NES WEEKLY UPDATE
MONDAY, October 26, 2020
Latest Information
Dear Families,
I hope everyone is doing well and feeling healthy. It seems as if we, as an island community, are experiencing an increase in positive Covid tests. Please be sure to complete the health screening with your children each day. The document has been shared in our mailing and is posted on websites. It is also linked here. Home Screening Protocol
Our school nurse, Meri Lepore, has asked me to share a couple of reminders with you. For any kindergartners or any new students, we need to have a record of a physical for your child on file in the health office. This physical should have occurred within this year. It is important that all students have their vaccinations up to date or a religious waiver on file. In addition, all children are supposed to get a flu shot by 12/31/20.
I want to be sure that all families are aware of expectations regarding devices for their children at NES. The following are the grade level expectations for your child:
- PreK - Only those students with remote speech should have them in school.
- K - Devices will be in school and go home charged on Tuesday afternoons and they will return them charged on Thursdays.
- 1 - Only those students with remote speech should have them in school.
- 2 - Students bring devices back and forth daily.
Don't forget about the Literacy Pumpkin Challenge!! Information was emailed last week and shared below again.
Tomorrow, students in Cohort B will be casting their ballots for the US president. We will have all students in cohorts A and C on Friday. We will count the ballots and share the results on Friday. Remember there is no school for students at all on 11/2 and 11/3, Monday and Tuesday respectively. These are our final full PD days for staff. They have been on the school calendar.
On November 4th, we will have our virtual Open House. I have shared information about the process for attending virtually below. We will be following the same practice we have for your students currently. You will receive information on Monday to view (asynchronously) and links to join staff (synchronously) on Wednesday evening. You will be receiving information to learn more about your child's year, their classroom, their expectations, and their work.
I want to also share a practice we believe strongly in at NES. If you have questions or concerns, I ask that you address them first with the teacher. If you still have questions or concerns after working with the teacher, you can bring them to NES administration - Assistant Principal Kimberly Albertson or myself for further resolution. If this still does meet with your satisfaction, then you could reach out to the Superintendent, Dr. Beth Hallett. We call this following the chain of command. I tell you this because I think this is a great way to problem solve situations at the level they exist before they become too big. This is in line with Responsive Classroom practices. All of us model this for students daily.
I am also very excited to share that all school lunches are free this entire school year. The costs are being subsidized by the Federal Government. Dr. Hallett did share this information in her letter to families last week. I just wanted to offer the reminder.
Cohorts are staying as is for now, we welcome back our Cohort B students on Mondays and Tuesdays and our Cohort C students on Thursdays and Fridays. Cohort A students will continue to come to school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Wednesdays will be remote days for all students. Remember that when students are not present in school, the log in times and the independent work are required. It is necessary for students on remote days to share their work with their teachers. Attendance will be taken for students on their remote days when they are logging in to their synchronous times with the teacher and the in person students.
Our mantra at NES is patience, grace, and kindness. We are modeling this, practicing this, and providing it to each other regularly. You have shared this with us and we are so grateful. We need you and your partnership, along with your patience, grace, and kindness!
Best,
Kimberly Kubisch, Principal NES
Arrival and Dismissal (Transportation)
We know that arrival and dismissal will be a little awkward at first, we are again asking for your patience. We will be working closely with our School Resource Officers, the NPD, and the NFD to iron out the kinks.
- Children will be lining up outside the school. There are dots with teacher names on them. We will have line spaces for each class. PreK and second grade will be lining up in front of the main entrance to NES. First Grade will line up by the cafeteria doors and Kindergarten will line up outside the kindergarten door. Teachers will be coming outside to pick up their students and take them into the building safely and maintaining 6 feet distances. It is important for you to know that there will be no before school supervision, and breakfast buddies is also not available at this time. I share this with you because it is important that no student arrive at school much before 7:40. There will be a few adults outside to supervise students. We will be blocking off the Kindergarten circle. No one can drive through there, but the cross campus drive will be open. We will ask that no parents stand with students outside for arrival and dismissal. Our goal is to have students maintain social distances and this will be challenging with additional people standing nearby.
- Dismissal will be done by drive through pick up from Backus Lane. Students will be lined up with the youngest student in their family. Kindergarten will come out the K door, First will come out the Cafe doors, and Second will come out the Front doors.
Bus students will be picked up to go at 2:05.
Walkers and Bus Riders will go with Bus Riders at the back of their line.
Parents who are riding bikes or walking with students should meet them at the front of the school.
Once the buses clear, then teachers will walk students to their dismissal spots. Radios will be calling students to hopefully reduce the parents parking or standing outside of their cars.
Older students will go to the youngest students' line up spot.
Second Graders out to their line spots in the front of the building (if it is raining, they will go out the gym doors).
First Graders will go out the Cafe doors to their line spots.
Kindergarten will go out the Kindergarten doors to their line spots.
- There are very few students who will be riding the school buses. These students have been identified through the surveys, follow up phone calls, etc. There will be labeled seats on the buses for each child and the students will get a matching tag from their classroom teacher. No adults will be allowed on the bus.
NES Virtual Open House 11/4/20
We will be sharing a playlist with all families. In this playlist, you will receive 2 things to watch before 5:30 pm on November 4th. One of these will be your child's teacher's classroom information. The other will share information about all other staff in the building. At 5:30, each family will have a google meet link to join their child's classroom teacher for a question and answer session that will last no more than 30 minutes. This is not an individual conference for your child. Rather, it is an opportunity to follow up on anything that was not covered in the presentation you previously watched or anything you were unsure of. At 6:00 pm for 30 minutes, you will have the opportunity to meet with specialists, special educators, therapists, ELL teachers, interventionists, etc. You will receive links to meet with these staff members as well.
ABOUT NES
Principal
Kimberly F. Albertson
Assistant Principal
Email: kubischk@npsk.org
Website: www.npsk.org
Location: 30 Surfside Road, Nantucket, MA, USA
Phone: 508 228 7290
Covid - 19 Relief fund through Immigration Resource Center
If you need a helping hand through this difficult time, please click on the link below!!
Traveling to and From Massachusetts
Remember to be mindful of any travel you may have planned for August. You will be required to follow the regulations that went into effect on 8/1. These include:
All visitors and Massachusetts residents returning home — including students returning to campuses this fall — must fill out a “Massachusetts Travel Form” and quarantine for 14 days. People can also text MATraveler to 888-777.
Exemptions include travelers from lower-risk states and people who can show a negative COVID-19 test administered no more than 72 hours prior to arriving in the Bay State. The current low-risk states are New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Hawaii.
People must remain in quarantine until they receive negative test results, except for when going to get their test.
Failure to comply can result in a $500 fine per day.
Exceptions include people passing through or commuting across state lines for work, military personnel, critical infrastructure workers, and people seeking or receiving medical treatment.