November 2, 2020

Principal’s Updates
November 2, 2020

It feels like I say this at the beginning of so many communications to families, but it bears repeating how grateful I feel every morning that I get to come to school in person!  I wasn’t sure how long school would remain open for in person learning, but I can tell you that making it to November feels like an incredible accomplishment.  A heartfelt thanks go out to all of the families, staff and students for doing their part to keep our community as healthy as possible so that our doors can remain open for as long as possible!  All of the steps you are taking to social distance, to remain home for even the mildest of symptoms, and to follow district protocol are paying off!

In the November Newsletter, you will find announcements about our 25th annual Turkey Trot as well as reminders about arrival, lunches, afternoon attendance and more!  As always, if you ever have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Turkey Trot: Plans are underway for our 25th Annual Turkey Trot.  What an amazing milestone to be celebrating!  Though it will be virtual this year, I am confident our Turkey Trot will still be a wonderful way for students to support the community during a time when support is much needed.  Please see the Turkey Trot page on the PTG website for more information.

Arrival: Thank you to all who adjusted your arrival time to ensure that you were not dropping students off before 8:50!  I have one additional reminder related to arrival.  When you get into the drop off line on Laurel Street, please remain in line until you arrive at the designated drop off location.  Please do not let students out on Laurel Street.  Once you arrive at the drop off location, please also make sure your child is exiting the passenger side door so that they exit directly onto the sidewalk.  The same holds true for dismissal – please have your child enter their car through the passenger side.

Bikes and Scooters: As anyone who bikes to school knows, we have far more students biking this year than last!  In order to maintain social distancing and accommodate the increase in bikes and scooters, students are leaving their bikes and scooters along the fence on Laurel Street.  We strongly encourage students to lock their bikes and scooters to the fence if they leave them during the school day.

Lunches: Our cafeteria staff are working hard to adapt to new constraints brought on by the pandemic.  Even so, they have managed to add pizza back into the weekly lunch rotation!  This year, school lunches are free for all and can be ordered on Nutrislice.

Afternoon Attendance: As you may have seen in Dr. Hunter’s email last week, participation in afternoon zooms and completion of asynchronous assignments is a mandatory component of the school day.  While we are able to frontload much of our daily instruction into the mornings, we need the additional time in the afternoon to teach everything, particularly in a year when we are filling in gaps from last spring’s closure.  If your child is struggling to participate in any of their afternoon sessions, please reach out to their classroom teacher or specialist teacher so that they can strategize with you around how to help your child access the full day of learning.

Remote Learning for Student Absences: Fortunately, with social distancing, masks and extra hand washing, we haven’t had nearly as many students home sick with run of the mill colds and viruses this year.  However, if you find that your child does need to stay home due to a mild illness, all classroom teachers have asynchronous morning plans that we can share with you.  Your child can work independently on current classroom assignments and then join their classroom for the afternoon’s regular remote program.  Of course, if your child is very sick, they should take a traditional “sick day” to rest and recover!

Winter Attire: As Friday’s October snow storm reminded us, we live in New England and our weather can be unpredictable!  As the temperature begins to drop, please make sure your child is coming to school with appropriate winter attire.

And last, but certainly not least, a note from Nurse Amante:

Dear Parents,

The Concord Public School District has changed the due date for the influenza (flu) vaccine to December 11, 2020.  This change was made to allow adequate time for nurses to review the documentation and notify parents, if out of compliance.

The influenza (flu) vaccine requirement applies to all Massachusetts students regardless of whether your student is receiving in person or remote learning instruction.  Please forward documentation to me after your child has received the flu vaccine.  You may email it to me, fax it to me at 978-318-9545, or have your child drop it off at my office.  The influenza (flu) vaccine is now due by December 11, 2020.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your support.

Best regards,
Paula Amante
Alcott School Nurse
Phone: 978-318-9544 Ext.2304
Fax: 978-318-9545
Email: pamante@concordps.org