Scituate Elementary Newsletter
Summer Update: August 17, 2020
From the Principal's Desk
As promised, weekly newsletters are being sent in an effort to keep our school community up to date with the latest school reopening information. Some of the information in this week's newsletter is new, while other pieces were shared last week and serve as a resource and reminder.
Governor Raimondo and Commissioner Infante-Green announced the two-week delay of the first day of school. The decision was made to give districts more time to put plans in place, and for the RI Department of Education (RIDE) to further engage with RI communities. It was also announced that three professional development days have been scheduled for September 9th-11th. Scituate Schools will include an extra PD day, which means our staff will start on September 8th. Students first day of school will be September 14th. Please see below for the revised state-wide calendar. Please note, the extra professional development days for Scituate Schools have not been added. We will send along out our district calendar once it has been updated.
Our reopening task force and our administrative team continues to work on our reopening plans to ensure we are ready for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. As always, please reach out with any suggestions, questions, or concerns. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Best,
Courtney Francis, Clayville School Principal
Courtney.Francis@ScituateSchoolsRI.net
Dana Morel, Hope School Principal
Dana.Morel@ScituateSchoolsRI.net
Kaitlin Soccio, North Scituate School Principal
Facilities Update from Mr. Corrente
- All buildings have been cleaned and sanitized every month.
- The custodial staff will be cleaning and sanitizing every room and every area of all of the school buildings prior to the first day of school.
- The Director of School Facilities has attended multiple sessions with RI DOH and RIDE to better understand what we need to do to make sure our buildings are safe and disinfected.
- All of the HVAC units have been cleaned and sanitized to ensure we are safe.
HVAC
- All ventilation systems have been worked on to confirm that all classrooms have sufficient ventilation.
- All filters have been changed.
- It is recommended by DOH and RIDE that we keep windows open as much as possible. The more fresh air the better.
- We are working to address the areas that have no or little ventilation.
Supplies:
- The district has purchased 11 disinfecting systems.
- 24 cases of sanitizing tablets on hand.
- The district has purchased in hand sanitizer.
- 200 stations and 800 refills
- The district has purchased sanitizing wipes.
- 200 buckets with 1200 refills.
- Masks have been purchased for the entire staff.
- Plexiglass has been ordered.
- The main offices of all schools.
- Specialists areas
- We have Masks for those who arrive without one.
- 2500 adults
- 2000 students
Technology Update from Mr. Rambacher
Student Chromebooks
As of the start of the 20-21 school year, all students from grades 6 through 12 will have their own Chromebook issued to them. Additional Chromebooks are on order as we are working towards 1:1 devices district-wide. Currently, the supply chain is overwhelmed so we are not sure exactly when additional devices will be available. We will deploy as many new units as we are able to while leveraging older units until the new ones arrive. Elementary schools will no longer have carts (in the event we have to quickly return to full Distance Learning). Student assigned Chromebooks will be stored within the student’s classrooms.
Transportation Guidance
1. A change to the maximum occupancy for school buses from one student per seat to a
maximum of 50% of vehicle seating capacity (not to exceed 36 passengers) for all vehicles
used for student transport (e.g. school bus, van, or other vehicle).
2. Reformatted the section to reflect that that the guidance is the same for all reopening
scenarios (Full, Partial, and Limited In-Person).
3. Added reference to a planning resource that can be used to determine the number of close
contact passengers who will need to quarantine in the event of a passenger testing positive.
Please use the link below to learn more.
Free & Reduced Lunch Application
*Please see below for information and resources that have been previously distributed*
Scituate School Department's Reopening Plans
Scituate School Department's Town Hall Meeting
Distance Learning Option
As discussed during our Town Hall meeting, Distance Learning is an option for all Scituate students. Parents/guardians who wish to opt their child into Distance Learning for the upcoming school year are asked to email Superintendent Andries (Laurie.Andries@ScituateSchoolsRI.net) and her administrative assistant (Jennifer.Carnevale@ScituateSchoolsri.net). As of right now, there is no minimum time commitment for the Distance Learning option. More information about Distance Learning will be communicated to all families over the next few weeks.
Please reach out with any questions or concerns.