Dear Greenwood Families,
Welcome to February! We have two busy weeks ahead of us before we have a little breather with February vacation week. While we faced difficult times in January, I want to once again say how grateful the entire Greenwood staff is to have such a wonderful family community. The outpouring of support and comforting words cannot be understated, and it is an important aspect of why Greenwood is a great place to be.
Mid-Year Specialist Switch
Starting on Monday, February 1st, students at Greenwood will begin having Art class with Mrs. Drago and Music class with Mrs. Brighenti during their specialist times. The schedule remains exactly the same as it was during the first half of the year—there are just new Zoom links for the new teachers. The classroom teachers have those posted in their Google Classrooms. Students have also been invited to join the Google Classrooms for Art and Music, and the Zoom links are there as well.
Grab & Go Lunch Survey—February
Last I checked, we had about 30 survey responses regarding February lunches. That’s a little lower than it has been, so If you haven’t yet filled this out, here is the lunch survey for February. Please fill one out for each child who will be taking a lunch on any given day.
Snow Day Schedule
Even though it’s bright and sunny as I write this, I’m sure you’re all aware of the snow system heading our way for Monday into Tuesday. If we are unable to come into school for our hybrid learning day, we will have a remote learning day and follow that schedule for hybrid cohorts. Families in the Full Remote model will continue on their usual schedule.
WEF Virtual Family Trivia Night
Instead of the Adult Spelling Bee, the Wakefield Educational Foundation is changing things up this year and holding a Virtual Family Trivia Night on Friday, March 5th! WEF has done so much to support our schools and depends on these types of events to raise money to continue that work. Check out the flyer for more details.
Counseling Resources
Over the past two weeks, there have been some resources shared out for those who might be interested in accessing additional support as we continue to process the tragic loss of Pam Wood. I’ve included them below. Please know that you can also reach out directly to me or Jenny Beardslee, our School Psychologist, as well for questions, support, or help accessing additional resources.
Barbara Dwyer-Heidkamp
Barbara is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and longtime resident of Wakefield who reached out upon hearing of Greenwood’s loss. She has volunteered to offer counseling support to teachers, parents, and/or students.
Phone: 781-621-8040
Email: Barbaradh.lmhc@gmail.com
Riverside Trauma Center - Larry Berkowitz, Director
The Riverside Trauma Center helps people recover from the overwhelming stress caused by traumatic events through community outreach, consultation, and counseling.
Phone: 888-851-2451
Website: http://riversidetraumacenter.org/
Email: lberkowitz@riversidecc.org
Mass Support (through Riverside Trauma Center)
A crisis counseling program focused on free community outreach and support services to people of all ages in response to the COVID-19 health crisis. Website includes a mental health screener, tip sheets, and videos.
Phone: 888-215-4920
Website: www.masssupport.org
Health Reminder
Once again, we are reminding everyone to support us in our efforts to keep everyone safe by practicing and promoting safety precautions, which include hand hygiene, mask-wearing, social distancing, and avoiding group gatherings and travel to high-risk states where the rates of transmission are high (here is a link to the MA Travel Guidelines, in case a need to travel out of state arises). We are also asking for you to keep children home if they are experiencing any of the following symptoms:
Fever of 100.0 or higher, and/or chills
Cough (not due to other known cause such as chronic cough, asthma, allergies)
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Headache when in combination with other symptoms
Muscle aches or body aches
Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
Fatigue when in combination with other symptoms
Nasal congestion or runny nose when in combination with other symptoms and not due to other known causes such as allergies
Unusual rash when in combination with other symptoms
Our school nurse, Mrs. Doherty, is always happy to answer any questions you may have or provide clarification.
Technology Support
Please email the WPS Tech Department at technology@wpsk12.org if your child is in need of technology support while at home.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with questions. Thank you for everything you do to support your children and their learning!
Tiffany Back