December 23, 2020

 RBS Principal’s Notes

December 23, 2020

Parent Resources

K-8 Hybrid Calendar                               Daily Health Screening for Students

RBS Hybrid Parent Guide                      Quarantine Protocols/Flowchart

RBS Remote Parent Guide                     RBS Welcome & Orientation Video

Bedford Reopening Plan                     COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

 

Monthly Friday Schedule

January 8:  Group A (A-K)

January 15:  Group B (L-Z)

January 22:  Group A (A-K)

January 29:  Group B (L-Z)

 

PROCEDURE TO REPORT COVID CASES OR CONTACT TRACES

For reporting purposes during out of school hours:  

Please use THIS FORM to report if your child has tested positive for COVID.  

Please use THIS FORM to report if your child has been contact traced.

IN THE NEWS:

Season’s Greetings

From the staff of Riddle Brook School, we would like to wish all of our families a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Have a wonderful week, and we will see you in the New Year (January 4th & 5th)!  

Enrichment Riddle of the Week

Ms. Babine will post a new riddle each Friday (below) and reveal the answer the following Thursday.  Families are encouraged to think together and come up with as many creative solutions as possible, and can submit responses through the Google Form link included on my website. 

Enrichment Riddle of the Week

PTG News and Information

The Bedford PTG would like to wish you and your family a safe and happy Winter Break!

IMPACT OF YOUR PTG SUPPORT: Thanks to your support, PTG has been able to fund Sigmund Brouwer's Story Ninja Writing Class at RAL, where students will have the opportunity to participate in a virtual writing class. We’ve also recently funded an interactive virtual tour of Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum for the third graders of PWS and a virtual Pulpit Rock Field Trip for fourth graders at RBS. 

 

AMAZON SMILE: Make a purchase on Amazon and support the PTG! Visit AmazonSmile, and select "Bedford NH PTG" as the organization that you wish to support or simply go to Bedford PTG's unique link HERE. Bookmark this unique link as only purchases made at smile.amazon.com are eligible for donations. Now every time you shop at Amazon a percentage of your purchase price is donated to the Bedford PTG!

REMINDERS:

December Read Aloud Room

Mrs. Blaine has created another Read Aloud room for our students.  In addition to stories read by some staff members, there are also 8 "hidden" How to Draw videos in the room.  The lights, both gingerbread men, the snowman, the stack of gifts, Buddy, the fire and the spinning dreidel are all links to drawing videos!  

December Read Aloud Room

Strings Program

Our Strings Program will continue to be held remotely this winter and spring via Zoom.  If you are interested in having your child participate, please click on THIS FLYER for more information.

Quarantine vs. Elective Travel

Our schools have an obligation to provide an education to students who are required to quarantine and be excluded from school.  These students are a priority for our teachers (aside from the ones in front of them, of course).  Families who elect to stay home or travel will not receive the same service as those students who are required to be excluded.  

 

Semester II & Hybrid Learning

On July 28th families were invited to make selections regarding a Hybrid or Remote model of instruction.  School schedules were built around those choices.  As we approach the second half of the year, we will be sending out a second survey.

Survey Dates:

Semester II starts 1.19.21	K-8	9-12
Send Out Survey	January 4, 2021	December 11, 2020
Survey Due	January 6, 2021	December 18, 2020
Communicate Decision	January 13, 2021	January 11, 2021

 

Important Considerations:

1. The Bedford School District believes that most students should participate in the Hybrid Model.  Our schools are safe as a result of: 

1. Masks

2. Social Distancing

3. Sanitizing 

2. The 9-12 schedule and teaching assignments allow for greater flexibility with respect to hybrid and remote learning.  The K-8 model has less flexibility due to teacher assignments.

3. The district will NOT shuffle an entire schedule/classroom assignment at each school to accommodate new requests (i.e., reassign hybrid students to accommodate remote requests).

4. Students will remain in their current model of instruction unless there is a change requested and that change can be accommodated.

5. Bedford will continue to follow its Phases of Reopening Model. Note: Given what we have learned in the last several months, we are looking to adjust the phases where appropriate.  This will be updated prior to the new year.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

December 24-January 1 – Holiday Recess

December 25 – Merry Christmas!

January 6 – Semester 2 Survey Due

January 15 – End of Quarter 2

January 18 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Observance

January 22 – Report Cards Released Online

February 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day!

February 22-26 – Winter Vacation

March 9 – District Workshop Day – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

March 27-April 3 – Passover

April 2 – End of Quarter 3

April 2 – Good Friday

April 4 – Happy Easter!

April 9 – Report Cards Released Online

April 26-30 – Spring Vacation

May 31 – Memorial Day Observed – NO SCHOOL

June 11 – Tentative Last Day of School

RBS Vacation Reporting Info.

 December 22, 2020

Dear RBS Families,

I wanted to let you know that, although we will be on vacation for the next 11 days, you will still need to inform me if your child tests positive or is contact traced and needs to quarantine during vacation.  The school is required to report student and staff cases to the state during vacation as well as provide students and staff members with their return dates.  

Also, we will have to conduct contact tracing for all positive cases that occur on or before December 25th.  Contact tracing goes back 48 hours from the onset of symptoms or testing date, whichever is first.  Therefore, if a student shows symptoms or is tested on the 24th or 25th, we would have to go back to the 22nd or 23rd for contact tracing in school.  If that is the case, I'm sorry to say that Michele Ouellette (nurse) and/or I will have to make calls to staff and families on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day because we can't have anyone who's been contact traced unknowingly going about the community or getting together with family members when they should be quarantined.  Please let me apologize ahead of time if either of us has to reach out to you on Christmas Eve or Day.  We promise to keep it as brief as possible!

Please use THIS FORM to report if your child has tested positive.  

Please use THIS FORM to report if your child has been contact traced.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Molly McCarthy

December 18, 2020

RBS Principal’s Notes

December 18, 2020

Parent Resources

K-8 Hybrid Calendar                               Daily Health Screening for Students

RBS Hybrid Parent Guide                      Quarantine Protocols/Flowchart

RBS Remote Parent Guide                     RBS Welcome & Orientation Video

Bedford Reopening Plan                     COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

 

Monthly Friday Schedule

January 8:  Group A (A-K)

January 15:  Group B (L-Z)

January 22:  Group A (A-K)

January 29:  Group B (L-Z)

 

PROCEDURE TO REPORT COVID CASES

If you need to report a case of COVID-19 over the weekend or during off hours, please fill out THIS FORM.

IN THE NEWS:

December Read Aloud Room

Mrs. Blaine has created another Read Aloud room for our students.  In addition to stories read by some staff members, there are also 8 "hidden" How To Draw videos in the room.  The lights, both gingerbread men, the snowman, the stack of gifts, Buddy, the fire and the spinning dreidel are all links to drawing videos!  

December Read Aloud Room

Enrichment Riddle of the Week

Ms. Babine will post a new riddle each Friday (below) and reveal the answer the following Thursday.  Families are encouraged to think together and come up with as many creative solutions as possible, and can submit responses through the Google Form link included on my website. 

Enrichment Riddle of the Week

Strings Program

Our Strings Program will continue to be held remotely this winter and spring via Zoom.  If you are interested in having your child participate, please click on THIS FLYER for more information.

PTG News and Information

IMPACT OF YOUR PTG SUPPORT: Thanks to your support, PTG has been able to fund Sigmund Brouwer's Story Ninja Writing Class at RAL, where students will have the opportunity to participate in a virtual writing class. We’ve also recently funded an interactive virtual tour of Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum for the third graders of PWS and a virtual Pulpit Rock Field Trip for fourth graders at RBS. 

 

AMAZON SMILE: Make a purchase on Amazon and support the PTG! Visit AmazonSmile, and select "Bedford NH PTG" as the organization that you wish to support or simply go to Bedford PTG's unique link HERE. Bookmark this unique link as only purchases made at smile.amazon.com are eligible for donations. Now everytime you shop at Amazon a percentage of your purchase price is donated to the Bedford PTG!

REMINDERS:

Concurrent Learning (A Message from Assistant Superintendent Laliberte)

The Bedford School District continues to adapt our practices to support the needs of learners. As you are aware, the state of New Hampshire has seen increased positive COVID-19 cases. As a result, we have had more students who have been required to quarantine and are unable to attend school in person. To support these students, our K-8 schools will offer synchronous opportunities, when appropriate, for students to connect with their teachers. For some, this will be in the form of concurrent learning. Teachers will determine when and how students join concurrently, and will work with parents as to what will be best in those situations.

 

Concurrent learning occurs when students who are receiving instruction in the classroom are joined by their peers who are in a virtual setting. This is more difficult for the teacher to navigate; however, they have been offered training opportunities in order to assist quarantined students who would otherwise not have direct access to their teachers while at home. Please find the expectations for students and parents in THIS document.

Feel free to contact your building leaders and teachers with any questions.

Winter Playground Attire/Gear

Please make sure that you're sending your children to school with the appropriate winter recess gear--boots, coat, snow pants, mittens/gloves & hat.  As you know, we have divided our playground into 6 sections this year, so that we can keep students with their class cohorts during recess.  Some of those sections include our blacktop areas.  In past years, we were able to have the students without boots and snow pants play on those areas, but this year we have no other place for students without the appropriate gear.  Thank you for working with us on this issue.

Holiday Cheer at RBS

We have some fun and festive “Spirit Day” events coming up for RBS students and staff!

• Wed., Dec. 16th & Thurs., Dec. 17th:  All School Holiday Pajama Day.  Students and staff may wear their comfiest and coziest holiday PJ’s.  (No stuffed animals or slippers, please.). 

*Due to a conflict with Ellis Island Day, 4th grade will have their Holiday PJ Day on Friday, December 18th & Monday, December 21st.

• Tues., Dec. 22 & Wed., Dec. 23rd:  Festive Sweater Day.  Students and staff may wear their most “festive” sweaters/vests/dresses, etc.  

Community Transmission

As you know, rates across the country and in NH are rising.  Click HERE to check out our Metrics page.  Each week I meet with a team consisting of two Infectious Disease MD’s, a Pediatrician and our local Health Officer as well as teachers, administrators, a school nurse, and a school board member to evaluate transmission rates and risk in our schools.  Given our 6’ of distancing, mask wearing and frequent sanitizing, we have seen zero evidence of transmission in our schools.  As a result, we will continue to maintain our Hybrid Model.

 

Moving to a fully remote model for all students will become a necessity under the following conditions:

1. Governor’s Order

2. Transmission Rates we cannot mitigate

3. Insufficient Staffing

 

Quarantine vs. Elective Travel

Our schools have an obligation to provide an education to students who are required to quarantine and be excluded from school.  These students are a priority for our teachers (aside from the ones in front of them, of course).  Families who elect to stay home or travel will not receive the same service as those students who are required to be excluded.  

 

New Quarantine Guidelines

The Bedford School District follows the guidelines of DHHS.  DHHS follows CDC recommendations and adjusts them to meet NH’s needs.  Click HERE for the updated guidance.

 

Semester II & Hybrid Learning

On July 28th families were invited to make selections regarding a Hybrid or Remote model of instruction.  School schedules were built around those choices.  As we approach the second half of the year, we will be sending out a second survey.

Survey Dates:

Semester II starts 1.19.21	K-8	9-12
Send Out Survey	January 4, 2021	December 11, 2020
Survey Due	January 6, 2021	December 18, 2020
Communicate Decision	January 13, 2021	January 11, 2021

 

Important Considerations:

1. The Bedford School District believes that most students should participate in the Hybrid Model.  Our schools are safe as a result of: 

1. Masks

2. Social Distancing

3. Sanitizing 

2. The 9-12 schedule and teaching assignments allow for greater flexibility with respect to hybrid and remote learning.  The K-8 model has less flexibility due to teacher assignments.

3. The district will NOT shuffle an entire schedule/classroom assignment at each school to accommodate new requests (i.e., reassign hybrid students to accommodate remote requests).

4. Students will remain in their current model of instruction unless there is a change requested and that change can be accommodated.

5. Bedford will continue to follow its Phases of Reopening Model. Note: Given what we have learned in the last several months, we are looking to adjust the phases where appropriate.  This will be updated prior to the new year.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

December 18 & 21 – Grade 4 Holiday PJ Day

December 22 & 23 – Festive Sweater Day

December 24-January 1 – Holiday Recess

December 25 – Merry Christmas!

January 6 – Semester 2 Survey Due

January 15 – End of Quarter 2

January 18 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Observance

January 22 – Report Cards Released Online

February 14 – Happy Valentine’s Day!

February 22-26 – Winter Vacation

March 9 – District Workshop Day – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

March 27-April 3 – Passover

April 2 – End of Quarter 3

April 2 – Good Friday

April 4 – Happy Easter!

April 9 – Report Cards Released Online

April 26-30 – Spring Vacation

May 31 – Memorial Day Observed – NO SCHOOL

June 11 – Tentative Last Day of School