April 1, 2021

Alcott Monthly Newsletter – April 2021

Happy Spring!  We are in the final stages of preparing to bring all students back to full days of in person learning.  As such, this month’s newsletter is filled with information and updates about our return on Monday, April 5th.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out at any time!

Devices: Laptops, iPads and chargers should be returned to school on April 5th.  Once we return to full days, devices will be stored at school.  We are also asking students to bring a pair of headphones.

Supplies: Students should start bringing their remote learning supplies (art materials, books, etc) back to school so that they can use them in the afternoons while they are in person.

Extra Masks: We are recommending that kids bring extra masks in their backpacks.  It is likely that kids will need to change their mask at least once or twice during a full school day.

Lunch and Recess: We are committed to sending students outside for lunch and recess unless weather absolutely prohibits it.  Your teachers will give you specifics about what your child will need to bring for this time period, but it will certainly include a bag for carrying lunches and belongings outside.  As the weather gets warmer, we would also encourage you to include hats and sunscreen in the items that you send in for the lunch and recess block.  If indoor lunch is necessary, students will remain seated six feet apart.  An adult will do a read aloud or show a school related video to deter talking while students are unmasked.

Sample Afternoon Schedule: To clarify some questions about what afternoons will look like after April 5th, I want to share a sample schedule with families.  Of course, it will vary from class to class, but this should give you a sense of what to expect:

Specials: All specials will continue to be taught using the zoom platform. All children will attend a 20 minute zoom session with the specialist and and complete 25 minutes of asynchronous work using Seesaw (K-2) or Google Drive (3-5).

Instrumental Music: Per Dr. Hunter’s March 31st letter:

• All fourth grade students will participate in the general music activities with their homeroom class, including those students who usually participate in band and orchestra.

• Band and orchestra teachers  will continue to post content and practice goals on the Google Classrooms.

• Band and orchestra teachers will coordinate additional (outside-of-school) Zoom opportunities for 4th and 5th grade students to continue playing their instruments at home – dates will be forthcoming.

Pooled Testing: We continue to recommend that as many students sign up for weekly asymptomatic pooled testing as possible.  This is a great way to mitigate the spread of the virus once we return fully in person.  Currently, Alcott has about 62% of students signed up.  Our goal is for at least 75% of students to participate.

Transportation: Updated bus lists have been posted to the district’s website.  If you completed the survey requesting to be reassigned to a bus, please check here to see if transportation was able to accommodate your request.

Dismissal:  As we move to a full day schedule, we will be adjusting our dismissal time to 3:30 PM.  If the new schedule means your child will be changing his or her after school plans, ie taking the bus, walking, attending Concord Rec, please let the homeroom teacher know.

Play Structures: The play structures will be used on a rotating basis during recess.

• Recess on the playground will be monitored by the adult assigned to that particular class

• Masks will be worn at all times when using play structures

• Students will wash/sanitize immediately before entering structure area

• Students will wash/sanitize immediately after leaving structure area

Parent Volunteers:  While we are currently exploring ways in which we can welcome our parents back to campus, access to the interior of school by visitors including parents continues to be extremely limited. Parent meetings with school staff will continue to be conducted virtually.

Lunch Ordering Information: If you are interested in ordering lunch through the school now that students will be attending full days, you can find the information on ordering below.  Lunch remains free for all students this year.

NutriSlice is our contactless ordering system available on both desktop, and mobile platforms. There will be no in-person ordering or payment at this time.

• Please create your students accounts here

  • You will need your students lunch ID # to complete the profile. If you or your student does not remember theirs, or if you are a new student to the district, please email bmacknight@concordps.org

  • When ordering, please be sure that you are selecting the appropriate building for your student(s). Menus are published and ready for your review.

  • Ordering can be done daily by 8:00 am day of attendance, as well as 5 days in advance.

  • If you would like to order more than one meal to cover days that your student will be learning from home, please put that note into the order for the day your student will be physically present. There is a “notes” section where this can be added.

  • Feedback mechanisms on NutriSlice, we encourage you to rate and provide feedback on meals so that we can learn and improve our services to better fit your needs.

Travel Reminder: The Governor’s recent announcement regarding travel will not impact our travel protocol.  With the upcoming April vacation corresponding to a full return at middle and high schools, testing upon return from travel will ensure positive cases do not enter any of the school environments when we open.