March 20, 2020 Update

Good evening everyone!  Just wanted to send out a few quick tidbits of information to folks before I shut down for the weekend.  Yes, I know - no video...I'm sorry...I'll do that some more next week.  Right now, I feel like without copious amounts of makeup (which I am NOT a makeup person if you didn't guess)...the camera just isn't for me tonight!   Wanted to get some important information out to folks though...so I'll get right to it:

New Guidelines from CDC

The CDC released some new guidelines for testing for COVID-19 as well as some new guidelines for home isolation that I thought would be useful for all of you.  These new guidelines are LINKED HERE but basically the jist of it is that they are limiting testing to folks that are in the "high risk" category in order to conserve tests for patients that may develop more serious symptoms.  Give this a good read when you get a chance this weekend please.

Special Education Letter from Kathy Hamblen

Kathy Hamblen sent out the letter LINKED HERE today to all special education families.  If you haven't already read it, please do.  Kathy and her team of special educators are working hard to get our IEP's fully operational over the course of the next week...an amazing team!  Kudos to the team for this important work!

Tech Help

As we continue to navigate this new world of education...I wanted to make sure parents knew how to access technical assistance from our staff.  We have a few methods that folks can choose from.  Here you go:

*  High School students/parents:  Email Mr. Parvanta (adam.parvanta@gorhamschools.org) and/or Mr. Daggett (Chris.Daggett@gorhamschools.org)
*  Middle School students/parents:  Email Mrs. Dawson (terri.dawson@gorhamschools.org) and/or Mr. Nash (help@gorhamschools.org)
*  Elementary Students/Parents:  Email your teacher and/or Mrs. Gauley (joanne.gauley@gorhamschools.org).

Parents, you can also email support@gorhamschooldepartment.freshdesk.com  This goes directly into a helpdesk ticket system monitored by several people.  We will then assign the problem too the appropriate person.

You can also call.  Sometimes you need tech support because you can't get online!  Imagine that!  We have set up a tech support hotline at 222-1188.  We will make every effort to answer your calls from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  However, feel free to call at any time and leave a voice mail with your phone number, a brief description of your problem, and the appropriate time to call back. Your voice mail will to go a mailbox being monitored by several people and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Finally, you can email Dennis Crowe (dennis.crowe@gorhamschools.org) with any general questions, comments, or feedback.

Thank you Techies!

School Nutrition Program Update

A reminder that folks can pick up lunches from 11:00 - 1:00 Monday through Friday at each of FOUR satellite locations:

1.  Little Falls Recreation Center, 40 Acorn Street (this is a change from yesterday when we said Gray Road).

2.  Moody's Collision Center, 200 Narragansett Street

3.  Phinney Lumber, 519 Fort Hill Road (Route 114) and

4.  Friendly Village Community Center

"Operation Feed Gorham" has already fed well over 600 people these past few days...our goal is to make sure no one goes hungry in Gorham during these difficult times!  We will be expanding this program to include anyone in the community soon, so stay tuned.  Thank you to Cindy Hazelton and the Gorham Recreation Department for working with us to expand this program to serve the community as a whole!

The Gorham Schools Backpack program is still operational as well.  Best place to get information on that is through their facebook page!  Heather is doing a great job keeping that up and fully up to date!

Digital Safety

As we continue down this path of "distance learning" especially with students in grades 4-12 who are now primarily using 1:1 devices at home to stay engaged in their learning, I just wanted to take a moment to remind parents of the importance of monitoring children when they are using their devices.  We will do our part, and in fact we are purchasing some software that will be added to machines (via distance) within the next week that is called "Securely software"...but even above and beyond that - its important for parents to take time to talk with students about digital safety.  Students should know that it is not ok to share their login information with anyone.  They should be wary of how and what they search on line for.  And most of all they should be mindful to ALWAYS BE KIND to one another as they interact using different types of digital platforms.

A great resource in this area has always been, and continues to be a group called "Common Sense Media".   I've linked the page so you can check it out...I usually go right to the "Parents Need to Know" section...but definitely wanted to mention this so you could all be mindful and help talk with your students about the importance of online safety.

The Importance of Social Distancing

I wanted to share one more "Plea" regarding the importance of social distancing.  I've included a great LINK HERE to an informative webpage geared towards parents and children on this important topic.  The important piece here is to think of it more like PHYSICAL distancing (6 feet minimum) but not necessarily "social" distancing.  A delicate balance indeed, but an important distinction as we all begin to battle the "cabin fever" that may be associated with self quarantine or home isolation.

In Closing...I just wanted to share a picture of something that Mr. Porter came across at Village Elementary School today when he went  into the building to check in on things...WE MISS OUR STUDENTS TREMENDOUSLY...so to whoever sent this along . . . THANK YOU  I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!







I am shutting off now...see you all again on Monday!

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