Happy Friday Everyone! Before I get into the "meat" of this update, I wanted to take a minute to just share some recent and somewhat "random" images of the incredible learning that is going on in our schools. I know that this hybrid schedule is not the optimal schedule for our students and families...but there is some incredible learning going on and I think it is important to remind ourselves of that every once in a while and as I've said before - pictures are worth 1,000 words! Here you go!
OK, now on to the updates...
UPCOMING HOLIDAYS - TRAVEL AND COVID 19 - IMPORTANT POINTS TO CONSIDER!
First, let's address any questions families might have regarding travel considerations for the upcoming Thanksgiving Break. It is important to understand that if your student(s) plans on traveling outside of the state of Maine for the holiday, you will need to do ONE of the following:
1. Quarantine for 14 days upon returning to Maine,
OR
2. Get tested for COVID 19 upon returning to Maine and provide proof oof a negative result to your school nurse.
NOTE #1: Please remain quarantined until the test results are ready.
NOTE #2: PLAN AHEAD! Before leaving the state, make your COVID-19 test appointment for when you return. Appointments can be made at your PCP's office or at any Maine testing site. You can find a listing of all testing sites in Maine by CLICKING HERE.
NOTE #3: Currently (and this is subject to change) - if you travel to one of the following three (3) states, you are EXEMPT from the need to quarantine and/or test upon return to Maine. Those three (3)states are: Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
These travel restrictions follow the current state mandates which can be found by CLICKING HERE for more details. If you have any questions, I would urge you to reach out to your school nurses' office and I am sure they will do their best to help answer any questions you may have!
As Dr. Fauci stated earlier this week, each of us is going to have to make our own choices and decisions regarding what we do to celebrate these upcoming holidays in as safe a manner as possible. These choices and decisions should weigh several different factors, many of which are unique to each family unit. Clearly the most safe manner to celebrate as a family would be via distance. However, I am not going to stand here and state that families shouldn't gather for the holidays or that they should. Each of us must make these decisions on our own weighing unique factors such as:
- Current levels of community spread of COVID 19 in your area and the areas you may visit.
- Health status of those who may or may not participate in such a gathering.
- Ages of those who may or may not participate in such a gathering.
- What safety measures you can take for in person gatherings to mitigate risk.
- Can you still gather meaningfully as a family using technology as a resource?
As each of our families weigh these factors, I thought it might be helpful to share several resources I have found to help families think about these important decisions. Here are a few that I found most helpful (I'm sure more can be found):
Again, each family's choices will be unique. It is not up to myself or anyone else to make these decisions other than the families involved. Therefore it is also not up to myself or anyone else to question the decisions made by other families. I hope these resources assist you and your family in helping to make this Thanksgiving and upcoming holiday season the best and SAFEST it can be this year!
OH - AND REMEMBER...(1) WEAR THOSE FACE COVERINGS, (2) DO YOUR BEST TO KEEP YOUR SIX, AND (3) WASH AND SANITIZE YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY!☺
THOUGHT EXCHANGE SURVEY SUMMARIES NOW AVAILABLE
Our apologies for it taking so long to compile this data from the early part of October, but there was A LOT of awesome information contained within these surveys that we wanted to make sure to capture accurately in order to continue to inform our processes. As a reminder, the question we asked was:
To start, below is an image of a word cloud created by the over 1,000 parent participants in the survey who shared and rated almost 30,000 thoughts. Those words that are largest are those that were most often repeated by parents in their response:
As you can see, safety was a huge piece along with the happiness of students, good communication and basically kudos for a job well done. Next is the word cloud from staff to that same prompt:
Great to see that "Happy" word front and center again in there right? The other key words deal with appreciating smaller class sizes and appreciation for being able to get back to in-person learning with students. Finally, the word cloud from students to that same prompt:
There is A LOT more information from each of these surveys beyond these word clouds. Below, please find links to a slide presentation for each survey (parent, student, and staff) that gives more detail:
Additionally you can login to the reporting websites for each below:
This information was shared with District Leadership Team Members and members of the Gorham School Committee and is being used to continue to tighten up our practices to make our hybrid learning model as effective as possible for our students, staff and families moving forward.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING CHANGES
Since schools reopened in September, the Gorham School Committee had moved its regular, workshop, special, and subcommittee meetings back to in person meetings. Given the increasing numbers of COVID 19 cases in our area, the School Committee decided last night that each month's regular business meeting will still be held in person at Gorham High School's MPAC, but that all other meetings (workshop, special, and committee meetings) will move back to online via zoom, beginning next week. Additionally, it was decided to move public comment for live meetings to an online format. Because of this, I wanted to remind folks how to access these meetings and the materials from each meeting if you are interested.
First, it is important to note that each month's regular School Committee meeting will still be held in person, although public comment at these meetings will now be done online with no members of the public attending in person. These meetings typically occur on the 2nd Wednesday of each month and begin at 7:00 p.m. These meetings are broadcast live via GOCAT and then recordings are archived on the Town's website. You can find agendas and minutes for all meetings by going to our website under "About Us" and then clicking on "School Committee". I've linked the specific page HERE for your convenience. At the top of that page you can click to view the actual detailed meeting packet information for each meeting.
The best way to keep track of these meetings is by following our district wide calendar from our website. Go to www.gorhamschools.org and then at the bottom right of that main page you will see our "Upcoming Events" calendar. This calendar will list all meetings of the School Committee and its subcommittees. If a meeting is being held via zoom you will also see the zoom link for that event. Just click on the event itself and the details will pop up. If you don't see a zoom link that means the meeting will be held in person. The specific location will always be at the top of the agenda. For specific agendas and minutes of our subcommittee meetings, once again you can find all details on our website. Just go to "About Us", then click on "School Committee" and then once on that page, look to the bottom right and click on "School Committee Subcommittees". There you will see links to all information for our standing subcommittees and any active ad hoc committees as well. Once again, for your convenience I have linked the specific page HERE.
As always, if you ever have any questions about how to access information regarding the Gorham School Committee, please reach out directly. Email is the best: heather.perry@gorhamschools.org.
UPDATED 2020-21 SCHOOL CALENDAR
Apologies for once again having to make some adjustments to our school calendar, but remember the original calendar was created and approved before COVID (I know, hard to believe such a time existed right) and so as we continue to move through our calendar this pandemic year, adjustments are required. Here is a list of the adjustments approved by the Gorham School Committee last night and under that, a link to the updated 2020-21 School Calendar:
Change #1: December 23, 2020 moved from an ER day to a NO SCHOOL DAY.
Because we will likely still be in our hybrid model of learning (we hope) by December 23, 2020 and because in our hybrid model of learning we do not do half days, we had to address December 23 on the calendar. Because of its proximity to the Christmas Holiday break, we decided that rather than make it a full day of school, we would make it a NO SCHOOL DAY.
Change #2: Moving Jan. 8, 2021 from an "A" day to a fully remote Friday. By moving this day back to the typical remote learning Friday schedule, we are able to ensure an equal number of face to face instructional days for students in both A and B groups with 72 days each.
Change #3: Last Student Day for All Students Now June 10, 2020.
Because we will no longer have snow days this year, and because under the Governor's emergency orders the required 175 student days is waived, and because we are still beholden to no more than 183 staff days, we have designated Thursday, June 10 as the final student day of school across grades K-12. This will end the school year with 171 student days vs. our typical 175.
Change #4: Last Staff Day Now June 11, 2020.
Because we are required to have no more than 183 staff days, we have designated June 11, 2020 as the last in person staff day. There is a "flex day" associated with Monday, June 14, 2020 but this day is a "give back" day as provided by our negotiated contract due to the additional time we require our teachers to be "on duty" during the spring parent/teacher conference times. All that being said, June 11 will be day 182 for staff and then June 14th will be day 182 for staff.
CLICK HERE for the updated 2020-21 School Calendar. As always, if you have any questions please ask!
FINAL REMINDER - STORIES NEEDED!
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES REGARDING ISSUES OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION TO HELP INFORM OUR CONTINUED WORK!
WE NEED YOUR VOICE!
I am asking parents who are willing, to participate in an important google survey. The aim of the survey is to offer up an ability for parents to share their experiences within the Gorham Schools with the issues of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in a safe and anonymous way. The survey won't be your typical survey. It won't ask your opinion. Instead, it will ask you to share your experiences through the telling of stories. At the end of the survey you will have the opportunity to share your name and email contact information if you'd like to set up a one on one meeting with me to more deeply share your stories and experience. For those that wish to participate in this piece, I will then reach out to schedule a time to meet with you. Once completed, I will compile the stories and corresponding themes that are collected and share them back to parents and discuss their implications at a forum to be scheduled later this winter - likely via zoom.
To be clear, these surveys and potential follow up meetings will NOT be a time for me to lecture to you on this topic, and conversely, it is not intended to be a time whereby you lecture me on this topic. Instead, the focus is on SHARING REAL STORIES...SHARING OUR REAL EXPERIENCES...and on LISTENING to these shared experiences as they relate to our schools. No judgement, no blame, no finger pointing. Just respect, honesty, courage, compassion and responsibility - sound familiar? ☺
I would ask parents who are interested in participating to please complete the survey/story by November 20, 2020. I look forward to hearing from you and as always, if you have questions, please feel free to email me at heather.perry@gorhamschools.org
Here is the link to the survey.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - SEEKING MEMBERSHIP ON THE NEW ANTI-RACIST ADVISORY SUBCOMMITTEE
In a previous blog post I let folks know that the Gorham School Committee recently approved the creation of an Ad Hoc "Anti-Racist Advisory Sub Committee". You can view the purpose, roles and responsibilities of this Committee by CLICKING HERE. Membership will be as follows:
Chair: S.C. Member
Members: Students (2 GHS), Staff (1 from each school), Parents/Guardians (1 each grade span), Community Members (2), 1 Administrator from each grade span, and the Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent, and 3 School Committee Members (if possible)
Decision-Making: Consensus Model
Invite guests as needed
Facilitated by Maine Intercultural Communication Consultants (MICC)
At this point, I am seeking parents and individuals from the community interested in filling the following slots. If you are interested, please reach out via email directly to EITHER myself or Dr. Record via email: heather.perry@gorhamschools.org or chris.record@gorhamschools.org
- 1 K-5 Parent/Guardian
- 1 6-8 Parent/Guardian
- 1 9-12 Parent/Guardian
- 2 "at large" Community Members
I will collect names of those interested in serving on this committee between now and the end of November. I will then bring names to the Policy Committee to review and assist in determining final membership. I will then notify those who were selected. This will likely be sometime in Mid December, after the anti-racist policy has been finally approved by the School Committee. As always, any questions, please ask.
GHS LIVE RADIO PLAY - THIS WEEKEND!
First, you have to check out this awesome trailer:
If you are interested in purchasing tickets, you purchase them through "Broadway On Demand". Click on the links below for the night you are interested in and go from there.
Once you've purchased access to the performance you want to see, you can follow that same link at show time.
That's enough for this week! Enjoy your weekends!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.