12/20/21Week of December 20th
COVID-19 Update from Superintendent Parks
First, in an effort to streamline our communication, principals will no longer send letters each time there is a positive COVID case in their school. Instead, the District will update its COVID dashboard each Wednesday at the end of the day and email a link to the dashboard to our email list. The dashboard displays COVID cases by school.
Second, the District will not be conducting routine pool testing this week. Given the short week leading into the school break, our COVID team is not able to complete the entire testing and contact tracing cycle, as is required in DESE’s testing protocol.
Reminder: Updated Lunch Plan
During the December School Committee meeting, Superintendent Parks announced that the elementary schools will be transitioning back to daily lunch periods in the school cafeteria after the December vacation. Students will eat in the Deerfield cafeteria and be seated at our long lunch tables next to and across from grade-level peers with approximately 10 - 12 students at each table.
We have three lunch periods each day at Deerfield. Each lunch period lasts 30 minutes and includes two grades. The schedule is as follows:
- 11:25am - 11:55am - Kindergarten and Grade 1
- 12:00pm - 12:30pm - Grade 4 and Grade 5
- 12:35pm - 1:05pm - Grade 2 and Grade 3
As I have shared in previous messages, students will continue to be outside for morning arrival, recess times, brief snack and break times, and some specialist classes, provided the temperature is above 20 degrees or it is not too rainy or icy.
Reminder: Early Release Day on Wednesday, December 22nd
Next Wednesday, December 22nd will be an early-release day for students. Students will be dismissed at 11:50am and we will not have lunch or afternoon recess in school. Students who order lunch from school will get their lunch before dismissal to take home or to Extended Day.
Reminder: No School on Friday, December 24th
All Westwood Public Schools will be closed next Friday, December 24th for the start of the December vacation.
Reminder: Arrival and Dismissal for Car Pick-Ups and Walkers
- Please pull forward, as far as you can go.
- Please stay in your cars the entire time, if possible. We are happy to help open doors and buckle students’ seat belts.
- Please do not pass the cars in front of you. If there are no students actively getting in or out of a car, then Mr. Baumer or a staff member will stand on the outside of the parked car and wave you past to move the process along as quickly as possible. However, please do not pass a car unless you are directed to do so.
- Especially for dismissal, please have a placard with your child’s name, grade, and homeroom teacher clearly displayed in the dashboard or passenger’s side window.
Thank you so much for your help to keep our morning arrival and dismissal times running safely and smoothly.
Daily Messages: Week of December 13th
To access Mr. Baumer's morning messages from last week, please click on the following links:
School Committee Liaison
Deerfield's School Committee liaison for the 2021-2022 school year is Carol Lewis. Please feel free to contact Ms. Lewis if you have any questions or feedback to share regarding the Deerfield Elementary School or Westwood Public Schools.
Carol Lewis, Chair
47 Ellis Street
781-329-2520
cswjlewis@gmail.com
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