The Pawsome Print
September 18, 2020
Dear Pawsome Loring Families,
Here are just a few pictures of Loring this week!
GENERAL GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
Students and staff will:
wear masks at all times, except during designated mask breaks and during lunch/snack.
maintain a minimum six-foot physical distance at all possible times.
wash their hands or use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving the school/classroom, before/after eating lunch and snack, before/after recess, and when taking bathroom breaks.
Enforcement of Three Ws (Wear a Mask, Wash Your Hands, Watch Your Distance) begins as soon as students arrive on campus.
There are no visitors allowed inside the building this year.
If you must drop something off for your child, please ring the buzzer to alert the office that you are dropping off something. Be sure your child’s name and teacher are on the item.
TECHNOLOGY
While our week has been successful, we acknowledge there have been some technology challenges. Here are a few pieces of information that may be helpful when troubleshooting issues when supporting your children at home.
Logging in
For signing into their Google account, your child may need to add "@sudburystudents.org" to the username if they are not on an SPS-managed Chromebook.
Whether engaged in remote learning from home or a daycare location, this name and password is going to be the key to accessing our resources. If you are unsure of where to find this information in your ASPEN family portal click here for a technology tutorial.
Please contact your school's front office (loring_office@sudbury.k12.ma.us) if you are having trouble accessing your family account in Follett Aspen.
When a student logs into a Chromebook managed by the Sudbury Public Schools, their account is ready to access the standard educational tools that Google provides (Classroom, Drive, Meet, etc.) with no extra steps. Your homepage is automatically sudburystudents.org.
If you are using personal equipment (grades k-1), here are a few tips for making sure you are accessing our resources using the correct Google account:
If you are on a computer, make sure you are using the Google Chrome web browser, and that you are logged into the student’s Google account rather than a parent account. Here is a screencast showing how to add your child’s account to Google Chrome on a computer running Windows, Mac, or Linux. On a Chromebook they would simply log into the device. Once added, that account will have sudburystudents.org as its homepage.
If you are on an Apple iPad or Android tablet, you probably will be accessing our learning platforms from an app rather than a web browser. Those apps are available here:
Seesaw
Google Classroom
Google Meet
Google Meet
We are using Google Meet as our online video conferencing solution. For students to join, your child should click on the link provided by their teacher.
If they are in their school account on an SPS Chromebook, they will be logged in automatically and may click "Ask to Join" to request entry into the session. Please make sure you are not trying to join from an adult's account as the teacher should not admit you.
If they are on a personal device, they will have to log into their SPS Google account with the full username including "@sudburystudents.org" before being able to "Ask to Join" the session. Adult assistance will likely be required for our younger students.
For families of students in grades K & 1, please watch this screencast by Sudbury kindergarten teacher, Rebecca Amaral, for a complete guide to joining Google Meet sessions.
SPS Technology Director, Michael O'Brien recently sent out a newsletter to parents providing some tips and tricks. Here is a link.
Chrome Books
We are beginning the process of distributing loaner Chromebooks for K & 1 students. These Chromebooks are for at home use on remote days and do not need to travel back and forth with hybrid students. If your child has not yet brought one home, they should within the next week.
All grade 2-5 students have received their assigned classroom Chromebook and chargers. These will come to school with your child any day they are in person. Please make sure your child charges their Chromebook overnight prior to coming back to school so it is ready for use in the classroom the next day.
If you still have a loaner Chromebook from last year or the summer please return it to school with your child as soon as possible so we can update and redistribute it to students in need.
Additional Support
Unfortunately our front office staff is not equipped to handle real time technology phone calls and our teachers have classes with multiple students to facilitate so they may not be able to reach out to you during class time. Please visit sudburystudents.org for our new support section and we will do our best to assist.
LUNCH
Students will eat in their classrooms at their assigned desks.
ALL CLASSROOMS ARE PEANUT AND NUT-FREE THIS YEAR.
Whitson’s staff will deliver lunches to the classrooms from the cafeteria for those who are ordering lunch.
Students have the option of purchasing a full lunch or milk only.
Classroom teachers in grades K-5 supervise lunch in their classrooms.
Students bringing lunch from home should be able to open all containers themselves, and have all items needed (e.g. spoons, etc.).
Families are encouraged to practice a lunchbox lunch at home, especially with incoming kindergartners.
Given that student masks are off, remaining in the assigned seat is mandatory. If a student needs to get up for any reason, he/she must wear a mask.
RECESS
All students will have a 35-minute recess each day they are physically in school. Additional outdoor time may occur.
Recess is scheduled by grade level.
The playground is divided into zones; only one cohort may be in each zone. Exceptions will be made for students with physical limitations.
Masks are to be worn at all times at recess.
Students may not play sports/games that require close contact.
For example, students might not play Five-on-Five Basketball, but could play Horse. Students may not be able to play football, but can throw a football around.
SCHEDULE
Our hybrid/remote week is five days of student learning. Cohort A meets ‘in person’ on Mondays and Thursdays and Cohort B meets ‘in person” on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Classroom teachers have shared a detailed schedule with you, including what time students will be online working with teachers synchronously on their remote learning days.
Each day there will be a synchronous whole-class Morning Meeting. The time may be adjusted depending on the specialist schedule. All specialists’ classes are taught on students’ remote days.
Students who are on their off-site days will connect with the classroom teacher through no less than three live connections during the course of the day. In addition, students will have 1-2 specialist classes on their remote days and these will also be synchronous.
Full Remote Days and Wednesdays for all students start at 7:55 a.m. with Morning Meeting, unless there is a specialist scheduled.
Live instruction for Sudbury Remote students concludes at 2:00 p.m., except on Wednesdays, which concludes at 11:45 a.m..
ARRIVAL/ DISMISSAL
Another thing to note, all dismissal will happen outside. On rainy days, please make sure to send in rain gear as students will be waiting outside.
Cars
Please make sure that you are stopped between the library door and gym door when unloading in the morning. The first car should stop at the sign that says, "Car Pickup & Drop Off Frist Car Stop Here." Do not let your children out of the car outside of that designated area. Please do not jump out of line to go around cars that are still unloading children, we need to prioritize safety during this time.
Dismissal
The gate will open at 1:45 for cars to begin lining up. You should pull in near the ball fields and continue to drive around the back of the building. Please make sure to have your YELLOW Dismissal Card displayed to expedite the process. If you need one please email loring_office@sudbury.k12.ma.us and we will send a new one home. We will load about 10-15 cars at a time. The first car needs to be pulled up to the sign that says "Car Pickup & Drop Off First Car Stop Here".
Bus
- Students must keep their masks on for the entire bus ride.
- Students must remain in their designated seats (the seat without the X).
- Only students who have registered with Transportation are allowed to take the bus.
If you are still unsure if your child's bus registration has gone through or you have a question about the buses please email transportation@sudbury.k12.ma.us.
Walkers - NEW PICK UP LOCATIONS STARTING MONDAY
If your child walks home towards Landham Road or through the path, they will meet the teacher to check out, near the flag pole. If they walk home with an adult, please meet your child near the flag pole. There will be color circle spots on the ground spaced apart for you to stand on.
If your child walks home past the baseball field, they will check out with a staff member near the baseball field hill. If they walk home with an adult, please meet your child on the baseball field hill as we have been doing this year. There will be color circle spots on the ground spaced apart for you to stand on.
Green - Independent walker - Able to walk without responsible adult
Orange - Accompanied Walker - Must have responsible person to meet them. This may be an adult or an older sibling with a green walker card
Students are walked out of the building by grade through the front door. They will check out with a teacher who has a list of all students designated walkers that day and then be released on their own if they are an independent walker or to the responsible person picking them up.
Once you pick up your child please move out of the walker pick up area to ensure we can keep dismissal moving along.
Dismissal Changes
These changes must be in by 12:00 to ensure dismissal goes smoothly.
This email should also be used if you are planning to pick your child up early for an appointment.
ILAP EARLY RELEASE WEDNESDAYS
ATTENDANCE
If your child will not be at school, or will not be logging into their meet for any reason it is important you call the absence line at (978) 579-0870 Option 1. Please state your child's name, teacher and the reason for their absence.
MASKS/MASK BREAKS
Mask Breaks will occur approximately once per hour.
They may happen while students are sitting in their assigned seats or they may occur during a walk outside.
Teachers will monitor and schedule the breaks.
Masks must be worn when students are in common areas such as hallways and restrooms.
REMOTE LEARNER MATERIAL EXCHANGE
CALENDAR CHANGES
Cohort B Students will be in school Tuesday, September 29th and Friday, October 2nd
Cohort A Students will be in school Thursday, October 1st
All Students will be remote on Wednesday, September 30th.
Building Substitue Teachers
Important Websites to Bookmark
These websites will provide useful information you will need as we start the year.
Loring Core Values
At Loring School, we are PAWSOME because we show our Core Values! These values are part of everyday life at Loring and reinforced in the classroom, on the playground and all around school. Students are taught the meaning of each word and how they make us better students and citizens.
Respect ~ Responsibility ~ Caring ~ Best Effort
The Loring Pledge
The Loring Pledge is said every morning during announcements. Loring students embody our pledge and we hope this stays with them not only when they are at school but home as well.
I am respectful
I am responsible
I am caring and kind
I show best effort
I am part of the Pawsome Loring Community
Contact Us
Email: loring_office@sudbury.k12.ma.us
Website: http://www.sudbury.k12.ma.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=52&Itemid=222
Location: 80 Woodside Road, Sudbury, MA, USA
Phone: 978-579-0870
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