Newsletter

Superintendent Goguen

April 30, 2020

Dear Students, Staff and Families,

We hope everyone enjoyed their “stay-cations” and time off from remote schooling last week.

We have many important updates to share, as we have been working diligently to ensure our remote learning plan continues to serve our students well and that you are kept abreast of the ongoing adjustments we continue to make.

Updates on Webster Public School’s Remote Learning Plans

Our teachers and staff have been offering daily outreach and remote learning materials since March 16th. They have been utilizing Class Dojo, Google Meets and a variety of other online resources to maintain a learning connection and supports for our students during this school closure.

On April 21st, Governor Baker announced schools would remain closed throughout the remainder of the year and on April 22nd, he extended the stay at home order thru May 18th.

On April 24, the Commissioner of Education, provided districts with prerequisite content standards to assist schools and teachers with determining the content they need to focus on to finish out the school year. The Commissioner of Education has informed us:

      “The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has identified content standards that are prerequisites for student success in the next grade level. These standards should not be used in connection with MCAS expectations or referenced in preparing students  for the MCAS for any grade level. Since most standards have already been taught prior to school closures, we anticipate that significant time would still be spent on reinforcement as an integral part of opposed to advancing new concepts.”

With all of this news, we will now be working towards infusing some new content into our remote learning plans at the elementary and middle school. The high school has been infusing new content since March. 

The timeline for adding new content for elementary and middle school requires time for our teachers to collaborate, plan and review the prerequisite content standards that were sent out by the Commissioner of Education on April 24th. It is anticipated that they will begin blending new content with enrichment into our remote learning plans the week of May 3rd.

Our remote learning plans will vary from grade level to grade level. We want our students to be engaged in a combination of both teacher-directed and self-directed learning. Students should not be spending more than three hours each day on school- work. Daily activities should incorporate reading, exercise, time to connect with family and time to explore hobbies and crafts. You will be receiving more detailed information about grade-specific learning plans from your building principals in the near future.

We continue to encourage parents/guardians/caregiver to frequently visit our website www.webster-schools.org for various educational resources and activities to draw upon in addition to the work teachers are providing.

What can I expect from my teacher? 

All teachers and staff will continue to have daily office hours, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. During this time, teachers are providing lessons, support, feedback and they available to answer questions from students and/or families.

Virtual Lessons

Teachers will be adding to their realm of options to reach our students remotely and they may be doing live or pre-recorded lessons, meeting virtually with students using our Google Meets format. Please note we will not be using Zoom to meet with students, as the free Zoom package does not meet the privacy requirements we are obligated to ensure for our students. In order for students to participate in any live virtual lesson or communication, we need to have parent permission.  A permission slip is attached for your review.  If you are not in agreement with the conditions stated in the permission slip, please contact your school’s administrative assistant through email to document your withdrawal from this part of our remote learning plan.  Also, if you have questions, please email your prospective school administrative assistant.

     Bartlett HighSchool  ~ Lisa Fifield - lfifield@webster-schools.org

     Webster Middle School  ~ Christine Radlo - cradle@webster-schools.org

     Park Avenue Elementary School ~ Cari Reed - creed@webster-schools.org

Grading / GPA/ Class Rank

       Bartlett:  The first and second quarter will be used to determine GPA and Class Rank. The third quarter was graded up to March 12th when school was closed. Teachers are collecting work and providing feedback and marking it as “credit” or “no credit.”

       Webster Middle School: The third quarter was graded up to March 12th when school was closed.  Teachers are collecting work and providing feedback and marking it as either a 2 (full participation), 1 (some participation) or 0 (no participation) and providing an end  of the quarter ratings of  “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory.”

       Park Avenue Elementary: The second trimester report cards were mailed. Teachers are collecting work and providing feedback and marking it as either a 2 (full participation), 1 (some participation) or 0 (no participation) and providing an end of the trimester rating  of “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory.” 

District Chromebooks for grades 4, 3, and 2

I am pleased to share that we will be distributing district Chromebook for student use in grades 4, 3, and 2 during this school closure. A disclaimer will be distributed to parents/ guardians who pick up district Chromebook for students use. These Chromebook have been cleaned and will be distributed safely in a drive-thru manner next week. Principal Parmley will be in contact with parents /guardians with the details on what day and time each grade level will be invited to pick up.

Seniors Class of 2020

While these times are extremely challenging for all of us, COVID-19 has dramatically changed the lives of the Senior Class in ways that are unimaginable. With the news that schools will remain closed on April 21st, the high school staff, Principal Thomas, and the Senior Advisors are working on how to replicate and recreate many of the Senior events as possible. Mr. Thomas is in the process of working off a list of events/ideas. We will be honoring our students with a graduation and we ask students and families to be patient as the details of HOW this will be done are simply not done yet. Please know that our hearts are broken for our Seniors and we are determined to make the end of this school year a memorable one for our students. Nothing can stop Bartlett Pride! If you have questions or ideas about recognizing our Seniors, please contact Mr. Thomas at: fthomas@webster-schools.org

Webster Middle School Principal Announcement

I am pleased to announce that Assistant Principal Ms. Heidi Peterson will be taking over as the Principal of the Webster Middle School on July 1st.  Mr. Michael Zajac will be leaving the Webster Public School district at the end of June and we wish him the very best and thank him for his years of service at the middle school.

Ms. Peterson has bachelor's degree from Susquehanna University, a master’s degree from Worcester State, and a CAGS in educational leadership from Simmons College. Prior to joining the middle school this winter, she was the Assistant Principal at Tantasqua Jr. High in Sturbridge, Mary Wells Middle School in Southbridge, Elmwood Street School in Millbury, and Burgess Elementary in Sturbridge. Ms. Peterson has taught in classrooms PK through grade 8, and coached middle school cross country and high school track teams. When she is not working, she enjoys any outdoor activity.

Recognizing our Teachers

May 4-8 is Teacher Appreciation Week!  Let’s all give thanks to our teachers for what they do each day…send them an special message next week to let them know how much you care! 

We continue to prioritize safety during this COVID-19 pandemic. We understand there are many competing and varying needs in everyone’s homes during time.

Remote learning is not meant to cause any more stress. Please know our school counselors are all available to assist our students with the dealing with the sudden and drastic changes that we are all experiencing.

Park Ave Elementary School:

  Stephanie Errera – serrera@webster-schools.org

  Renee Harrington Freeman – rharringtonfreeman@webster-schools.org

  Samatha Lopez-Avila – slopez-avila@webster-schools.org

  Gina Wojnarowicz – gwojnarowicz@webster-schools.org

Webster Middle School:

  Jennifer Keary – jkeary@webster-schools.org

  Erin Pelletier – epelletier@webster-schools.org

  Michael Sweeney – msweeney@webster-schools.org

Bartlett High School:                 

  Kim Granger – kgranger@webster-schools.org

  Christopher Shen – cshen@webster-schools.org

  Patrick Diggins – pdiggins@webster-schools.org

  Nancy Guiney – nguiney@webster-schools.org

School Year Calendar

We will not be adhering to the May 6th ½ day of school and this will be a remote learning day. We will be adhering to the school calendar and May 26th will be a no school day for our students as teachers will be offered professional development on this day. The last day of remote learning school is June 19th at this time.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is hosting a virtual town hall for youth:

Are you concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on yourself and your community? The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is hosting a virtual town hall for youth on April 30th from 2-3pm to address some of the fears, stigma and misinformation related to COVID-19. This will be an interactive event featuring a panel with questions and answers as well as a break out session to provide the opportunity for youth around the Commonwealth to dialogue with each other, learn more and inform the departments approach to supporting youth during this time.

Register<http://www.cvent.com/d/cnq57d> today and send your questions in advance to  emelie@adcare-educational.org<mailto:emelie@adcare-educational.org>

Speakers:
     Dr Catherine Brown, DVM, MSU, MPH Massachusetts Department of Public Health Epidemiologist
     Caitlin Pettengill, DNP, RN Massachusetts Department of Public Health Assistant Director of School Health Services
     Moderator: Yves Singletary, Deputy Bureau Director of Community Health and Prevention

Preschool Registration 2020-2021

Applications for Preschool will be accepted for the 2020-2021 school year.

In order to qualify for preschool your child will have to be four years old by September 1, 2020.  Click here for the preschool application that you can print, fill out and mail the application back to the Special Education Office at 77 Poland Street, Webster, MA 01570. If you have any questions please email Maria Santerre at msanterre@webster-schools.org

All other registrations go to central registration Desiree Moniz – dmoniz@webster-schools.org

As always, please reach out with any questions you may have. We are here to help.

In Webster … Kindness Matters!

Dr. Ruthann Petruno-Goguen Ed.D, Superintendent of Schools