Happy St. Patrick's Day. I hope that you and your families are doing well and following the guidelines set forth by the the City of Hoboken's Office of Emergency Management and Department of Health.

As we completed day two of "remote learning" our Office of Curriculum and Instruction, along with our teaching staff members are ironing our some wrinkles. Please be patient with us as we are embarking on the new journey along with all of you.

There are a few things that I would like to clarify. First, the Hoboken Public School's announced closure through March 27th with a return date of March 30th. In yesterday's press conference by the Governor, he announced that the end date of this "remote instruction" period and children not returning to schools, colleges or universities is deemed indefinite. Please understand that we are taking this one step at a time. Right now, we planned for a return date of March 30th. However, the ultimate voice on this will come from agencies above me. At this time, we are continuing to develop lessons up to our scheduled spring break. If we need them, they will be done. If we need additional weeks, we will plan for those as well. I assure you that I will keep you updated every step of the way.

Another question that I am getting has to do with the lessons that are outlined for Saturdays and Sundays. I am going to try to explain this. In order for the state to count our remote learning days toward the state's requirement of 180 days, we must follow the guidelines for "home instruction". Home Instruction may operate over a 7 day period. Therefore, we created 7 days worth of lessons. Since this confused some parents as to whether or not kids had to do school work on Saturdays or Sundays, I wan to take a moment and clarify it for all families. Students are to do the Monday through Friday lessons. The Saturday and Sunday lessons are to be deemed optional or extensions. If your child seems to be finishing work quickly, then by all means, you may have them continue on into the Saturday and Sunday lessons. If they are having some difficulty completing everything assigned each day, then Saturday and Sunday lessons would be considered an option or an extension. As the Office of Curriculum and Instruction works with teachers to design the next two weeks of lessons, this topic will be made very clear. For those who already emailed me about this, thank you for your patience.

Today, Hoboken's Mayor held a press conference. If you watched, you learned that Hoboken is instituting the practice of "self-isolation" to minimize non-essential movement about the city. It was determined that our food distribution, which is both a state and a federal requirement, will continue. If your family qualifies for free or reduced lunch, you may pick up both breakfast and lunch meals from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Hoboken High School's 9th Street Cafeteria Door.

At the end of last week, I had to submit our remote learning plan to the County Office. I did so and it was accepted. Over the weekend, I had to submit a presentation of our Preparedness Plan to the County Office. I included it below for your reference.

In today's edition of the Herald, I included today's daily message from our Supervisor of Early Childhood and our Principals. There is also a special video from Connors Elementary School Principal, Mrs. Addi. Be sure to view all of them. I also included a few more stories from our teachers, along with some health and wellness videos. Once again, Ms. Carrie Ellis' video on "breathing" is quiet powerful.

I encourage you to take time to review The Herald. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook too. I will be checking in with my Hoboken School District Families each day via the Herald. I hope that you will also check in with me. It would be great to send me some photos of your children hard at work. And, with permission, I will post them as well. Thank you for being the greatest district family that any Superintendent could ever hope for.

Stay well. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Johnson

1. Google YouTube
2. Click on Videos
3. Type in the Search Box: HPS Video Highlights
4. Click the red box to subscribe

Continue to check our channel daily for more stories. I have added those that have been uploaded so far below for your families viewing pleasure. More to come...

The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth online courses will remain active throughout the entirety of the district’s remote learning plan for grades 2 - 8. Therefore, there will still be 3 - 5 hours of required coursework to complete per week in order to meet the course ending deadlines for both the three-month and six-month course options.

You will continue to receive email communications on assignment completion, feedback and grades from your child’s Johns Hopkins CTY online course instructor. If you have any questions at all, he or she will remain the first point of contact in regards to CTY curriculum and coursework completion.

Ms. Tara Donnelly will continue to monitor all Johns Hopkins CTY emails at the Middle School level. If students or parents have questions, please reach out to her at Tara.Donnelly@hoboken.k12.nj.us. For all Grades 2 through 5 questions, please contact your building principal or Assistant Superintendent, Ms. Rodriguez-Gomez at srodriguez@hoboken.k12.nj.us.

Social Emotional Learning Resources for Schools

New Jersey Department of Education SEL Resources

CASEL’s Collaborating States Initiative Classroom Activities

ACT for Youth Center for Community Action SEL Toolkit

The Nemours Children’s Health System - Positive Learning and Health

PBS Learning Media

The NJ Department of Human Services operates a toll-free “warm line” which is a resource for people seeking mental health service. The warm line is activated during events that impact the mental health of New Jersey residents. The warm line is available 24 hours and has language access; (877) 294-HELP (4357). NOTE: The “warm line” does not replace 911 and is not used to report emergencies.