Lucille M. Nixon School
from the principal
December 9, 2020
Dear Nixon Families,
In these last couple weeks, hope and optimism have been restored that science is indeed going to win in this battle with Covid-19, and it won’t be so long before we are offered the opportunity to line up and get vaccinated. In these same weeks, the increasing numbers of cases and hospitalizations in our county have necessitated a return to greater restrictions in our normal lives. It will not be a smooth ride to the end of this pandemic, but we should appreciate how well we are all coping.
As I have written before, it has been a pleasure to work with our teachers as they have taken each challenge in stride and collaborated within our school and with colleagues across the district to figure out new ways to teach so students could go on learning despite the limitations of our situation. We are going to be making another adjustment in our instruction for hybrid 1st through 5th grade students as we return in January after winter break. (Hybrid kindergartners will not be impacted by this change.) On the days that students are at home, the children will spend less time on zoom with the class and more time working independently on activities and assignments that their teachers set up for them. This change will bring us into alignment with all of the other PAUSD elementary schools. You have trusted us all along this journey and I am asking you to trust us once again. Our hybrid teachers are absolutely committed to making this new version of the “at home” days work for their students. The teachers will share ways that you can support students at each of the grade levels. Back in March I expected that the pandemic might last a few months at the most. We are well past that now, and we know that we can do more than we thought we would need to do at the start of this. Please help your children to be proud of themselves and all the new ways that they are managing to do school. Encourage them to take on new challenges with effort and perseverance, resourcefulness and a healthy sense of humor!
As promised in November, parents have an opportunity at this time to request a change in your child’s learning model (distance learning verses hybrid). I ask you to think carefully before making this request. Many of our students have already changed teachers once during this school year. You will not be able to request a particular teacher nor a particular hybrid cohort. Changes will only be made where there is space available in classes, so there is no guarantee that we will be able to fulfill all of the requests. If you want your child to continue in their existing classroom with their teacher, you do not need to fill out anything or communicate to your child’s teacher or to me. All students presently enrolled in our classes will be able to stay where they are. Students whose parents request a change will be added to an existing class if there is space to make the change.
We are in a holiday season that is different from the way most of us would like it to be. As is the case with so much in our lives right now, we must distill the essence of what is important and focus on that. We make holiday memories with our families each year and this one will stand out from others no matter what we do. Let’s try to make some joyful memories that bring smiles to our faces and our hearts when we recall them in the post-Covid future!
Take care,
Mary Pat
For Families Interested in a Learning Model Change for the Remainder of the 20/21 School Year
In November, Dr. Austin wrote in his weekly update that principals would share the process for requesting a learning model change to begin in January. Please know that changes in learning models will be based on space availability and will be the final class placement for the 20-21 school year. If you are interested in a learning model change, please complete the Google Form linked below by Monday, December 14 at 5 pm.
- Complete the Google Form requesting a change in learning model by 12/14/20 at 5 pm. https://forms.gle/bQdPjFVSMxfmjE2g6
- Parents will receive notification by Friday, 12/18/20, pending availability, of their child’s new placement.
- New class assignments will begin on Thursday, January 7, 2021, and are considered the final placement of the 20/21 school year.
- Please note that principals may be required to prioritize placement for students with academic and/or social-emotional needs should space availability be limited.
Educational Tech. Platforms and Tools
Understanding the multiple tools students use for distance learning can be challenging. The resources provided on the PAUSD website, Supporting Learning at Home on the Educational Technology: Platforms and Tools page, are intended to give parents and guardians an introduction to the most important learning tools in PAUSD including Infinite Campus, Schoology, Zoom, Clever, and Seesaw (PK-3rd grade). Every day students should begin school by logging on to Rapid Identity, PAUSD’s single sign-on portal, at id.pausd.org. Parents and guardians should also access all PAUSD tools and apps from id.pausd.org as well. For technology questions or support please submit help tickets through Let’s Talk from the PAUSD website: https://www.pausd.org/school-life/participate/lets-talk.
Registration for the 2021-2022 school year opens on January 4, 2021.
Families with children who are not currently enrolled with PAUSD, and want to enroll a child to attend a PAUSD school starting in August 2021, must follow all the instructions at the PAUSD Enrollment web site starting on January 4: www.pausd.org/Enrollment. If you have any questions about if you should enroll your child, please send an email to RegistrationServices@pausd.org.
Lucille M. Nixon School
Email: moconnell@pausd.org
Website: lmnixon.org
Location: 1711 Stanford Avenue, Stanford, CA, USA
Phone: 650-856-1622