My hope is you were able to safely enjoy the beautiful weather we had this weekend. Weekends are also fast becoming a time we have virtual meetings with friends and families as we all become "experts" in these platforms. Some people have said to me they don't know why they didn't visit with family and friends this way before we had to physically distance - a silver lining.
There is a School Committee meeting tonight for those who want to listen in as well as more news below.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Please see the agenda for the School Committee meeting on April 14 which will also tell you how to access the meeting. During the Citizens' Concerns portion of the meeting, the School Committee will hear comments and questions from community members. As is the practice of the School Committee, they will not address these comments and questions at the meeting but will respond to them at a later date. We deviated from that practice at the April 7 School Committee meeting due to the special circumstances of explaining Phase 2 Remote Learning, and we will return to the standard practice of Citizens' Concerns on April 14.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Massachusetts education officials have cancelled all MCAS testing for spring 2020. Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley will provide guidance on this issue in the coming weeks as it relates to next year.
ATHLETIC NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Congratulations to the athletes named in the BHS 2020 Winter Athletic Awards and the 2020 Winter Middlesex League All Stars and All Conference (where noted).
GOOD NEWS FROM THE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
A CMS family wanted to share how one student has organized the school week if it helps other students with their planning. Thank you to this family for sharing.
Wellington staff put together a video to let students know they are thinking about them, and they miss their students and families.
We enjoy seeing pictures of students actively involved in remote learning from home. If you care to share any pictures, please email them to Krys Murphy: kmurphy@belmont.k12.ma.us.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES
The Belmont Public Schools Technology Department is offering technical support to students who need assistance accessing their school work. Families should send an email describing the technical issue to communitysupport@belmont.k12.ma.us. This will automatically open a ticket in the district's helpdesk system and assign a technician.
BPS FOOD SERVICES
Please see the Food Services website page for Wednesday meal-kit food content, food delivery, drive-through hours, and other information.
TOWN OF BELMONT COVID-19 WEBSITE
A reminder there are updates regarding COVID-19 from the Town of Belmont and the Belmont Board of Health on the town website.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
The Superintendent's Newsletter will be coming out on Tuesday and Friday afternoons with a section dedicated to your questions. The newsletter will allow us to stay connected as a district and offer quick updates, information, and school news while we are physically distancing. Your questions can be sent to Newsletter Questions Google doc.
Why is there any debate about having April vacation week closure instead of trying to make up lost time and continuing education of the students? Also are we planning to extend the school year until the end of June to make up for lost weeks?
The School Committee and the school administration have received feedback from parents and educators on this subject, and the School Committee is voting on the April break at tonight's meeting. You can access that meeting by going to the link under the school committee heading above. We will also be emailing parents, guardians and staff the outcome of the vote.
Would it be possible to skip April vacation but not remove school days at the end of the year given that Phase I was multiple weeks and students did not learn new material during this time?
The Governor has closed school due to COVID-19 until Monday, May 4, 2020. We are awaiting the announcement as to whether he will open school on that date or extend the closure. As of now the current school calendar will remain intact for the rest of the year.
In phase two students are learning following materials instructed from the teachers and submitting their work that is checked by the teacher for completeness in order to receive credits. While this is a great balance with many factors, there is a lack of feedback or assessment from the teachers on how well students understand the subject matter especially when there are no standard answers available--would the schools especially BHS consider adding this element into phase two? Understanding this will add a significant amount of work for the teachers, providing assessment on some of assignments will pave a long way.
Belmont High School Principal Isaac Taylor is meeting with the Instructional Leadership Team weekly to review the approach to our remote learning and in particular assignments provided to students and feedback on those assignments. As the days pass we are professionally collaborating to discuss what is working and not working for our students and staff. The district will be sending out a survey to all families at the end of next week to seek needed feedback on our remote learning at the end of week 3 of our remote learning.