RBS Coronavirus Update 3
Sunday, March 15, 2020
From the Executive Director
RBS Fast Facts:
RBS Open on Monday, March 16, (Student dismissal at 1:00pm)
Governor Murphy expected to order closure of all schools sometime Monday afternoon
Zero known cases of COVID-19 within RBS, but three confirmed cases in township
Student Transportation to RBS is a district decision - Please check!
Remote learning options are available if you keep your child home
In spite of our best hopes that Rock Brook School would remain open for the foreseeable future, it appears that the inevitable news of a forced school closure is upon us. A short time ago, NJ.com released a story indicating that Governor Murphy is “likely” to announce Monday that New Jersey will order all of its schools — public and private — be shut down until further notice to minimize exposure to the Coronavirus. “The governor said it’s a “99 percent certainty” he’ll announce the closings Monday afternoon. He said he’s leaving 1 percent open because the decision has a lot of moving parts…” Therefore, Rock Brook School will be open tomorrow, Monday, March 16, and remain open until we receive the official word from the Governor that we must close. Please note that tomorrow was already scheduled to be an Early Dismissal Day (1:00 p.m dismissal for students) for staff development, and so we will maintain that schedule of a 1:00 p.m. dismissal for students.
Click the link below to review the NJ.com story about the “very likely” official announcement that will come from NJ Governor Murphy tomorrow:
All New Jersey schools likely will be ordered Monday to close because of coronavirus
For those families intending to send their child to school tomorrow, please know that the Health Department of Montgomery Township released a statement indicating that they were aware of a township family with three confirmed cases of the Coronavirus. One of the confirmed cases is a student at Montgomery Lower Middle School. Due to our location within Montgomery Township, and our proximity to the Montgomery Lower Middle School, we wanted to make sure that you had this information before finalizing your decision to send your child to school tomorrow. To read the full statement from the Health Department regarding the confirmed cases in Montgomery, please click the link below:
https://twp.montgomery.nj.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Statement-on-positives-3_14_20-v2.pdf
As soon as students leave at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow, our staff will be hard at work fine tuning the various elements of our Digital Distance Learning (DDL) plan. In spite of our best efforts, it is likely that we will experience a technical glitch or two with our DDL during the beginning days of implementation. We ask for your patience as teachers organize and prepare the various lessons and activities, and coordinate a schedule that will best serve each of our students. Should you have any questions during this state imposed closure, please reach out via email to any of our staff.
I am also again sharing the link from the National Association of School Psychologists, which you may find helpful for conversations with your child during this unusual time:
Talking to Children About COVID-19 (Coronavirus): A Parent Resource
Moving forward, we will share periodic updates related to our DDL and any information related to when school will re-open for students. On behalf of the staff of Rock Brook, I wish you good health during this difficult time. We hope to see you again very soon.
Glenn Famous