Dear Class of 2020,

Very few graduating classes through the years have been asked to navigate an end to their senior year like this one. I have been overwhelmed by the grace and determination with which you have handled this situation. It speaks to the strength of your families, the strength of your character, and the strength of our future that will be in your hands.

Just a few short months ago, who would have imagined a spring where everything is shut down for a pandemic; where you would be in school one day and then never again for the rest of the year; where murder hornets don’t even register a yawn? Who would have imagined our seniors would be denied the traditional rites of passage such as prom, final artistic performances and athletic contests, and graduation the way they have always been done - in person and together? I know this has been hard for students, families and staff. I know many of you personally. I can still see you as elementary students, who looked up to the older kids and promised yourselves to live up to the examples they were setting for you. I can assure you that you have. Our current elementary students will do well to model themselves after you! While I have no doubt you can handle this, you shouldn’t have to. 

Graduation represents the culmination of 13 years of hard work, setbacks and successes, teamwork, learning, self-discovery, and growth and is when one chapter in your life comes to an end with a new one just beginning. I can assure you that, as superintendent of schools, I too wish we could all celebrate the amazing accomplishments of the Class of 2020 in person, and our team and I are going to do everything we can to make that happen!

We have a two-part plan to accomplish this. We cannot know for sure that there will be a possibility to get together live, so we must schedule a virtual graduation first. I am excited to honor our seniors along with our community this June 5 and 6 through our plans for this virtual graduation and a “rolling rally” parade. We are all disheartened by the current situation, but since we cannot guarantee we will be afforded the opportunity to come back together before the end of the summer, we must ensure you receive your diplomas and are officially recognized for your accomplishments. 

Secondly, we are scheduling a live ceremony celebrating the graduates on July 24 at 6 p.m. at Walsh Stadium (if allowed) where you as North Andover’s graduating class of 2020 can march in your caps and gowns to “Pomp & Circumstance”, have your names announced, cross the main stage and be honored as the 150th graduating class of NAHS in front of your families and loved ones--the way it was supposed to be in the first place. 

Winston Churchill said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” So, while none of the end of your beginning has been what you imagined or envisioned, and certainly is not what you hoped for, I am confident that you will look back on this someday with pride. Pride in the fact that you did what you always do, overcame another obstacle. Pride in the fact that you handled yourself with grace and grit and with respect and empathy for others. Pride in the fact 

At NAHS, our teaching staff has worked to transition all of our students to new courses over the last few weeks while establishing new relationships. Student Council advisor, Conor Meehan, has worked with our staff on the #Knightsstaffcares initiative on Twitter. Since March 20, approximately 40 staff members have submitted one- to five-minute videos on Twitter communicating to our high school students messages about how much they care about our students. NAHS continues to miss all of our students. Please see the latest information for graduating seniors. Updates, if needed, will be provided on the NAHS webpage.

Updated Summary of Class of 2020 Events:

Scholarship Knight - Wednesday, June 3, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. on NA CAM

• We will be pre-taping the event to run on Wednesday 6/3.

Awards Knight - Thursday, June 4, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. on NA CAM

• We will be pre-taping the event to run on Thursday 6/4.

Graduation - Friday, June 5, 2020 at 6:00 pm on NA CAM

• We want all of our graduates available for the ceremony. Given the current state guidelines, we will be pre-taping the different components of graduation to run on Friday 6/5. 

Car Parade - Saturday, June 6, 2020 at 12:00 p.m.

• Students will meet at NAHS. More information to follow in the future.

The events listed below are scheduled for the last week in July. We are hopeful that social distancing guidelines will be eased by then so that we may celebrate our graduating seniors in the customary way.

• Celebration of Graduates - Friday, July 24, 2020, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m .   (New event as of 5/4/2020)

• Formal Event at Danversport - Saturday, July 25, 2020, 6:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

The Atkinson staff continues to work on supporting our All-Stars daily in their Remote Learning. We miss seeing the students! We sent the students and their families the video included here emphasizing that "We Are All in this Together!" Additionally, 'Chalk Talk' (pics below) is tweeted out each morning providing the students and their families with a positive message to start their day. The staff has been tremendous in providing the students with social interaction through google meets, academics presented through google classroom and slide shows, and providing extra support at any time. 

The week at Atkinson School ends with Fun Friday's where we have themes such as thanking our essential workers (video), wear your Atkinson clothes, crazy sock day, support our fifth graders by writing and sending positive messages, and wear your comfy sweats or pj's day. I continue to be so impressed with how everyone in and associated with our school district – staff, students and families – is doing their best to not only cope with our new learning reality but also to make it as successful as it can be. Thank you all! 

Joe Clarke, Principal

I can't believe we've been on this remote learning adventure for 12 weeks already! What? It hasn't been that long yet? Man, it must just feel that way because of how much we miss you all! The Franklin staff, like everyone, has been hard at work getting meaningful learning opportunities posted in Google Classrooms each day for our amazing students. They're making an effort to see their students virtually each week because that is what means the most to our staff - the connection to their students. We miss those day-to-day, minute-by-minute opportunities of seeing the "Aha!" moments and helping students through their struggles. If there is one message we'd like to emphasize with each and every one of our students it is that we are still here for and with you. 

You students have been nothing short of amazing, and the parent support we have received has been so appreciated and motivating. We are truly all in this together and that is apparent each and every day. This may not have been the ending of the year we had expected, but it's the one we have been dealt. Elizabeth Edwards said, "Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you've lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that's good." Franklin community, thank you for ALWAYS putting together something that is good. We miss you, we're proud of you, and we hope to see you soon!

The Kittredge Staff has been working hard preparing for our remote learning. Even though this began as a challenging task, we are so happy that we can still provide lessons and education for our students. Honestly, the best part of our day is when we get to see all of our smiling kiddos on the screen, looking happy and healthy. 

Just like in the classroom, our teachers are finding fun and engaging ways to teach our students. During a recent Zoom whole-class lesson, first graders reviewed the five senses and went on a fun scavenger hunt to find items they could touch, smell, taste, hear, and see. They dashed around the house gathering objects and then proudly displaying them on the computer screen!  Third graders had a Star Wars Day and dressed up like Star Wars characters. 

Mrs. Coelho was a fantastic Princess Lea and Mr. Cushing showed off his light saber skills. We are always looking for fun ways to keep the kids excited about learning.

This is not how any of us expected the year to go, but there is a silver lining. One message has been received across all of the grade levels - the families at Kittredge School are amazingly supportive. They have welcomed the teachers into their homes “virtually” and are working together with the staff to ensure that the kids get everything they need - love, support, education, and so much more. As a staff, we feel very lucky to be a part of this community. Go Kittredge Kangaroos!

Here is a link to a video sent to students from the Kittredge Staff.

Karen Murdoch Lahey, Principal

Remote learning has not dulled the level of enthusiasm and connection our teachers have with their students. I could not be more proud of our teachers and teaching assistants as they have built upon the well-established relationships they have had with their students from within the walls of Sargent, to now connecting virtually with them. Although we all prefer to have the all smiling faces under one roof for learning, it has been fun for me to join in seeing students in large and small group settings each week online and know how cared for and valued each child is. 

One of our second-grade students, Tiyra, visited India prior to our school closure and was unable to return due to travel restrictions.  Her teacher made sure she remained a valued classmate.  Tiyra logs in to her classes daily at 10:30 a.m. with Google Meets. She is usually getting ready for bed when the second graders are meeting for snacks because of the time difference, but she comes on to say goodnight to everyone and gives updates from India.  This has opened opportunities for rich discussions in fun and interesting ways to learn.

In March, a third-grade student moved to Colorado when school closures were beginning in that state as well.  Determined to keep the connection 

alive, our third-grade teacher continued to email the student and family. The mom and third-grade teacher arranged for the student to join the class’s Google Meet as a surprise guest. She continues to be a part of the class even though she is living in another part of the country; she remains a valued Shark!

Our librarian, music, art and physical education teachers continue to be creative in finding ways to engage students with fun projects and assignments. Our school song “RAISE Me Up” always brings us together as a close community. Mrs. Ahearn, our wonderful librarian, used that as a backdrop to the smiling faces in this video.

While we are not able to participate in our traditional outdoor morning meeting, our music teacher, Mr. Shelkowitz, has brought our birthday sing-a-long to us virtually as he recognizes those students celebrating a birthday during the month with a solo edition of the Sargent School birthday song.

The Sargent community remains close as ever even though we may be apart!

The Thomson School wants to wish all staff, parents, and students good health at this time. We are sad that we will not be returning to Thomson this year. We miss all of our Tigers!  Given the strength of the Thomson community, we know everyone will continue to work together in a highly collaborative way to ensure our students get the best that each of us has to offer. 

I want to thank our teachers, specialists and support staff! They continue to go above and beyond to provide work, host meetings, drop off materials, answer parent questions, provide students with feedback on their work and reach out to students and parents by email and by phone. They are learning a lot about being an educator in this new reality we continue to find ourselves in. As principal, I couldn’t be more proud and appreciative of all their efforts. 

Thanks also to our parents and caregivers. They continue to balance the demands of running a home, checking in on family members, providing for their family while also ensuring their child is a student for part of the day. That is a lot to balance and not easy! Our school is working hard to stay connected to our community. 

During the week of April 6, Thomson teachers hosted a virtual week and invited all our families and staff to join in. The days included:

• Move it Monday - On this day we invite everyone to put on their favorite NA or Thomson gear and get moving. 

• Thoughtful Tuesday - Positive poster day

• What Ya Reading Wednesday - Grab a book, towel and sunglasses and pretend you are at the beach.

• Throwback Thursday - Dress up like one of your favorite Thomson staff or share an old photo of yourself. The Thomson staff had a lot of fun producing and sending home a video that had pictures of many staff members from their elementary days

• Family Friday - Relax with your family in your PJ’s, bake, play games, read and listen to music.

Check out the awesome video that Thomson staff put together for our students and their families with messages or displays to keep everyone's spirits up and let them know we miss them and think about them every day. We hope you enjoy it! Be well everyone. RAISE every day!