families should have either received a letter with a school placement or an indication of the waitlist. Families should contact the schools directly to confirm their acceptance of their placement.
Linkit Parent Portal
The LinkIt Parent Portal will be updated Monday evening with secondary grades and attendance for the first semester, winter benchmarks for grades K-8 (STAR Early Literacy for kindergarten and first grade and math and reading benchmarks for grades 2-8). Sign in with your official parent email address (i.e. the address where you received this email). If you have never activated a LinkIt account, you will receive an account code on Monday from registration@linkit.com with the subject line, “LinkIt Parent Portal Account Registration - Greenwich Public Schools.” Remember to check your spam folder if you don't see it. The GPS Parent Resources page has answers to common LinkIt questions and account troubleshooting.
Grade 5 & Grade 8 Parents of Students with IEPs
The Office of Special Education and Student Supports will be hosting virtual parent evenings to discuss the process for students transitioning from fifth to sixth grade and eighth to ninth grade. Special Education staff and parents will share information about the transition process and steps that parents can do to assist their child.
Fifth-Sixth Grade Transition
March 1 at 6:30 PM
Eighth-Ninth Grade Transition
March 3 at 6:30 PM
SummerFare
Greenwich High School is excited to be hosting SummerFare on March 1 from 6;00-8:00 PM. SummerFare is an evening for exhibitors to present materials and talk with elementary, middle and high school students and parents about summer programs, internships, and camps. Admission is free and all are welcome. A wide range of traditional sleepaway camps, day camps, colleges, travel programs, and specialty camps are attending. Now more than ever, parents are eager to enroll their children in a summer program and SummerFare 2022 is the perfect opportunity for them to explore their options. More information is available online.
Greenwich Together
Greenwich Together, an organization that mobilizes youth, parents and community partners to prevent substance misuse, promote behavioral and mental health and strengthen healthy choices through positive youth, family, and community development is hosting a Zoom Webinar on Tuesday, March 8 at 7:00 PM. Dr. Aaron Weiner, a board-certified Psychologist and addiction specialist that speaks nationally on the topics of behavioral health and addiction, will discuss how family members can help with academic pressure, COVID 19, extracurricular activities, social media, substances and friendships: all of these things can affect our Teen’s Mental Health, contributing to feelings of anxiety, depression, loneliness, etc. You can RSVP on their website.
Together in Safety and Learning,
Mrs. Michaelson & Mrs. Eisenstein
Important Upcoming Dates
- Wednesday, February 23rd - March 2nd: 5th to 6th ALP testing at New Leb
Wednesday, March 16th, 6:30pm (IN PERSON AND VIRTUAL): Incoming Kindergarten Information Session at New Lebanon School Media Center (Snow Date is March 22nd, 6:30pm) - LINK TO JOIN VIRTUALLY HERE: meet.google.com/crm-isdj-ekr
March 25th: NO SCHOOL, Parent-Teacher Conference
A Peak at our Week
Pre-K Explores Play-Based Centers
Pre-K Explores Play-Based Centers
Pre-K Explores Play-Based Centers
Help us Celebrate Read Across America Week! Dress up if you would like!
New Lebanon School Celebrates Black History Month - Click below to read books from some of our favorite black authors!
New Leb Celebrates Lunar New Year!
Thank you, Mrs. Lam for sharing your knowledge and culture about Lunar New Year!
Thank you to our families on the PTAC DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness) Committee For Providing us with these Ongoing Resources in Greenwich!
The YWCA Diversity Book Club meets on the last Tuesday of the month from noon - 2:00 pm in the Gertrude White Gallery. The club seeks members of all ages, ethnicities, religious affiliations and economic status to engage in spirited discussion. Participants meet for lively conversations about reading material chosen by the group. For more information, call Mamie Lee at 203-552-0807 or email jimlee55@aol.com.
YWCA Anti-racist challenge
https://ywcagreenwich.org/events-calendar/21-day-challenge/
28 days of Black History Newsletter
https://www.28daysofblackhistory.com/?grsf=3xoo15
Did you know that one of America’s most well-known abolitionists, John Brown was born right in Torrington, Connecticut? Although his house was destroyed in a fire in 1918, the property, as well as a granite monument, are maintained by the Torrington Historical Society. In 1859 John Brown lead the Harpers Ferry Raid, an effort to commence an armed slave revolt in the South by overtaking a United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia - an effort that has been recognized as a foreshadowing of the Civil War. The pikes used by Brown and his men were actually crafted by the Collins Company in Collinsville, Connecticut and one can be seen on display at the Canton Historical Museum.
Honor the service of Connecticut’s first all-black military regiment with a visit to the 29th Colored Regiment Monument at Criscuolo Park in New Haven. The troop faced racism, discrimination, and lower pay than white regiments. Still, they fought courageously and were even the first infantry units to enter Richmond, Virginia after it was abandoned by the Confederate Army. The monument was dedicated in 2008 and beautifully commemorates the soldiers who contributed so greatly to both African American and American history.
Seek out the stones from the Witness Stones Project in Guilford or West Hartford. This project aims to honor and recognize the lives of enslaved people through stones that are placed in the location of enslavement and identify the enslaved person.
Explore the impact of Stowe's 1852 anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford and engage with collections that belonged to Stowe and her family.
Did you know that the nation’s first boarding school for young African American women was right in Connecticut? The Prudence Crandall Museum's efforts for equal education helped affirm attitudes against slavery and ultimately won the founder, Prudence Crandall a spot in the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame in 1995. While the museum is currently under renovation and has not yet reopened, you may soon be able to attend one of the talks which will be offered throughout the state while the museum is closed. Organizations and institutions interested in hosting a talk can contact the museum at crandall.museum@ct.gov. The remodeling process will allow for new exhibits and the opportunity to bring forward the voices and stories of the students who attended the academy, offering a fuller picture of the tumultuous seventeen months that the school was open for African American young women.
Check out all the fascinating Black History landmarks up close and in person by taking a look at the Connecticut Freedom Trail.
CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN "UNDERSTANDING ADVANCED SCIENCE"
Snow Sculpture Contest!
Greenwich Recreation and the Greenwich Arts Council are presenting the 10th annual Snow Sculpture Contest. Throughout the winter season, create your best snow sculpture and submit a photo for an opportunity to win a prize from Greenwich Parks and Recreation. The deadline to submit photos is Friday, March 4. The contest is open to Greenwich residents only.
WHAT IS FOR LUNCH NEXT WEEK? ¿QUÉ HAY PARA ALMUERZAR LA PRÓXIMA SEMANA?
MONDAY, FEB 28th - Cheese Lasagna Roll-ups
Our weekly menu can always be found here: https://www.greenwichschools.org/departments/food-services/menus-and-meal-prices