March 1, 2022

Alcott Newsletter
March 1, 2022

I hope that all of your children had a wonderful vacation!  Although snow in March in New England is a pretty common occurrence, it feels nice to know that spring is on the horizon!  Springtime at school can be a busy time of year and this year is no different!  I am excited to share that, after a two year hiatus, we are slowly and carefully starting to bring some Alcott traditions back!  In this newsletter, you will find information about some of these events as well as information about MCAS, Kindergarten registration and other topics!

Mask Mandate Lifted: As you have likely seen, the in-school mask mandate is going to be lifted, effective March 7th.  As of that date, wearing a mask will be optional for students and faculty.  We know that this news is welcome for some families and less so for others.  We expect that there will be students who continue wearing masks after March 7th while others will not.  We will support whatever you decide is right for your family and I encourage you to reach out to me if you have any questions.  When the mandate is lifted, we do still encourage participation in pool testing and the at home antigen test program.

MCAS: The MCAS testing window opens at the end of March this year.  All students in Grades 3-5 will take two sessions of ELA and two sessions of Math.  Students in Grade 5 take an additional two sessions of Science/Technology and Engineering.  This year’s MCAS schedule is below.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher,  Assistant Principal Ms. Olson or me.

Grade 3 ELA – March 28 and 29
Grade 4 ELA – March 31 and April 1
Grade 5 ELA – April 4 and 5

Grade 3 Math – April 28 and 29
Grade 4 Math – May 2 and 3
Grade 5 Math – May 5 and 10

Grade 5 Science – May 12 and 13

METCO Family Friends at the Frog Pond: The METCO Family Friends Committee organized another great outing for Alcott families last month.  The weather was incredible (almost too warm for ice skating!) and turnout was great!  I want to extend a huge thank you to the committee for coordinating and to all of the families who showed up on a Saturday for a great afternoon of fun and community building!

Book Fair: After a two year hiatus, Alcott’s PTG is going to be able to coordinate a book fair again!  Stay tuned for more information, but the fair is scheduled for the last week of March and we expect to be able to offer a Family Night as well!

Grade 5 Activities: This is another place where we are excited to be able to take some steps back to old traditions.  The Grade 5 Activity Committee is hard at work planning some end of the year festivities for our 5th graders.  One event that was put on hold for the last two years was the in person end of year ceremony.  I am pleased to report that we are going to be able to hold an in person ceremony for our 5th graders this year (currently with capacity limitations).

Kindergarten Registration: Kindergarten registration is currently open online.  If you have a rising kindergarten student, I would encourage you to enroll them soon.  Though, of course, we accept students at any time, it is helpful for planning purposes if we have this information earlier rather than later.  If you have any friends or neighbors who have a Kindergarten aged child, we would love it if you could let them know that enrollment is now open.  We will be hosting an in person Kindergarten Orientation Session in May and would love to reach as many new families before that date as possible!

Alcott Tours: We are aware that pandemic restrictions have prevented us from inviting families past the main office/health suite for more than two years.  For any family who joined Alcott after March of 2020, this means that they may have never stepped foot inside the school.  While restrictions still prevent us from bringing visitors into school while students are present, we are now able to have visitors when students are not present.  As such, I want to extend an invitation to any family who joined the Alcott community after the pandemic began to tour the school if they would like.  The building will be open for families to visit on the following afternoons: March 16th from 4-5pm or March 24th from 5-6pm.  This will not be a time for conferencing with teachers; however, it will be an opportunity for our newer families to finally familiarize themselves with Alcott’s amazing facilities.  Please use the following sign up so we can ensure the halls don’t get too crowded.  The PTG is planning other spring events including an evening Family Night at the book fair so there is no need to feel pressured to come.  There will be other opportunities to visit the school in the weeks and months to come!