Principal Madden’s Weekly Message—Week of October 12, 2020

I hope you are all hanging in there and were able to enjoy the long weekend. We certainly have had some beautiful fall weather!

Photos

• This week’s photos show Mrs. Duffy having some outdoor and distanced in-person time with members of her class on Wednesday morning. It was very nice to see students out on the blacktop! I also took a photo out front just before that big storm last week. Those clouds were certainly ominous!

Aimsweb Assessments:

Last week, I sent this attached letter about our efforts to complete Aimsweb Assessments as part of our “Response to Intervention” planning.

Here is some further information. We have begun some of these assessments. Your child’s teacher should have already been in touch about the assessment schedule for your child(ren), and we will have some make-up days at the end of the testing if you are not able to get your child here for scheduled day for their class. When you bring your child to school, please make sure they are wearing a mask and bring their own headphones (let us know if you need an additional pair of headphones). We will have students use hand sanitizer before the assessments and again before they return to you. Also, we will disinfect the chromebooks in between users. Your child will probably have a bit of time to play outdoors (socially distanced) in between the assessments and/or at the end. 

On the scheduled day of your child’s assessment, there will probably be no class Zooming or synchronous teaching. Teachers will communicate with you about the plan.

Other one-to-one assessments (very quick) are being completed in Zoom break-out rooms by one of our Title 1 teachers, special education teachers, or trained ESPs.

Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions or concerns.

Chromebooks

• If you have a problem regarding your child’s chromebook, the plan going forward is listed here:

There are two options for caregivers:

• Create a ticket for someone on IT to get back to you. The portal is at http://nps-support.northamptonit.info/support/tickets
• Schedule a drop off for replacement.  You can schedule a time to come to James House (the IT office at 42 Gothic Street in Northampton). The appointments can get scheduled here, https://calendly.com/npschromebookrepair/chromebook-repair

School Council:

Here are caregivers who have agreed to continue serving on the School Council again this year: Stephanie Silverman, Co-Chair, Alissa Marotto, Kate Lepore, Jackie Newman. Please let any of us know if you have questions or concerns regarding our school or if you are interested in serving on the Council. I have attached a draft of our School Improvement Plan, which will be shared and approved at a School Committee meeting on October 22. 

Code of Conduct, Character, and Support

Over the past two years, a committee of many different members from our district’s school communities worked monthly to create a cohesive Code of Conduct for all schools. This document is meant to be a “living document”, meaning that each year we will review it with our school community to make edits to bring to the School Council for a vote. The new document looks at dealing with discipline through restorative practices and positive behavior (which completely aligns to our Ryan Road commitment to Responsive Classroom). Please let anyone on the School Council know if you have any questions or suggestions. Thank you!

Forbes Library

Forbes Library has many great supports for students and families. Please check out the two links below to access their flyers in English and Spanish.

Important Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, October 21 at 6:30: PTO Meeting

Tuesday, November 3: No School—Election Day

Wednesday, November 11: No School—Veterans Day

Wednesday (1/2 day) & Thursday and Friday (no school), November 25-27: Thanksgiving Holiday

Here is the most up-to-date District Calendar.

Stay up to date (under normal circumstances or not!) with all of our school activities on our School Website’s Calendar!

I hope that all families feel welcome, comfortable, and valued at our school. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Sarah Madden, Principal