@NipmucRegional

We hope that everyone's week is off to a good start. As you know from the superintendent's message, we will work remotely through the week of January 11 - 15, 2021. Additionally, we have paused winter sports and other in-person extracurricular activities as we monitor the impact of the health crisis on our community. We will continue to work closely with our local boards of health and reach out to parents at the end of the week with an update on our status.

As you heard from the superintendent, we will have another week of full remote learning from January 11 - 15 as a continued measure to keep everyone safe.

Our district will continue to monitor the statewide, community, and district data.

Some reminders about remote learning include:

• This week we will use an adjusted full remote schedule (see below) to accommodate for the early release day on Friday of this week

• All students - including those in the Stand Alone Remote Program - will use the remote schedule.

• All students, regardless of their cohort, should attend their scheduled class meetings every day (Mon-Fri) this week.

• Advisory groups will not meet this week.

• Term 2/Semester 1 will come to an end on January 29. We encourage students to check-in with teachers if they have any questions about assignments, make-up work, or grades.

As a reminder, students will have an early release day on January 15. Teachers will participate in professional development in the afternoon that day. Additionally, there will be no school on January 18 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The adjusted schedule for next week can be found here.

Nipmuc is partnering with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to gain student feedback about learning at our school. All students received an email with a link earlier today a voluntary, anonymous, multiple-choice survey that should take approximately 5 - 10 minutes to complete.

Students are not required to take the survey; however, we appreciate their participation.

We are currently in the process of finalizing schedules, cohorts, and programs for all students at Nipmuc Regional for semester 2, which begins on February 1. While we are hopeful that there will be minimal adjustments, we recognize the need to balance class and cohort sizes. We will let students and parents know this week if their cohort is being adjusted for semester 2. If you have questions or would like to discuss a change in requests, please reach out directly to school counselors.

Prior to vacation, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education changed its guidelines for the amount of “live” instruction that needs to be provided in remote and hybrid schedules. As a result of their updated guidelines, we will need to increase “live” instruction by 2.1 hours per week. We will also be providing students with opportunities for daily, live check-ins with their teachers on asynchronous days.

Our scheduling committee has reconvened to determine how to adjust our schedule. We will share information about the updated schedule later this week.

The School Counseling Center is excited to welcome Dr. Jacqueline Vorpahl to this week’s "Breakfast with the Counselors: All About Anxiety" for parents of all grades. Click here to RSVP and here to join the Zoom.

Please be aware that the picture retakes scheduled for this week will be rescheduled for future dates when we are back in school. We are in communication with LifeTouch and will reach back out when we have confirmed new dates for retakes.

The Nipmuc Varsity Basketball team receives a sportsmanship award

from MIAA Assistant Director Pete Smith

Last week Nipmuc welcomed MIAA Assistant Director Pete Smith to the school to present the girls' basketball team with the MIAA sportsmanship award. The team earned the award at the conclusion of last year's season in recognition of the volunteerism of the team in raising funds to fight ALS, the unwavering positivity of the team, and the respect they showed their competitors and the referees.

Our team was scheduled to receive the award prior to the state championship game last spring; however, the health crisis prevented the event from being held.

Nipmuc's team was one of only two state-wide recipients of this award. Mr. Smith highlighted that there were more than 360 teams eligible for the honor and congratulated the team for setting an example of sportsmanship for schools across the state.

With the beginning of the new year, we are excited to restart Nipmuc’s Lead Learner Workshops. Lead Learner Workshops are leadership opportunities that are available to any student and any teacher in the school. They provide opportunities to shape the future of teaching and learning at Nipmuc.

Our next Lead Learner Workshop - “The Mastery Transcript: Helping Our Students Tell Their Story of Learning” - will take place from 12pm - 1pm on Wednesday, January 27. The Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) is a network of schools that are using a digital transcript that “that opens up opportunity for each and every student - from all backgrounds, locations, and types of schools - to have their unique strengths, abilities, interests, and histories fostered, understood, and celebrated.” By creating a digital, clickable, and personal transcript that highlights what students can do with their learning rather than their grades, MTC has shifted the national conversation the criteria colleges and universities use to accept students.

Although at this point Nipmuc will not use the Mastery Transcript for college applications, we are excited to explore its use as a portfolio tool to showcase the unique stories of learning that each of our students has to tell.

Students will receive email reminders about the next Lead Learner Workshop. All are welcome!

Per the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, influenza immunization will be required for all children 6 months of age or older who are attending Massachusetts child care, pre-school, kindergarten, K-12, and colleges and universities. The new vaccine requirement is an important step to reduce flu-related illness and ​the overall impact of respiratory illness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All MURSD students will be expected to have received a flu vaccine by February 28, 2021* for the 2020-2021 influenza season, unless either a medical or religious exemption is provided.

Also exempted are K-12 students who are homeschooled and higher education students who are completely off-campus and engaged in remote learning only. This new flu immunization requirement to enter school in January is in addition to existing vaccine requirements for all those attending child care, preschool, K-12, and colleges and universities in Massachusetts. Elementary and secondary students in districts and schools that are using a remote education model are not exempt.

Please forward documentation of your child’s flu vaccine to the school nurse prior to February 28, 2021.

*Please note that this deadline has recently been extended by the state from the initial date of December 31, 2020.)

Please click here for more information on the flu vaccine requirement.