As you are likely aware, there will be changes to the mask policy beginning on Monday, February 28, 2022. Please read below for several important reminders and updates related to this important change.
Please also remember that there is no school next week, due to the February vacation. Have a great vacation and we will look forward to seeing you on February 28th!
Best,
Amy McDonald, Principal
Mask Policy Updates
As Dr. Pires communicated on Wednesday, during the school committee meeting on Tuesday, February 15, following his recommendation, the school committee voted to align the Medway Public School’s practices with the recommended guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In doing so, they adopted a new policy regarding face coverings. The policy can be reviewed here. Per the decision made by the school committee, effective Monday, February 28, masks will no longer be required in our schools. It is important to note that unvaccinated individuals are strongly encouraged to continue mask-wearing.
There are some important caveats to the newly adopted guidelines:
Mask wearing will continue to be required on school buses and in school nurses’ offices per Federal Guidelines
Indoor mask wearing following a required 5-day quarantine following a COVID positive diagnosis is still required per state guidelines.
For athletic competitions, theatrical, musical, or other events, rules for mask-wearing will be specific to the district/school or site that hosts the event. With Medway’s approval to move to optional masking, masks will not be required at Medway-sponsored events.
Additionally, it is important to note that other mitigation strategies that we have in place will continue to be important. Specifically:
Building Ventilation systems will continue to be maintained with the highest level of filtration and air exchanges.
Classrooms will continue to keep their doors open and use window ventilation to support clean air exchanges
Classroom and common spaces will continue to utilize individual HEPA filters
Symptomatic testing will still be available in all of our schools with parent consent.
Weekly COVID PCR pooled testing will continue to be in place for the near future, but will likely phase out in light of its waning usefulness.
Families may still opt into our bi-weekly rapid antigen home testing program. Families interested in signing up for this program must opt-in by completing the Opt-in Form. The next test kit distribution will take place on Thursday, March 3. In order to receive a test kit in this distribution, families must opt-in by Monday, February 28.
Supporting your Masking Decision
The conversation around mask wearing has been divisive and contentious at times, not only in Medway, but nationally as well. We all understand mask wearing is a personal decision families will make based on a number of factors. It is also important to note that we have students in our preschool who are not eligible for a vaccine. Therefore, we fully comprehend this news will be a welcomed relief for some students and families and anxiety provoking for others. Whatever your decision for your child is, we will support your child within our schools.
Faculty and staff have worked diligently over the last two days to prepare students for this change in policy. During morning meeting we have talked about how masking in school will soon be a personal and family decision. Teachers have reminded students there are a number of reasons students and families may make this decision. We have also specifically talked about not calling attention to students either wearing/not wearing a mask. Here is a Social Story we shared with students. We will continue to support students in understanding the new landscape of COVID-19. Our core value of relationships characterized by trust and mutual respect will be an anchor in our conversations with students over the next few days and coming weeks.
With some students wearing masks and others not, some students may feel like they are in a difficult position to comply with family preference. We ask that families talk with their student(s) about their family masking decision. If your family has a strong preference for your child to wear a mask, and you have significant concerns about your child not wearing their mask in school, please email your child's teacher directly to make them aware. You do not need to email the teacher if your child will not be wearing a mask or if you feel mask wearing can be supported with conversations at home. It is reasonable that you may decide to have your child wear a mask when returning on 2/28, and then change your mind to not have your child wear a mask in the following weeks. We just ask that families do not "flip flop" their decision multiple times as this will make it very challenging for faculty and staff to keep track of and appropriately manage. This consistency will also help your child understand your expectations and follow them with success.
Please keep in mind, our teachers’ main priority is maintaining a safe learning environment and engaging students in learning. Our focus will be on teaching, learning, and providing your amazing students with enriching and engaging school experiences. We want students to continue to develop supportive relationships with teachers and staff, and do not want these relationships compromised because of constant mask wearing reminders. If your choice is to have your child wear a mask, teachers will do their very best to remind students to keep the mask on. If a child is needing frequent reminders, we will reach out to you to problem solve together.
Returning to our normal practices
It is important for families to know that while mask wearing will be optional, we are maintaining some of our other structures, for the short term. Our eventual goal is to return to normal pre-pandemic practices. We recognize this will take time, diligent planning, and explicit instruction for our students.
Our tentative plan is to move away from physical distancing beginning the week of March 14th. This means students would not need to maintain 3 feet of distance from their peers, faculty, or staff. Students would be able to gather on the rug, work in small groups more consistently, sit in clusters with peers, etc. When we end our physical distancing practices this will also include breakfast and snack time which currently take place in the classroom. We are mindful that many of our neighboring districts have not distanced at all this academic year and we feel this is the appropriate time to transition. We will take the two weeks after vacation to teach students routines, structures, and practices so that they are prepared once these additional changes occur.
Lastly, our hope is to return to a single cafeteria towards the end of March. We recognize that there may be a need to have alternate plans for students who have individual health plans or if students are anxious about this move. So few of our students have experienced a single cafeteria experience, so we also recognize we will need to teach students how to manage this space and feel comfortable eating in this environment with peers.
These plans are, of course, tentative, as we follow the data, but our hope would be to return to these normal practices as follows:
March 14: eliminate physical distancing
End of March: move to singular cafeteria
COVID 19 Dashboard
Dear Allied Arts Families,
The Allied Arts Team (Wellness, Music, Art and Science) will be hosting Open House events for the McGovern School! Mark your calendars:
PreK families
May 4th, 3:30-4:15
Kindergarten families
May 4th, 5:30-6:30
First Grade families
May 18th, 5:30-6:30
More information will be shared as we get closer to the date, but we wanted you to mark your calendars for these fun upcoming events! Please reach out with any questions!
Brad Shoenfelt, Wellness
Elyssa Glassman, Music
Emma Wallace, Art
Stephanie Fogaren, Science
Kindergarten Registration
You can find important information and events leading up to kindergarten in this document, the Road to Kindergarten. Finally, please mark your calendars that we will offer kindergarten camp from July 11-15, 2022. We will send more information out in the coming weeks, but wanted you to have the date for your summer planning purposes.
Welcome to Kindergarten Night!
We hope to "see" you there!
Extra Clothes for Mrs. McKay
Additionally, if you are cleaning your closets this week, we would be happy to take clothes your child has outgrown (long pants, shorts, long sleeved shirts, short sleeved shirts). Mrs. McKay often uses these items, for various reasons. Thanks in advance!
Attendance
- develop healthy life habits
- feel more connected to peers and adults
- have a higher self image
- are more able to take risks
- thrive academically
- are more likely to be on benchmark in all content areas
- have a lower likelihood of dropping out of high school
Attendance in the Early Grades: Why it Matters for Reading is a valuable read for all parents. Although it was published in 2014, the research on the impact of attendance on literacy still stands today. Please see the below graphic for important research findings on reading proficiency by 3rd grade.
Being in a pandemic has certainly impacted students' attendance. However, we are hopefully on the other end of this and moving to more "normal" times. As you may know, the state does require schools to track attendance closely. We will reach out to students that have missed 5 or more days of school via an "Attendance letter." The intention of this letter is to work with families through open dialogue to create a plan and ensure students are coming to school so we can educate them.
It is easy to think, "Oh it's just preschool/kindergarten/first grade..." but as you can see from the picture below, attendance has a tremendous impact on developing literate children by the 3rd grade. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. We plan to send attendance letters home on February 15, 2022 via the mail.
Focus Groups for MA Preschool Families
I wanted to share this message regarding an opportunity for Massachusetts preschool families:
We are looking forward to meeting with family members of Massachusetts preschool children to learn more about how preschools can support children's social and emotional development during this challenging time. DESE wants to hear from all families, including families of children with individualized education programs (IEPs).
If you would like to participate or would like more information, please complete this brief form - https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6682583/Family-Voice-Focus-Group-Interest-Form
All information will be protected from disclosure and will only be used for purposes of recruiting family members and describing the group that participated in the project.
If you have any questions about this form or about the focus groups please contact Zach Weingarten at zweingarten@air.org.
- To be eligible to participate, you must be a family member of a child who attends a public preschool in one of the school districts listed in the survey.
Allied Arts Spotlight
This week Kindergarten created patterns with colors, shapes, and pictures. We looked at Romero Britto's art and noticed the patterns he added to his hearts and then students created their own patterned hearts.
First grade continued learning about texture and were introduced to implied texture. Students learned about how artists use lines and shapes to show how something might feel. They drew animals and thought carefully about how the lines and shapes could show what it would feel like to pet the animal.
Pre-K created textured hearts by crumpling up tissue paper and pinching and tearing.
Did you know that Ms. Wallace has an amazing website that she updates weekly. It is organized by grade level and showcases projects and student work. You can find it by clicking here.
Weekend Grocery Program
School Safety and Security Update: CHANGE OF DATE
We are pleased to invite families to join us for a webinar focused on Safety and Security. This event will highlight the district’s efforts to date and also provide a look forward as we continue to engage in efforts to maintain the highest level of attention on these vital practices. This informational event had previously been part of our regular communication plan and the COVID-19 pandemic impacted our information sharing. We hope that you will join us on Monday, March 14, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. This is a change of date. Please pre-register for this webinar here.
The Voices of Scientists
Important- Please Complete
School Banking Program
On Wednesday mornings, students can stop by the lobby and "deposit" their money with a bank employee. This will be a quick and efficient process. This program is a great opportunity to take the first steps in real-life financial literacy by teaching our students about a savings account at a young age. You can view this School Banking Video or this flyer about the program.
If you have any questions about the program or how to open an account please reach out to Ann Sherry from Charles River Bank at asherry@charlesriverbank.com
Breakfast and Lunch
Every child needs a healthy, nutritious meal to learn. Medway Public Schools offers nutritious meals to children each school day and breakfast and lunch will continue to remain free of charge through this school year. Please be sure to check out the menu here to ensure your child likes what is being served that day. You can find the menus by clicking on this link.
Communication
Important Dates!
Feb 21-25: No School, Winter Vacation
Feb 28: Start of Optional Mask Wearing
March 4: Arena Day, no preschool
March 11: Early Release Day, dismissal 12:00 PM
March 13: Daylight Savings Time, turn clocks ahead 1 hour
March 14: Tentative start of no physical distancing
March 21: MEPTO meeting, 7:00-8:00 PM
March 30: School Site Council Meeting, 3:20 PM
End of March: target date for singular cafeteria
April 1: Arena Day, no preschool
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