Message to Families - April 1, 2021
Posted on: May 6, 2021 - 12:34pm
Dear Weymouth School Community,
Today marks the first day of April and (soon to be) Opening Day for the Red Sox, the beginning of a new baseball season. Things still look different from the way they once did, but the start of baseball brings a welcomed sense of normalcy.
Opening Day for five day in-person instruction begins this Monday, April 5 for all primary schools. As a reminder, Mondays will remain a half-day for the remainder of the school year. On Mondays, students will be dismissed early from in-person instruction, and will participate in asynchronous learning in the afternoon. The schedule for Mondays for all grade levels is as follows:
Half Day Mondays Schedule:
Monday half-day dismissal times have been adjusted to adhere to DESE learning requirements and transportation protocols. This change allows for 3 tiers of busing to service all our students. Changes to Monday dismissal times will remain in place until the end of the school year.
Should in-person learning temporarily revert to remote learning due to any COVID-19 safety protocol, the format for the half-day Monday schedule will remain the same. In that instance, students would participate in remote learning in the morning, and asynchronous learning in the afternoon on Mondays until in-person instruction is safe to continue.
To accommodate our primary schools as they welcome students back to 5 days per week of in-person learning, we are moving remote meal pickup operations to Weymouth High School only on Mondays from 11AM until 12:30PM, effective Monday, April 5.
Return to School (RTS) plans for grades 8-12, including dismissal times for the half day Monday, will be presented at the April 8 School Committee meeting. Additional information will follow in next week’s communication to families.
Please review the new attendance protocol effective as of next week. Please note, an additional section has been added for illness and/or those exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. Any student who has been advised by the nurse to stay home, or is sent home from school sick, may have temporary remote learning setup, but only after a 48 hour hold period. In the case that a student feels sick they should leave school to rest or receive medical attention. Temporary remote learning is an option if a student needs to be out of school for more than 2 days, with approval by the school principal, as the result of:
1. A required quarantine
2. A positive COVID-19 test result
3. An illness
I would like to again thank all of our families for their partnership, patience, and understanding as we continue to work through constantly evolving circumstances. As we continue to welcome back more students, it has become abundantly clear parents and caregivers have done an excellent job at home preparing our students for in-person instruction, and following safety protocols. Our students are doing an amazing job!
As state guidelines change, from lessening restrictions, to moving through vaccination eligibility, it is important that we continue to remind one another of COVID-19 safety protocols, how to interact safely, and to pay attention to our surroundings. We will continue to message our families, students and staff to stay vigilant to stop the spread of COVID-19. We will keep you apprised of all information related to the return to school (RTS) as we finalize plans for the remainder of the school year.
RTS information and resources are updated and available on our COVID-19 Information Center webpage. In addition to the information center, we have developed a COVID-19 dashboard to keep our families informed of positive cases and quarantine information in our schools and district. As a reminder, as of April 5 the district will no longer be sending out regular letters containing COVID-19 positive cases and quarantine information. Instead, families can find this information on the dashboard. In the case that a particular group, grade, or a school needs to revert to remote learning due to COVID-19 you will receive proper notification from your student’s school.
Our administrators, School Committee, principals, teachers, and entire school staff are beyond excited to begin welcoming our primary students back to five day in-person instruction next week for our very own “Opening Day.” As they say in baseball--- PLAY BALL!! (safely)
Thank you,
Kathleen Smith, JD
Superintendent