2 Parsons Street

Northampton, Massachusetts 01060

413-587-1460 (phone) 413-587-1474 (fax)

Dr. Beth N. Choquette, Principal bchoquette@northamtpon-k12.us

Elizabeth Peterson, Administrative Assistant epeterson@northampton-k12.us

Jordan Celino, Secretary jcelino@northampton-k12.us

Nora DeJasu, Head Teacher ndejasu@northampton-k12.us

Would you like this news letter translated? Here are the steps to have it translated:

At the top of the weekly email, there's a link that reads "View it in your browser," click that and it takes you to the post on a webpage.

Scroll to the bottom where there's a black menu bar and pick the option that says "Translate."

Select the language you would like it translated in and it will then translate it on the webpage.

Le gustaría traducir esta carta de noticias? Aquí están los pasos para traducirlo:

En la parte superior del correo electrónico semanal, hay un enlace que dice "Verlo en su navegador", haga clic en eso y lo llevará a la publicación en una página web.

Desplázate hacia la parte inferior donde hay una barra de menú negra y elige la opción que dice "Traducir".

Seleccione el idioma en el que desea traducirlo y luego lo traducirá en la página web.

Good afternoon, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We managed to miss any significant amounts of snow here in the Berkshires, but we did get an inch or two.

I would like to thank all of our faculty and staff who made our return to in-person learning last week a success. From breakfast outside to socially distant lunches, our students and staff were amazing! The behind the scenes work of our transportation and food departments really paid off. Thank you, especially to Tina Chapman for serving everyone breakfast outside in the morning. It is so nice to work with such amazing and dedicated people. I am also super proud of our kids. They adjusted so well to the changes in the building and our safety precautions. I am so excited to see them again this week and to welcome our 2nd and 3rd grader back to the building on December 14th.

Speaking of the return of our 2nd and 3rd graders. This Thursday and Friday, December 10th and 11th will be teacher work days to prepare for in-person learning for our 2nd and 3rd graders on the 14th. Therefore, there will be no in-person or synchronous learning for all grades 2 and 3 students on Thursday and Friday. This includes ALL 2nd and 3rd grade students.

For 2nd and 3rd grade caregivers, please review the attachments for more information on the return of your children, If you have any questions regarding in-person learning, please feel free to reach out to me this week.

Report cards will be sent home on Friday, December 11th. If you have any questions or concerns regarding report cards, please contact your child's teacher.

As a reminder, students should come to school with their Chromebooks and chargers, face masks, and water bottles.

Finally, as the weather gets cooler and we begin to see snow, students will need warm coats, snow pants, hats, gloves, and boots. Students are not allowed to play in the snow without snow pants or boots. We do have a clothing borrowing area for students to borrow clothes if they forget theirs. If you do not have any and need assistance, please call me or our adjustment counselor, Laurie Sperry. We will be happy to help.

Thank you and have a wonderful week.

Hello 2nd and 3rd Grade Caregivers,

I wanted to let you know that we have figured out which hybrid classes will be here on Mondays and Tuesdays, and which classes will be here on Thursdays and Fridays. I realize that these days may not be what you had originally hoped for, and I so hope you can work things out in your families. I did my best to have siblings on the same day as well as students who are in caregiver pods on the same day. A priority was also to keep your child with their current teacher.

Thank you for your ongoing patience and support during these challenging times.

2nd Grade Nagle/Copperansky will be hybrid (in-person) on Monday and Tuesday.

2nd Grade Bunnell will be hybrid (in-person) on Thursday and Friday.

3rd Grade Thacker will be hybrid (in-person) on Monday and Tuesday.

3rd Grade Junno will be hybrid (in-person) on Thursday and Friday.

Mrs. Ruyffelaert will be the 3rd grade district remote teacher. Her in person students have been moved to either Ms. Thacker or Ms. Junno's classrooms. Mrs. Ruyffelaert's remote students will join the district remote third grade class so they can remain with her.

If you have not had a chance to watch our video for the return to school, you can see it here at this link: https://youtu.be/KA-9Kr4PtH8 To translate the video into a different language, please follow these steps.

How to Translate Video

Step One: Click on the video link below.

Step Two: Turn Closed Caption icon on at the bottom right side of video (it looks like a small box with the letters CC in it.)

Step Three: Click on Settings icon at the bottom right side of video (it looks like a little wheel).

Step Four: Select Subtitle language and play video.

While much attention in recent months has focused on the safe and responsible reopening of schools, we have simultaneously continued to work diligently on the goal of achieving a later start time for the high school. The School Committee is now considering two new late start proposals that could go into effect for Fall of 2021. The Committee will be discussing and possibly voting to implement one of these proposals the next School Committee Meeting on December 10, 2020. To gather stakeholder feedback in advance of the potential vote, a survey has been posted on the district website and will be included in the school's electronic communications this week. The survey is now open, and I would encourage you to take a few minutes to let us know your thoughts about the proposals. You can access the survey directly via this link: Feedback on Changing School Start Times to Achieve a Later Start Time for the High School

Due to no participating in the Walking School Bus last week, it will not run this week. The WSB will resume on December 14th. Please see the information below if you are interested in signing up.

We are pleased to announce that the Bridge Street WSB will be available to assist families with transportation needs during the hybrid model of education. Our hope is to bring back both the Lumberyard and Sheldon Field routes. However, due to the limited number of available WSB drivers, we are asking caregivers to preregister their students for the WSB in order to determine driver and route availability. Please fill out the WSB Student Registration Form by December 11th if you would like your student(s) to ride the WSB. Detailed information regarding route availability and times will be shared once registration is complete. **Please note that for the health and safety of all students and drivers, WSB participants will be required to wear a mask while on the WSB unless a medical exception has been approved by the BSS school administration.**Please contact WSB Coordinator Stephanie Pouliot if you have any questions about the WSB. The WSB is also in need of drivers, so please contact Stephanie if you or someone you know would like to volunteer your time to the WSB. We will take as little or as much time as you can give!

If you are planning on traveling out of state for the upcoming holiday, please be aware of the state travel order put in place by Governor Baker. If you travel to ANY state that is restricted, you must have a Covid-19 test (PCR preferably) done either before leaving the state you traveled to (within 72 hours before leaving) or upon return to Massachusetts. Until you produce a negative test result, you must quarantine for 14 days. There is no exception to this mandate.

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j0wNen-JBwZJdCeDs2ui5zQjbLQoo8OzOanLU7VEE30/edit?ts=5f748266

All meals (both in school and at sites) are free for the entire school year!

The USDA has extended Free Meals for Kids until 6/30/2021. The NPS Food Service Department is committed to providing all students with free nutritious and nourishing food that will support them both in school and at home.

All in-person learners will be offered a healthy breakfast and lunch every school day at no cost in a safe environment.

Beginning Wednesday 12/2, seven days’ worth of grab and go meals can be picked up at the following locations and times:

· Hampshire Heights 11-12pm

· Florence Heights 11-12pm

· Meadowbrook Apartments 11-12pm

· 236 Pleasant Street 11-12pm

· Northampton High School round-about from 4-5pm

All meal pick-up services and in-school meal services are provided in a contact-less and safe manner. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the food service office at (413) 587-1487

Check out the facebook page for Northampton’s Racial Equity and Learning (REAL) group to find updates regarding local events, organizations showing up for kids and families, and other equity-focused resources. https://www.facebook.com/REALNoho.

This Wednesday there will be a caregiver training on Securely. Please see the link below for the district's caregiver training dates.

http://www.northamptonschools.org/project/Caregiver-technology-trainings/