December 5, 2020
Dear Rowe Families,
We hope you all enjoyed a nice November break. I am sure it was wonderful for you all to have the opportunity to slow down for a bit. Now that we have snow on the ground and the likelihood of consistent colder temperatures, please be sure your child comes to school with boots and snow pants. Even if much of the current snow melts, the added layer of warmth and protection from dampness on the playground that snow pants provide is crucial. As always, please be sure to write your child’s name inside of boots, snow pants, coats, and hats.Thanks in advance for your help!
Hybrid model
I would like to recognize the teaching staff at our school for all of the work they have done to balance remote and in person teaching. The hybrid model is working well overall and we are very grateful to have the children with us two days per week. Teachers have intentionally been providing a combination of virtual and paper/pencil tasks in an effort to reduce the amount of screen time for our young learners. We recognize that teaching your child at home presents many challenges. Students at the K/1 level need a great deal of adult guidance because they are not yet ready to work independently for long periods of time. Please reach out directly to your child’s teacher if you have questions or need guidance with any aspect of at home learning.
New iPads
It is very exciting that as of this past week, both kindergarten and first grade students have now been issued new iPads! Our old devices were definitely in need of replacement. The first grade students working remotely will receive their iPads later this week. I want to recognize our tech integrator, Todd Abbott, and our teachers who have worked hard to get the new devices up and running. We are still working on a few glitches and appreciate your patience as we get everyone up and running smoothly.
Clarification on remote work
While we recognize there has been a steady increase in community and school cases of COVID-19, students are still expected to be present for their in-person learning days. With the exception of students who the school or CDC has deemed as close contacts and are required to quarantine, staff are not expected to provide remote work for students who are not present due to illness or parent choice. As much as we would like to keep our students connected and learning, we simply do not have the capacity within our staff to accommodate the additional layer of planning and preparation that is required to offer remote experiences to any student who is absent on any given day. As such, if your child is out for illness, please contact the main office to report the absence. If your child is going to be out for personal reasons, please be sure to fill out a Planned Family Absence form linked here and return it to school with your child.
PTO News:
· Hannaford Gift Cards – Next load is Tuesday, Dec 8 by 12 pm. Forms will be sent home.
· Giving Tuesday is an international day of charitable giving at the beginning of the holiday season. If you’d like to consider the PTO with a charitable gift this year, you can donate at https://givebutter.com/ACXAzD or send a check to Yarmouth K-8 PTO at P.O. Box 262, Yarmouth. We understand that those who are able to give may have many organizations they’d like to help this season. We truly appreciate any support our parents give through their time, interest, or donations - any day of the week!
· Parent Ed Event – On Jan 26, 6:30-8pm, we will hold a virtual parent education night with Anne Marie Read, a parenting education instructor from Washington state who works extensively with families on a range of parenting topics. We invite you to share the topics you’re most interested in learning about for this event. Using your input, we will determine the subject matter of the event and share it with you next month. You can select from a list of suggested topics or write in your own ideas here.
· Make It Take It Craft Fair – Since we can’t gather this year, we compiled a few gift ideas that students can make for family and friends. We hope your children enjoy making these simple crafts for the holidays: Make-It Take-It - At Home: Craft Ideas.
· School Directory – We will let you know as soon as our online PTO School Directory is ready to use. We are waiting to receive contact information of opt-in families (those who agree to share their info with the PTO). Families who do not opt-in will not be in the directory. Digital forms that will allow you to opt in if you wish to do so will be coming to you from administration. This year, we will again provide both an online (no charge) and printed directory ($6-$7 depending on number of orders). We’ll keep you posted on next steps to take once we receive family data.
· PTO Meeting – Please feel free to join us at our next meeting on Thursday, Dec 10 at 4 pm. A virtual meeting link will be on our Facebook page and website closer to the date.
· Questions about any of the above can be sent to Christy Hayashida and Jessica Raimy at yarmouthpto04096@gmail.com.
Yarmouth Education Foundation (YEF) News
Are you searching for a holiday gift for a Yarmouth educator? Yarmouth Education Foundation Clipper Honors is back! This December, YEF is partnering with Clayton’s Cafe. Donate $25 or more to YEF in honor of an educator, and your honoree will receive a certificate of appreciation, a note from your family, and a gift card to Clayton’s!
It’s simple. Place your order online (yarmoutheducationfoundation.org) by 12/14/20, and YEF volunteers will take care of the rest. Educators will receive their gift from your family before winter break. It is a thoughtful way to honor our amazing teachers, administrators, support staff, bus drivers, and more. Thank you!
Important dates:
Wednesday, December 23rd - Friday, January 1st - Winter break
Students return to school on Monday, January 4th for Cohort 1 and Tuesday, January 5th for Cohort 2
Monday, January 18th- No school in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday
Sincerely,
Susan Lobel, Principal
