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:
Governor’s Order
Transmission Rates we cannot mitigate
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:
The Bedford School District believes that most students should participate in the Hybrid Model. Our schools are safe as a result of:
Masks
Social Distancing
Sanitizing
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.
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).
Students will remain in their current model of instruction unless there is a change requested and that change can be accommodated.
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
