NES WEEKLY UPDATE
Monday, March 15, 2021
Latest Information
Dear Families,
It is official - we will be returning to in person learning at NES as of April 5, 2021. Thank you to everyone who completed the survey so far! We really need each student's information to do our additional planning. Please be sure to complete this once for each of your children. Here are the links to the survey again:
survey Complete this one for students currently in Cohorts A, B, & C
D survey Complete this one for students currently in Cohort D
The schedule for both groups beginning 4/5 will be full days Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (7:45 - 2:20) and half day Wednesdays (7:45 - 11:50). In the survey, you are making the selection for Cohort A (all in person) or Cohort D (all remote).
Some other facts to take note of:
- Wednesday will be a half day for in person students and remote students.
- Students will stay in classroom groups. If there is a need for students to mix with another class or group of students, this will be done following all the safety protocols.
- Lunch will still be the one time of day when ALL students must be at least 6 feet apart, like they are now, when eating. This applies to all times that the whole class may be eating.
- We are working out how we will accomplish this, but are confident we have the space. We also look forward to warm weather days and classes going outside for lunch.
- We will do everything we can to keep your child's teacher as is, but there may be a need to switch teachers if we need to balance a room or if a child is going from remote to in person or vice versa.
- Students will be 3 feet - 6 feet apart in the classrooms.
- Know that we will still be wearing masks, washing/sanitizing our hands per current protocols, and continuing with physical distancing. These measures are critical to ensuring the safety of students and staff.
Lots more to come for sure!!
Best,
Kim Kubisch and Kim Albertson
FONPS
The Friends of Nantucket Public Schools is hosting an evening presentation with Phyllis Fagell for parents, caregivers and educators. Here is the Smore flyer with details and information.
Who: Phyllis Fagell, Licensed Counselor, School Counselor, Author & Journalist
When: Tuesday, March 16th
Time: 7:00pm
Where: Virtual Meeting link
Details: https://www.smore.com/az976
From the Superintendent's Office:
Per Governor Baker's COVID-19 Travel Order, individuals must either quarantine for 10 days or have a negative COVID PCR test (NOT a rapid antigen test) within 72 hours of returning to the state of Massachusetts from any state that is not deemed "lower risk". For children under the age of 10, a parent/guardian with whom they traveled must have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of returning to Massachusetts, or the child must quarantine for 10 days. If parents, guardians or children are waiting for COVID test results, they must quarantine at home until the results are available.
The Nantucket Public Schools are not responsible for enforcing the MA Travel Order; however, if a parent/guardian chooses to disclose to the school district an intention to travel internationally or to any high-risk state, we expect that they will follow the law and abide by the COVID-19 Travel Order and the school nurse or district COVID Liaison may follow up with the parent/guardian.
Schoology Help Session
March Schoology Drop-in Help session for parents will be held on Tuesday, March 23rd at 5pm for any parents who have a question about Schoology. This is not a presentation, but rather a question and answer session.
Link: meet.google.com/ank-poyu-aqi
Island Cup Fundraiser
Hello Everyone!
The Class of 2022 is bringing back the annual Island Cup Fundraiser! Due to the pandemic, our football season is now currently happening. As a result, the Island Cup game has also been moved. This year, the game will be held on Saturday, April 24. Members of the Class of 2022 have designed a sweatshirt and a long sleeve shirt, which we are now taking pre-orders for. If you place your order by the end of the day on March 21, you will be guaranteed to receive what you order. If not, there will be some extra merchandise ordered, which can be bought on a first come first serve basis. Sweatshirts will be $40 and long sleeve shirts will be $25. We ask that you pay for your order when you pick it up. You can place your order by filling out this Google Form. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at lucasd@npsk.org. All money raised will go directly to the Class of 2022 to help with costs during their senior year. On behalf of the Class of 2022, we thank you for supporting the class! Go Whalers!
From,
Darren Lucas-Hayes, M.Ed.
Nantucket High School
New guidance for school bus ridership: DESE recently changed its guidance on school bus protocols for transporting children, which lifts restrictions on seating space. If all other safety protocols are adhered to (i.e., windows open 2 inches, masks worn at all times, assigned seating, cleaning/disinfecting/hand sanitizing), the buses will be able to transport more students. Thank you to Linda Barrett from Cape Cod Collaborative along with our front office ESPs who have been working on a new schedule that adds in children who were currently on the waitlist for transportation. We also hope that as the vaccination rollout continues, we will be able to put another bus on the road for our students within a month or so. Below is the link for the newest Bus Routes!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_dedptiDh6oxHs-4IoIL7EyELoCnJWEP/view?usp=sharing
Weather Updates
It is so important that the children come prepared to be outside. This means wearing boots, gloves, hats, warm coats, and snow pants. It is important that children have these and a change of clothes (in case they do not have snow pants and clothes get wet.) We follow the guidelines of having students go outside if the temperature feels like 15 degrees or higher. The warm clothes are necessary for sure!! But I am hopeful, as the sun is rising earlier, we will be having better weather soon.
Parking and Driving on Campus
1. The parking lot on First Way behind the school is ONLY for staff. Student drop off or Parent Parking back there is NOT permitted. All of the spots are numbered and assigned to staff. When parents park back there, our staff are unable to get into the building to be ready for working with students. All the spots are assigned. There are no extra spots. This is no place for students to be walking. It is incredibly unsafe.
2. If you are driving into our drop off lanes from Backus Lane, the driver MUST STAY in the car. The child should get out of the car on the right side.
3. Cars should not pull around other cars on the left side in the circles. It is important to model safety and patience. We have observed so many near accidents.
4. If you wish to get out of the car, please park in the lot on Backus Lane and walk your child to their class line.
5. If you leave the state of Massachusetts, your child must receive a COVID-19 negative test result in order to come back to school. If you do not want to have your child tested, they must stay home for 10 days. We have had no school spread because people are adhering to these safety protocols.
6. Attendance =
a.virtually present means the child is online off and on all day, not just for morning meeting
b.virtually absent means the child is not signing on for remote learning
c. physically present means the child is in school present for the day
d. physically absent means the child is not in school at all for the day
7. When children are working remotely, they may need a parent to assist them in signing on. We know you have been doing this. We would ask finally that you allow the children to answer questions. It is okay for them to make mistakes.
I continue to be grateful for all of your support in this very challenging time. I know that this is hard for all of you as it is for us too. I keep reminding myself that things will be better soon. I want to reiterate our need for a partnership in this pandemic. It is critical for you to respond to teachers' emails, phone calls, and remind messages. They know how hard it is for you. They are trying to keep you updated as often as they can. The favor of replies to their efforts to reach out to you would be greatly appreciated.
Our second trimester comes to an end on 3/19/21. Report cards will be shared on 3/26/21.
Counselors' Information
Jeanne Clark and Lisa Hood, our school counselors, are excited about the progress with the Second Step Lessons this year in SEL! All grades will be finishing up the Problem Solving Unit in the next few weeks. Be sure to check out your child’s weekly playlist for the weekly lesson and supplemental activities for extra practice. Feel free to reach out to your child’s school counselor if you have any questions or if they can support you in any way.
Holly McGill, our School Social Worker, continues to work both with individual students and small groups focusing on specific Social skills, such as being a kind friend, coping skills and problem solving. If your child works with Ms. McGill be sure to ask them to share what they are practicing!
Our School Counselors and Social Worker (our Student Support Team) have asked me to share this information with you. We are hearing from so many of you about the struggles students are having with remote learning. Here is an article with some friendly suggestions and helpful hints!
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/family/2021/01/at-home-tools-to-help-kids-manage-their-emotions Also, please visit current and previous SEL playlists in Schoology. There is lots of information about how to help children manage their emotions!
Nurse’s Corner 3/15/2020
March is here and spring and summer are around the corner. Before things start to get busier it is important to make sure your child has an appointment for their yearly physical and be sure they are up to date on their immunizations.
As far as COVID, we are not out of the woods yet! The guidelines for travel are changing and as of today, no test is needed if traveling to Washington, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Missouri. Be sure to keep an eye on this prior to any April vacation travel!
I am really excited to have all of our students safely back in school in April! It is important for everyone to continue to mask, wash their hands and socially distance so we can have a safe school!
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
Children with any illness symptoms
Know that we understand and appreciate when you choose to keep your child at home because they have one of the symptoms or don't feel well, not necessarily COVID-19 positive but run down as happens to us all. With a bit of notice and clear communication to your child's teacher, they can work with you to determine the child's participation in synchronous and/or asynchronous work.