Superintendent's Message
April 3, 2020
Dear Families:
Good Morning! Given the professional development day today, we wanted to share a number of options for students at every level should you be looking for things to do on a rainy Friday.
District-Wide Service Project
We have been working closely with Emerson and a number of residential facilities in town. We would love to have pictures, letters of thanks and encouragement, artwork, etc. to share with them so they know they are appreciated or thought of during this difficult time. Please consider sending photos or scans of student work to this email address so we can create presentations, messages, and other creative virtual ways of reaching out. Please know that anything submitted would be considered public and might be used in social media, etc. All work can be submitted to cccaresforall@gmail.com. This is an activity for students of all ages!
Special Events Today
1 pm Concord Middle School Student Assembly as mentioned in Mr. Cameron’s announcements
2 pm Elementary Storytime with Dr. Hunter, Mr. Lucey, Mrs. Charles, and Mrs. Krakow!
Live on Zoom and recorded for future viewing. The login information is found at the bottom of this email. 500 slots are available.
2 pm CCHS Administration Returns to WIQH!
Due to popular demand Mr. Mastrullo, Mr. Miller and Ms. Stahl are back! Call in at 978-369-2440. Listen at 88.3 FM or stream on WIQH.org
3 pm Virtual Coffee with the Superintendent and District Leaders
Our weekly information session will be held at 3 pm. Zoom information is found here: https://www.concordps.org/virtual-coffee-superintendent-friday-april-3-3-pm/
Resources for Other Learning Opportunities
Please peruse the extensive list of learning resources available for each grade level at: https://www.concordps.org/virtual-school-activities/
Have a great day!
Laurie
Elementary Storytime Login:
When: Apr 3, 2020 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Storytime
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://zoom.us/j/950507687?pwd=cy9kOUtram9pVnBHNndVbDZtOFVaQT09
Password: 261096
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +19292056099,,950507687# or +13126266799,,950507687#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 929 205 6099 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782
Webinar ID: 950 507 687
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/acaXz5pqM
April 2, 2020
Dear Families,
As you know, the school calendar calls for April vacation to occur from Monday, April 20, 2020 (Patriot’s Day) through Friday, April 24, 2020. When school closed on Friday, March 13, we immediately provided learning opportunities the following week without a break in academic activities. As a result, the April break will go on as scheduled. Our final day of school remains June 19, 2020.
We will provide supplemental resources and other options for families who wish to maintain a daily structure. We think, too, this will be a much needed relief for families where the academics are very challenging under the current circumstances. Either way, our goal is to support everyone in making it a positive, valuable week.
Other updates:
We still await final notification from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and state legislators regarding the plans for MCAS. As soon as we have that information, we will share it.
On Sunday, I will share an overview of our approach to learning beginning on Monday. We are making some revisions and maintaining what we feel is most effective.
The Concord Middle School Building Committee met last week via Zoom. In that meeting, we reviewed drawings of possible conceptual designs for the new school. This was a very exciting step so I’d encourage you to check out the video: Concord Middle School Building Committee Meeting March 25, 2020
Massachusetts General Hospital published a resource page for families focused on supporting children during the pandemic: https://www.massgeneral.org/psychiatry/guide-to-mental-health-resources/families-and-children
Another great example of members of the school community was highlighted in today’s Journal: https://twitter.com/concordjournal/status/1245677129553100800?s=12
This community’s generosity and kindness are extraordinary.
Best,
Laurie
April 1, 2020
Dear Families:
I don’t think we can enter April without acknowledging the two different worlds we experienced in March. Although it seems an eternity ago, it has been just a few short weeks since we were all running from one activity to another, trying to keep up with the hecticness that we all called normal. Now, we have learned to balance the challenges and benefits of found time: to do things we do not usually do, to have true quality time with our immediate family, and to be creative and satisfied with that. I wonder what incredible gifts we roll forward from this new normal to the previous one. I wonder too what we realize was not healthy and we do not put back into our daily worlds.
There are growing daily reminders of why we are not in school and the impact. We are slowly learning of illness either in homes within the school community or in the homes of those people love and care about. The expectation is for that to increase over the next few weeks. We must remember that this is why we are not together. We are also more and more aware of families in need of financial help. For many, the loss of jobs is real and having an immediate implication. For yet others, the conditions at home now include two working parents and young children. I can go on since there are so many variations on what people are experiencing. All of us are wrestling with the constant sense of crisis, loss, change and worry about what could happen. Things are not normal. The goals and expectations of education cannot be the same.
We are actively preparing for what we are calling “Phase 2” of our virtual learning efforts given the extended school closure. The details of this plan will be shared at the end of the week with implementation scheduled for Monday, April 6. In order for teachers to plan, collaborate, and organize for this, Friday, April 3, 2020, will be a professional development day.
Daily assignments will be postponed until Monday as will regular feedback or check-ins. We encourage families to explore the vast set of resources posted on the Supplemental Resource list at this link if you want to be academically oriented on Friday: https://www.concordps.org/supplemental-educational-materials/. There is rich, robust content on this list. We are also exploring creative ideas for engagement and connection to be shared on Friday morning. Thank you so much for the ongoing support as we reinvent every educational practice and process.
Other reminders and information:
A reminder that CMS is hosting a student assembly at 1 pm on Friday. Information is found here: https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?u=7951d82fd5c3ce61a9e4c27b0&id=17e009305b
The Massachusetts Health Council is sponsoring a COVID-19 Video Contest for Middle and High School Students. The request is for a 20-60 second video on the importance of social distancing and other MPDH guidelines. There is a $500 prize for the winning video!
https://mahealthcouncil.org/page/VideoContestFlyer
We will have another Virtual Coffee with the Superintendent on Friday at 3 p.m. The Zoom information is posted here: https://www.concordps.org/virtual-coffee-superintendent-friday-april-3-3-pm/
It was rewarding to see WCVB Channel 5’s Eyeopener highlight the school districts’ donations to Emerson Hospital this morning. Congratulations too to Concord mom Anna Travias who also organized a donation to Emerson! https://concord.wickedlocal.com/news/20200401/grand-effort-concord-resident-collects-1000-masks-for-emerson-hospital-to-fight-coronavirus
Among the positives to the situation is the sense of community and efforts to take care of one another. Thanks to everyone who furthers those efforts each day.
Best,
Laurie
April 1, 2020
Dear Families:
As we have for the previous two weeks, I will host a Virtual Coffee on Friday, April 3 at 3 pm. The Zoom information is found below. I hope you can join us.
Best,
Laurie
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Apr 3, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Super Virtual Coffee
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://zoom.us/j/720449956?pwd=ZTd2SU40V2l1SE56SHZtMnBuclFsZz09
Password: 815325
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +13126266799,,720449956# or +19292056099,,720449956#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833
Webinar ID: 720 449 956
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/acaXz5pqM
« Previous Page