Dear Greenwood Families,
Happy Monday! This week looks to be a very strange mix of up and down temperatures. I feel confident in speaking for all of us who spend lots of time in the school building when I say that we can hold off on the extended stretches of hot weather...anytime after June 18th would be just fine with us! All kidding aside, every day of nice weather is another day we can get kids outdoors, and that’s always a good thing.
Updates in Mask Procedures
As I’m sure everyone has seen, last week brought a number of announcements regarding adjustments to mask-wearing policies. While students and staff will continue to wear masks inside the school building at all times (except for lunch and distanced mask breaks), guidance has been updated to allow students to take their masks off while outside during recess or while in an outdoor learning environment, regardless of ability to distance. Adults must remain masked if unable to maintain distance. Everyone spent time late last week showing kids ways to keep from dropping/misplacing/losing their masks during recess, and the kids have been enjoying the fresh(er) air!
No School - Monday, May 31st
Next Monday, May 31st is Memorial Day, so there is no school for students or staff.
Grab & Go Lunches - June
Now that we have been back in school full time for an extended period of time, our lunch manager has enough data to consistently order the right amount of lunches without us needing to do the family survey. Don’t worry...we’re still providing lunches for anyone who wants them!
Flip-Flops
Within just this past week we’ve had a couple of instances where a student wearing flip-flops has had the thong part break away from the sole, making the shoe unwearable. At that point, our only option is to call home for someone to bring a new pair of shoes. While we are not saying students cannot wear flip-flops at all (some flip-flops are more durable than others), we want everyone to be aware of the potential issues.
End-of-Year Dates of Note
Just putting these dates out here as much as possible...
MCAS for Grades 3 & 4 (In-Person Model) - Monday, June 7th and Tuesday, June 8th
MCAS for Grades 3 & 4 (Full Remote Model) - Wednesday, June 9th and Thursday, June 10th
Incoming Kindergarten Virtual Orientation - Wednesday, June 9th (3:15-3:45pm)
Moving On Celebration for Grade 4 - Monday, June 14th
Last day of school for Kindergarten - Wednesday, June 16th (11:25am dismissal for K only)
Kindergarten Screening (for incoming K students) - Thursday, June 17th and Friday, June 18th
Last day of school for students in grades 1-4 - Friday, June 18th (11:25am dismissal)
Exact times and additional details for these will be communicated as they are finalized/confirmed.
Health Reminder - Stay Vigilant!
Thank you for supporting us in our efforts to keep everyone safe by practicing and promoting safety precautions, which include hand hygiene, mask-wearing according to current guidelines, 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.
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