What's Happening at School Street School?

Dear Families,

As we prepare for the Hybrid Schedule to begin, I am excited to welcome our students back into the building. Below is pertinent information for you to review in order for us to maintain the safest and healthiest environment. I have also created a Google Site to house all of our hybrid information. Transition to Hybrid

• Our in-person hours are 8:15 - 12:15. During that time ALL students (Virtual & Hybrid) will receive instruction in the CORE subjects. Students will have from 12:15 - 1:30 for lunch and recess. Our afternoon session will be entirely virtual and will take place from 1:30 - 2:55. A detailed schedule will be provided by your child's homeroom teacher.

• Students choosing hybrid will report to school on an assigned day according to their cohort. Please see the attached cohort schedule. Cohort Schedule

• Virtual students should complete attendance on the School Street School Learning Portal

• ALL students reporting to school for in-person learning MUST complete the Daily Health Check prior to arriving at school. (Students who have not completed the DHC will be directed to the school nurse outside the gym. She will request the parents complete the DHC on site and perform a temperature check. )

• ID cards were sent home to families. These will be used to scan children into school each morning. Please mark your child’s ID with their cohort. (A or B) Parents may hold ID cards, students will not need them once they have been scanned.

• Families who have traveled out of state must follow the state quarantine guidelines. Please speak with Mrs. Chauhan if you have any questions.

• ALL persons coming onto school property must wear a face covering.

• Snacks will not be allowed during school hours, please provide your child with a hearty breakfast.

• Students should bring water bottles with flip up straws to school each day.

• EVERY child at School Street School is eligible to pick up a new Chromebook. The first distribution day was 1/12/21. Please be on the lookout for an email regarding the next pick-up. Students will be encouraged to bring their Chromebook to school for in-person learning. Chromebooks should be fully charged each night. Chargers should be left home. Chromebooks should be placed in the child’s backpack. Water Bottles should not go into the backpacks with the Chromebooks.

• Please remember to pack your child with an extra mask. We encourage you to label all masks. Pre-k and kindergarten students should bring an extra pair of clothes in a labeled Ziplock bag.

Thank you in advance for your patience and grace during this transition!

Warm Regards,

Alison Schessler

KINDERGARTEN NEWS

What a week----busy, busy, busy! Little environmentalists explored the needs of plants; mathematicians worked hard completing their chapter 5 assessment (next up, subtraction!) and writers made important decisions regarding topics and format. Super readers flexed their reading muscles to figure out trickier texts. For an informative introduction to our new Reader's Workshop unit, "Bigger Books, Bigger Reading Muscles," PLEASE click on this link: http://vtuos.pub/S002-0

This week we also took some time to talk about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, whose birthday is actually today! Essential vocabulary that comes to mind when discussing the life and legacy of this fearless leader includes compassion, equality, freedom, determination, peace and naturally----LOVE!

Lastly, a note from the kindergarten team-----thank you, in advance, for your understanding and patience as we navigate the start of our hybrid schedule! While our schedules may waver our commitment will not!

"Writer's Workshop Flipbook Celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!"

First Grade News

This week our fabulous 1st graders continued to impress us with all their knowledge! In reading, they are learning to not only read tricky keywords but also to think about what they mean. Students are learning that those keywords can teach us even MORE about our topics. In writing, our authors practiced adding teaching power to their pictures by including arrows, zoom-ins, and captions. They also are challenging themselves to add more information by writing in twin sentences! In math, we are strengthening our number sense by counting and modeling tens and ones. In social studies, we spent much of the week discussing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and how we can carry his message by treating each other fairly. We discussed his wish for peace for the world, and students brainstormed their own definitions of peace as well as their own dreams they have for the world. Dr. King would be proud of our loving and kind first graders!

Second Grade News!

This week the second grade students have continued to travel through the rainforest learning about different animals and plants while completing a variety of fun activities. In math, we are continuing to work on 2-digit subtraction with regrouping. The children are working so hard to learn and understand this difficult skill. In reading, we are continuing to work on amping up our reading power identifying figurative language, retelling confusing parts, and reading more and more. In writing, we are writing letters to our friends and family members about books we are reading. We are practicing retelling our stories while writing our opinions and making connections. We couldn’t be more proud of our second graders as they learn and grow. We are looking forward to meeting most of our students in person next week. Please make sure you read the letters sent by your homeroom teachers so the students are prepared during our first hybrid week of school. Our schedules will be changing, but please have your students continue to follow the new daily schedule on Seesaw. Working as a team of students, teachers and parents we will do our best to make our first week of hybrid run smoothly. Thank you for your continued support.

MUSIC

Musicians have been studying folk music of the Appalachian Mountains. We learned how to play the spoons this week!