9/14/21
Dear Rowe Families,
Thanks so much for your help in these first days of school. The children are settling in nicely and we are so happy to have everyone back at school. I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weather over the weekend. It’s exciting to have our first five-day week in a long while!
Masks
The children are allowed to play outside without their masks this year. If your child has a tendency to misplace masks, a break-away lanyard may help, especially when they are on the playground. This is a suggestion and may not work for everyone. I have noticed that some children are doing well keeping the mask on their wrists while playing. If you can continue to send at least one extra mask and preferably two in your child’s backpack, it is extremely helpful. We have a limited number available in the office for unexpected circumstances.
Attendance/absences
If your child is going to be absent or tardy, please be sure to email both the classroom teacher and our administrative assistant, Miriam Epstein. Her email is miriam_epstein@yarmouthschools.org. Emailing both the office and the classroom teacher will ensure that the message is seen in a timely manner.
Medical questions and concerns
Medical issues or questions should always be directed to our school nurse, Jennifer Chadwick. Please be sure to include her in email correspondence on health-related topics of any kind. Her email address is jennifer_chadwick@yarmouthschools.org.
Arrival times
School arrival begins at 8:25 and ends at 8:40. The duty staff has been staying out longer in the morning because buses and drop-offs have been later than usual due to construction on nearby roads. Buses have also been running slightly behind as everyone adjusts to new routes. Beginning next week, staff will come inside when the 8:40 bell rings. If you arrive after that time for drop-off, you must walk your child to the front door, ring the bell, and check-in with the office. Thanks for the help!
Dismissal
Our dismissal begins at 3:30 and ends at 3:45. If you arrive after that window, your child will be brought into the office to wait. We have been waiting outside for an extra 5 minutes at the end of the day due to increased traffic from road construction. We also recognize that some families are picking up at more than one school.
Quarantines
While we don’t like to think about quarantines, they may, unfortunately, be part of our reality in the near future. Rowe will support students who are on confirmed quarantines by assigning asynchronous work (to be completed on your own time frame) on iPads and/or paper-based assignments. All assignments and/or student iPads will be provided for pickup as soon as practicable after notification of a necessary quarantine. Families may request delivery of a device if the family is unable to pick it up from the school. For students requiring a prolonged quarantine of more than 3 days, students can expect to connect with an educator from the school virtually during that time period. Depending on the circumstances, it will likely be a staff person other than the classroom teacher providing the check-ins.
Attendance during quarantines
Students will not be marked absent but instead will be listed as attending remotely.
Family vacations
We have a planned family absence form that must be filled out for vacations taken on days when school is in session. This is provided by our office and can be emailed to you. We do not have the capacity to provide work or remote check-ins for students taking vacations while school is in session.
Pool Testing update
We are currently processing consent data and establishing our classroom pools. Our goal is to begin testing as soon as practical, testing a few classrooms in a pilot before rolling out to the entire school. If your child’s classroom is part of the pilot, you will hear from us very soon.
Below are additional facts and reminders on pool testing:
- Currently, we have a 45% participation rate at the Rowe School and anticipate at least one pool per classroom
- Pools will typically consist of 5 to 10 students (five is the minimum count to establish a pool)
- Pooled testing is optional; your child will not be required to participate even if they have consented.
- Support will be available to educate and assist children - including hand-over-hand assistance if needed.
- Our goal is for children in the pool to become able to self swab.
- The swab is a small q-tip and is only inserted into the nose 1/2 inch; you can practice using a q-tip with your children at home.
For reference, the video links below provide an example of a child demonstrating how to swab his nose. It might be helpful to share this with your child and have them practice at home with a Q-tip.
Lunchtime at school
This year, students are eating in the cafeteria with the exception of one class due to limited space. Children are seated three feet apart and are primarily with their own classroom cohorts. We are giving them regular reminders about staying as far away from others as possible when eating. Eating in classrooms was no longer achievable due to the lack of staff for supervision and class sizes with everyone back in school full time.
Dates to note:
- Monday, September 27th - School Picture Day
Thursday, September 30th - 6:00 PM - Rowe School Virtual Open House. Classroom teachers will be in touch with details.
Friday, October 8th- No School for students - Staff Professional Development Day
Monday, October 11th- No School, Indigenous People’s Day
Sincerely,
Susan Lobel, Principal
