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School Committee Meeting Packet and Link for 4/23/2020
Good Afternoon,
There will be a School Committee meeting this evening, April 23, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be broadcast on RCTV and at the Microsoft Teams link found here. The packet to the meeting is found below.
The Unsung Heroes of Our School District
During the five weeks of our school closure, we have had many people who have kept our school district going with remote learning. This includes our support staff, teachers, building administrators, directors, and central office administrators.
During this time, we have also had many unsung heroes. These are the staff who are still coming into work each and every day to make sure that our school district continues to run during this pandemic. Others are working with our town to make sure that our community is safe and healthy. This includes our custodians, maintenance and facilities staff, food service staff, school nurses and technology staff. They are cleaning and maintaining our schools, providing food for those students in need, assisting the town in monitoring COVID-19 cases and preparing and distributing technology devices for those students who do not have access to computers at home.
We salute these unsung heroes and thank you for what you do, especially during this pandemic health crisis.
Food Service
Our Director of School Nutrition, Danielle Collins and her staff, have been preparing weekly grab and go meals for any student who needs this service. These meals include breakfast and lunch items. Currently over 40 students are accessing meals on a weekly basis. This service is open to any student who is in need of meals. If you need meals, please contact Director of School Nutrition Danielle Collins at Danielle.Collins@reading.k12.ma.us.
Recently, due to the efforts of Chief Financial Officer Gail Dowd and the Town Incident Command Team, we received a generous donation from the Boston Bean Company for additional commodities for our families such as yogurt, hummus, hard boiled eggs and pretzels. Thank you, Boston Bean for your donation!
Boston Bean Company delivering a donation of food which is being stored by our custodial staff.
Director of School Nutrition Danielle Collins Preparing Grab and Go Meals for Our Students During This Pandemic. Thank you, Danielle!
Technology
Our technology staff has been preparing and imaging computers for our students who do not have access to a computer at home during this remote learning situation. Our thanks goes to Network Manager Julian Carr and his entire technology staff who have prepared and distributed over 75 computers at this point of remote learning. If you are in need of a computer, please contact your building principal.
Technology staff imaging computers and setting up for daily distribution. Thank you for everything you are doing!
Custodian and Facilities Staff
Our custodian and facilities staff continue make sure that our buildings are cleaned, maintained and ready for when this school closure is over. Our custodians continue to come in during the work week to make sure that all systems are working properly. Our facilities staff is planning for the future when the buildings will be opened during this new age of pandemic planning. Thank you to Director of Facilities Joe Huggins, Assistant Director Kevin Cabuzzi, and Facilities Manager Kevin Gerstner for your leadership and working to ensure the Town and Schools have access to Personal Protective Equipment.
Facilities Staff Preparing Lexan Shields For Office Areas
School Nurses
As we began to see cases of COVID-19 in Reading, Director of Nurses Mary Giuliana and other school nurses found themselves working closely with our board of health, doing contract tracing, speaking to families about possible exposures, tracking symptoms and providing guidance about isolation and quarantine. When schools closed due to the pandemic, we were asked to continue with this work, and are happy to contribute during this crisis in any way we can. This has led to a collaboration with the town public health department, including health agent Laura Vlasuk and public health nurse Kristine Harris, which will benefit our entire community, especially as we look towards reopening schools and businesses. Reading nurses come to school nursing with a variety of experience which has helped us respond to the pandemic. Kate Shmulsky is continuing her per diem position at Newton Wellesley Hospital, caring for mothers and newborns. Sharon Grottkau has a master’s degree in information systems, which helped her train quickly on the MAVEN system used by the state to track new COVID-19 cases. Elmy Trevejo has a master’s in public health, which she is using in outreach for the town. Christine Rose is also assisting in contact tracing. Peg Costello has a degree in social work, and has helped us to consider the holistic needs of our students and staff during the time we are out of school. When school buildings closed in March, nurses were able to coordinate delivering needed medications to families, and donating PPE from the schools to our first responders. In addition to continuing to connect with students, families and staff, our nurses are preparing for next steps. Cindy Ventura and Maryellen Kirwan are coordinating professional development opportunities related to public health and crisis management, and Lisa Suglia and Kate Shmulsky are documenting guidelines for our response to the pandemic. As a team we are staying up to date with the latest information from the CDC and working with our board of health so that we keep our students healthy, safe and ready to learn when we return to school. We can’t wait to see you all again!
Reading nurses at a Children’s Hospital conference earlier this year, pre-pandemic
Parker School Nurse Kate Shmulsky prepared for hospital shift.
School Closure
Good Afternoon, Reading Public School Community,
As you probably know by now, Governor Baker has ordered the closure of all public and private schools (except for residential schools) for the remainder of the school year. This announcement has and will create a range of emotions for our students, staff, and families. For the health and safety of our staff, students, and families, it was the right thing to do. However, emotionally and educationally, we are feeling a void right now.
Over the last few weeks, our teachers and staff have be reinventing school and have been doing some amazing things in a virtual environment. I have seen firsthand the amazing videos, stories, and lessons that they have been sharing with your children. As we have all learned during this closure, attending physical school is more than just going to classes. It is the connections that our students make with each other and with our teachers. Unfortunately, this pandemic has eliminated that social connection that we have all been accustomed to as educators. My heart goes out in particular to our Senior Class of 2020, our 8th grade students, our 5th grade students, and our preschool students who were putting closure to different stages of their educational journey and will not have those full opportunities to celebrate moving on. At the appropriate time, we will do everything that we can to acknowledge and celebrate those milestones.
As we continue to strengthen our remote learning, we will continue to communicate our plan for the next phase of this closure. As you know, we have been following the guidance of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education through their remote learning guidelines and we will continue to follow their guidance in the upcoming weeks. We expect to hear more information from them soon. We will also be working closely with the Reading Teachers Association and other bargaining units as we continue to expand on our current learning opportunities during this next phase.
Over these last two months, we will use this health crisis as an opportunity to make the best opportunity that we can for our students. Although our school buildings are closed for the year, the learning is not.
Please be safe and healthy
Take care.
Reading Public Schools School Committee Meeting Link for This Evening
Good Afternoon, Reading Public School Community,
There will be a School Committee meeting this evening at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be virtual and can be found on RCTV and the Microsoft Teams link found here.
We have also attached the packet for your information.
Thanks and have a great day.
Updated Frequently Asked Questions for Reading Public Schools
Good Morning, Reading Public School Community,
We hope you and your families are well and healthy. Attached, please find an updated version of the Frequently Asked Questions for the Reading Public Schools during the COVID-19 Health Crisis. Included in these questions you will find updates in the following areas:
- MCAS cancelled in all grades for this year
- Special Education Updates
- Food and Technology distribution updates
- Remote Learning Plans
If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher, building principal, or Superintendent of Schools John Doherty at john.doherty@reading.k12.ma.us.
Thank you and be safe.
Reading School Committee Meeting on April 16, 2020
There will be a School Committee meeting on Thursday, April 16, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.. The meeting will be held on RCTV and Microsoft Teams. The School Committee agenda and packet is below.
Reading Staff Share Thoughts on Video
Over the past few weeks, staff from RMHS, Barrows, Coolidge Middle School, and Parker Middle School created videos for their students. If you have a few minutes, please take a look at them…they are amazing and thoughtfully done.
Barrows Video
April Vacation Schedule for Reading Public Schools
Good Afternoon, Reading Public School Community,
As we continue to build upon our remote learning experiences for students we wanted to let you know that the Reading Public Schools will have school during April Vacation on Tuesday, April 21st and Wednesday, April 22nd. This partial week of remote learning will allow families some down time, as well as continuing the momentum of remote learning for students.
With this change in adding two school days during April Vacation, the last day of school is now currently scheduled for Friday, June 19th.
We hope that all families have an enjoyable Passover and Easter weekend.
Take care and be safe.
Town of Reading and Reading Public Schools Seeking Gift Card Donations for Reading Food Pantry
Dear Reading Community,
We have received several inquiries from families on how they can reach out and support those families or individuals that are in need during this health crisis. The Town of Reading has set up three secure dropbox locations in our community where community members can donate gift cards. These gift cards will be given to the Reading Food Pantry to support those families in need.
We ask that gift cards are $25 or less in denomination and be from local grocery stores and pharmacies. You may drop off the gift cards at the following safe and secure dropbox locations:
- Reading Police Station (Front Entrance)
- Reading Town Hall (Side door facing Parking Lot)
- Superintendent’s Office (Main door)
In addition, the Town of Reading has set up email addresses and a phone number to offer support or receive support. That information is below:
- To Receive Human/Elder Services help email
or call 781-942-6680, press #1
- To Volunteer to help email
or call 781-942-6680, press #2
- For General Community Questions please email
or call 781-942-6680, press #3
We are all here to help. Please be safe and take care of yourself.
The Journey-The Next Chapter 