North Tiger Beat
September 26th, 2020
Dear North Families,
Over the first two weeks, we have had our youngest students in PreK and our students in our Insights program attend. They have been learning about our new procedures and have adjusted successfully. The resilience and their ability to adapt has been amazing to see. Thank you to our families for helping prepare our students to return to school and working as a team with us. I can't emphasize enough that your partnership is important to us. When parents support us and help us implement the necessary measures and guidelines, we can spend our time focused on working directly with our students and ensuring a positive learning environment for them.
For now, bus routes are the same as last year 2019-2020. They have not been updated on the website yet as adjustments will be made once the bus routes have run for a few days to make any changes that are needed. Students who have communicated with Mrs. Fogg have been updated in the system. If parents did not make any changes, bus assignments have been made based on what we had in the system from last year.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iZ2FBRqZcYl7rivoGa_w_IVd_Cy0EfoG/view?usp=sharing
Here are a few pictures of some of our teachers who continue to courageously take on the challenge of teaching in the 21st century. This is growth mindset in action!!
There are also some pictures showing you how we are helping students social distance throughout the building and outside. We are planning on having recess every day (inside during inclement weather). I will continue to send updates as we venture into the school year. As more students come into the building, we will continue to make adjustments along the way as we learn.
Mrs. Schoonover's PreK class set up
Nurse Stephanie Roy
Desks 6 feet apart
Markers in the hallway to help students know where to wait in bus lines
Hand sanitizer stations in every classroom and throughout the hallways
Oneway markers throughout the building
Oneway markers on stairs
Markers to show students where to sit on cafeteria table benches
A tent has been set up for an additional outdoor space for music, physical education, and academic classes
Our cafeteria has both tables and desks to allow for over 6 ft distancing while eating
Paw print markers panted on the blacktop by our PTO to help students line up coming in from recess
Lunch Program
The Breakfast & Lunch Program will be offering meals to all SPS students daily when school is in session, as well as for Remote Learning Students. All Remote Meals will be served at North Elementary (580 Whetstone Hill Road, Somerset MA) from 10:00am -11:00am & 1:30pm -2:30pm Monday – Friday. Scheduled days off or holidays/weekends will not be included in the service.
HELPFUL INFORMATION:
PAYMENTS- If you would like to have funds available for your students to purchase A la Carte items: To avoid your student and kitchen personnel having unnecessary contact, the best method is to prepay for student meals in advance using the online payment service at (MYSCHOOLBUCKS.COM). My School Bucks that can provide you unlimited deposits to your student(s)’ account for one low annual fee! If paying by cash or check, payments may be dropped in a dropbox at each register for contactless payments. The payment envelope should be sealed and should be labeled with student name, grade, and teacher. All payments will be picked up daily and posted by the next school day. Parents and guardians may view the payment on your MYSCHOOLBUCK.COM account.
These are the meal prices for SY 2020/2021, once the federal grant for UNIVERSAL free meals expires on or around 12/31/20. There is no change in pricing from last school year. Any student that qualifies for free or reduced through direct certification or meal application would maintain those benefits even once the federal grant expires
Full Paid Meal prices for Somerset Elementary Schools Breakfast $1.25 & Lunch $2.80
Full Paid Meal prices for Somerset Middle School Breakfast is $1.25 & Lunch $3.00
Reduced Price Breakfast $.30 for all; Reduced Price Lunch $.40 for all
TECH SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES - Sign Up for an In-Person Appointment - Tuesday Nights at Chace
Hello Parents & Guardians,
In an effort to provide more timely tech support for elementary parents, Mr. Green has scheduled Tuesday Night Tech Nights every Tuesday until the end of October. From 6-8 PM, parents can sign up using the signup link on the North website. Blocks of time will be limited to a single parent/family for 10 minutes, and masks must be worn. He will be meeting with parents at Chace Street School. Mr. Green will meet parents at the front door of the school and escort them to the cafeteria for assistance.
If a student is experiencing technology issues or Chromebook problems (non-functional cameras, missing keys, etc.) please consider signing up for a block of time.
Sign up here https://signup.com/go/oUJDnbQ
Morning Drop Off Procedure
If you are bringing your child to school, please enter from the bottom driveway near soccer fields and drive around the circle near the maintenance area. When dropping off your child, please remain in your car and drop off on the right side (fire lane side). There is no parking on the right side. In order to keep drop-offs flowing, once your child has exited the car, please continue driving. Unless students are tardy, we ask that parents not walk their child/children into school. We need to minimize foot traffic on our grounds. Staff will be monitoring students as they walk into school. ONLY BUSES ARE ALLOWED ALONG THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING FROM 8:15-9:00.
Parent Drop-Off in the AM begins at 8:40. Please do not drop off before 8:40 as we do not have supervision before 8:40. "In-Person" school begins at 9:00 AM.
Parent/Guardian Pick-Up Procedure
This year to help minimize physical contact and adhere to social distancing, we are dismissing students from the cafeteria who are “parent pick up”. Parents will remain in their cars and drive to the cafeteria following the route below. Students will be brought to the cars from the cafeteria. To ensure safety, it is important that parents remain in cars and follow the traffic pattern. We appreciate your patience and understanding. Parent pick-up will begin after the buses board, starting around 3:23-3:25.
Parents/guardians/designated adults will drive in from the lower driveway coming from Whetstone Hill Rd.
Follow the road around the trees, coming to a stop in front of the cafeteria entrance. (Similar to what you do for drop-off on inclement days). Please be patient and wait for cars to move out in front of you.
Parents/guardians will be given (2) color-coded signs to place on their dashboard during parent pick-up. Please give the signs to who you have designated to pick up your child. Please use this every day moving forward. If you need more signs, please email the office at birgit.fogg@somersetschools.org or Joan.fortier@somersetschools.org.
Please have your ID ready in case the staff are not familiar with who is picking up the child.
Please update your emergency contacts and pick-up contacts in the Back to School Gateway. We will need to refer to the list if we are unsure of who you are.
It is important to remain in your car, follow the traffic flow and do not park or block the road. Please be mindful of signs and fire lanes.
Please click on the LINK for map: Traffic Flow Map For Pick Up
Practice Makes Perfect
Opening up juice boxes and lunch items
Zipping up jackets
Buckling and unbuckling into the car/car seat
Tieing shoes/sneakers
Washing hands with soap and water
Sneezing and coughing into their elbow
How to use tissues
Somerset Public Schools Health Information
Sign Up for Remind (Updates and Texts)
PTO NEWSLETTER
Thank you PTO for painting our paw prints and our mascot welcoming everyone at our main office.