Chartwell School: The Bulldog Bark
From: The Administration Office
April 22, 2021
Note from Kate Mulligan
Dear Chartwell Families,
Writing to you from Seaside in the middle of a cloudy drizzle to provide some updates from our first official FULL WEEK back to school for on-campus learning for ALL students and faculty.
Our Chartwell students continue to do an excellent job adhering to our mask and social distancing protocols on campus. So impressed by them.
I spoke earlier in a recent parent tea about my concerns about how our pick-up line would go with the record number of students attending Chartwell this spring. In the morning, we have a 30 minute window for students to be dropped off, and that is going smoothly.
After a few days of observation and “settling in” we will be making a slight adjustment to the Friday AFTERNOON Pick-Up time for Lower and Middle School students. Starting this week, Lower and Middle School DISMISSAL on Fridays will be at 12:20 pm BEFORE LUNCH and recess. Pick-Up for High School students will be at 1:00 after lunch, or 2:00 for those staying for Art, Mountain Biking or Basketball.
The priorities of our traffic circle procedures at the beginning and end of the day are the following:
Safety
Adequate Supervision of children around traffic
Efficiency for parents, which means you are able to count on not waiting for an extended period of time in the car line. We know many of you have long drives home and/or other children to pick up at different schools, as well as coordinating drop-offs and meeting points for carpools..
Given the Friday time change described above, if you have a long drive home, you may want to pack a lunch for your student(s) to eat in the car on the drive. Lower and Middle School students in a carpool with HS students or with a HS sibling can bring a lunch and stay until HS pickup (we know who you are). :-)
Some reminders regarding drop off and pick up safety:
Please refrain from talking on your cell phone while driving in our traffic circle
Children should LOAD and UNLOAD on the passenger side of the vehicle and exit directly to the sidewalk. If they must enter or exit from the driver’s side, please wait for a Chartwell adult to assist.
Without passing other vehicles, please pull all the way forward as far as possible in the circle before stopping unless otherwise directed by a faculty or staff member.
Do not pass another vehicle and pull out into the inner lane unless directed.
All Lower and Middle School students must be picked up in the traffic circle.
High School students ONLY can be picked up in the lower lot at the end of the day dismissal.
High School students are NOT allowed to walk to a vehicle that is in line, cross the road and enter a vehicle that is waiting in the traffic line. You can pull into the lower lot and meet your child there. If you use the lower lot, please pull all the way up as far as you can go so other cars can enter behind you and not block outgoing traffic.
Thank you for your support and attention as we work together to adapt to our shifting circumstances and maximize student safety and student learning. Monterey is now in the Orange Tier of California’s reopening plan. When we get to the Yellow Tier, we will no longer be doing student temperature checks at morning drop-off. If the county announces an expectation for us to resume that practice in the future, we will let you know.
Sincerely,
Kate Mulligan
Head of School
School Schedule
Lower School: 8:30 am - 2:30 pm
Middle School: 8:30 am - 3:15 pm
High School: 8:30 am - 3:05 pm
LS/MS on campus from 8:30 am - 12:20 pm
HS on campus from 8:30 - 1:00 pm
HS Optional Afternoon Classes in Fitness, Biking, and Art: 12:45 pm - 2:00 pm.
Click on the Green Box Above for Zoom Link
Last Week of School Details
8th Grade Moving Up Ceremony: Wednesday, June 9 at 2:00 pm (following the 8th-grade lunch and yearbook signing) (Immediate family only; event will be live-streamed for extended family and friends)
Last Day for LS/MS: Thursday, June 10; HALF DAY with 12:20 pm dismissal.
High School Last Day: Friday, June 11
Final Project Presentations: 11:00 am
Family Picnic: 12:00 pm
Graduation Ceremony: 1:00 pm (Immediate family only; event will be live-streamed for extended family and friends)
More details forthcoming after spring break.
Important Dress Code Reminder
It is imperative that students arrive on campus with an outer garment for the top layer of clothing. It has been cold, so they can wear layers, but the TOP LAYER NEEDS TO BE THEIR COHORT COLOR. They can slide one of the t-shirts we provided over a sweatshirt if they wish. If you wish to purchase a solid-colored sweatshirt in their cohort color, here is a link to Target's website that offers them in all our colors for $14.59. Please make sure they arrive at school with their outer layer in their cohort color.
High School: Updates & Field Experience
- FIELD EXPERIENCE 4/30: NATURAL BRIDGES STATE BEACH in Santa Cruz, NEXT FRIDAY. We are again asking as many families as possible to drop off and pick up at the location. Drop-off is 9:30 AM. Pick-up is 1:00 PM. If you need your student to ride with a teacher from Chartwell to/from Natural Bridges, please email Ms. LeValley at alevalley@chartwell.org. Students should bring a lunch, shoes that can get wet AND sneakers, water bottle, and a warm sweatshirt or jacket. Students should wear cohort colors/shirts.
- PIZZA FRIDAY: Tomorrow is Pizza Friday at the high school. Pizza will be provided at no charge to HS students in their cohorts.
CLASSROOM SNAPSHOTS
Students in Mr. Colella's online STEAM classes have been experimenting with an electromagnet. They constructed the electromagnet using materials from a kit they received from Chartwell School. This picture shows Love S. testing her electromagnet. She attracted 27 paperclips!
This week Ms. Maras and Mr. Santos's Humanities class started to build The Golden Gate Bridge as a part of their unit on US Landmarks.
PARENT RESOURCES
Summer Camp Options
Recommit to the Chartwell Family Pledge
Returning to live school is not without risk. As a community, we must work together to foster the safety of our students, parents, faculty and staff. In light of the current statistics and increase in cases in California, we are asking our families to review and recommit to following specific community guidelines while we slowly and safely return to campus. Please review the below “pledge” and, for the safety of our faculty, students, parents, and community, uphold the following commitments on a daily basis:
Conduct a health and symptom screening before your child leaves home each day. Keep your child home when they are sick or exhibiting symptoms of general illness. If the temperature reads 100.4 or above, keep your child at home for the day. A temperature check will be done upon arrival at school, and students with temperatures in this range will be sent home.
Wear a mask or cloth face covering to minimize risks to others when out in public, and clean and sanitize them often.
Come to school directly from home, and return home after school, minimizing stops to essential errands when possible.
Limit your child’s outside of school engagement to only immediate family or students in the same cohort.
Wash hands frequently.
Avoid unnecessary travel this includes visits to or from family and friends in other parts of California, out of state, or out of the country. We will not accommodate students who miss school due to unnecessary travel.
If travel is necessary you must notify us and self-isolate for 10 days after traveling. Your child cannot come to school during this time.
Avoid all gatherings and events - especially those where people are not adhering to state and local safety guidance.
Self-report to Chartwell immediately if your child or a member of your household has been exposed to COVID-19.
Wear masks (adults and children) when carpooling, with windows open if possible. Masks are required to be double layered and cover the nose and mouth,
Abstain from the practice of providing fever reducing medicines for the purpose of sending your child to school.
Not following the guidelines of the Chartwell Family Pledge may put others at considerable risk. We ask all members of our community to embrace with positivity and an open mind the changes required this school year, understanding that because of COVID-19, our learning spaces, activities, and other events may look and feel different than in other school years.
If you do not feel you can follow these guidelines, we encourage you to continue with the online learning model. Thank you for being part of our community and working with us to bring our students back together, where they learn and grow best.
Chartwell Support Site
We encourage everyone to visit this site created by our STEAM Director, Topher Mueller. He is the mastermind behind the creation of our Distance Learning Platform. You will find the most up to date information regarding the 2020-2021 school year, answers to frequently asked questions, and technology tutorials to support distance learning from home.
Updated: Important Dates for the 20-21 School Year
2021
May 21: No Classes - Teacher In-Service
May 31: Memorial Day - No Classes
June 9 - 8th Grade Ceremony
June 10: Last day of school LMS; Transition Ceremony
June 11: Last day of school and Graduation for High School/ Retrospectives
Faculty Birthdays - April
Danielle Patterson - April 15
Rob Owen - April 16
Joseph Shannon - April 23
Questions?
If you have questions for us, please contact one of the following Chartwell Team Members:
Head of School, Kate Mulligan: kmulligan@chartwell.org
Director of Lower and Middle Schools, Jodi Amaditz: jamaditz@chartwell.org
Director of High School, Alyse LeValley: alevalley@chartwell.org
Director of Outreach and Family Engagement, Danielle Patterson: dpatterson@chartwell.org
Director of Campus Management and Safety, John Langrill: jlangrill@chartwell.org
Director of Advancement and Communications, Elena Mueller: emueller@chartwell.org
Technical Support: John Langrill at jlangrill@chartwell.org or Topher Mueller at tmueller@chartwell.org