Monday, September 28, 2020

Borrowing and Overdue Books Update

 From our amazing Library Media Specialist Ms. Miller Brown:


Updated Arrival Procedure: Inclement Weather

Whenever the weather allows us to conduct screens outdoors we will continue to do so. We have been fortunate to have weather that allowed us to have morning arrival occur with students lining up outside for their health screens. 

This week looks like we will need to implement our inclement weather arrival procedure. Below is the procedure if the weather will not allow us to line up outside:

  • All elementary school students will enter through the gym entrance. We will have socially distanced lines for each class where screenings will occur. 
  • All middle school students will line up under the eave starting at the side door. Screenings will occur inside the lobby area of the main entrance. 

Monday, September 21, 2020

Free Reduced Lunch Applications Data Collection

Good morning Waterford School Parents and Guardians,

Last week Superintendent Tucker sent out an important message about completing Free and Reduced Lunch forms. You can find his post on the importance here

In short we want to make sure those who are eligible are able to receive free or affordable meals for their students. We also have an additional financial link to all applications coming in with our Title 1 funds. Last year we received over $82,000 in Title 1 funds! So, whether you think you will qualify or not completing the application helps the school. 

If you haven't completed the application it can be downloaded here:

 


Thank you for your support!

Chris 

Monday, September 14, 2020

COVID Update: Travel Considerations and Green Counties

As we head into our second week of school I wanted to highlight what we all need to consider as far as traveling outside Vermont and provide a personal example from my travel this past weekend. 

This past weekend I decided to take a day trip to visit family in Massachusetts. Typically all this would require is fueling up the vehicle, packing some snacks for the trip and setting the GPS. COVID - 19 has changed the way we now plan for a trip outside of Vermont. Here are the steps I took in order to decide if we could travel out of state without having to quarantine upon our return:
  1. I went to the Vermont Department of Health Website on Cross State Travel before we left on Saturday morning. The site is updated weekly each Tuesday afternoon. 
  2. I looked for the county we were travelling to (Hampshire) to determine if it were a Green County or not. Once we determined that it was a Green County we knew we could travel there without having to quarantine upon our return. 
  3. We made our visit and returned home with no other requirements. 
A  couple of questions you may have are: 
What makes a county green? 
The State of Vermont has determined that any county with less than 400 active cases of COVID-19 per one million residents allows for quarantine-free leisure travel. The counties are called Green Counties and are safe to travel to without restrictions upon returning to Vermont. 

Back to my trip....had we traveled to Worcester County, a neighboring county of Hampshire County,  we would have traveled into a non green county. Based on the Department of Health Guidelines if we had traveled to Worcester we would have had to quarantine at home for 14 days without having a COVID Test or quarantine at home for 7 days with a negative COVID test.  

What does quarantining mean?
Quarantining means staying at a home or dwelling before doing any activities outside the home like grocery shopping or going to school. 

Procedure For Out of State Travel 
To summarize, if you are planning on traveling outside the State of Vermont you need to take these steps:
  1. Check the Vermont Department of Health Website on Cross State Travel the day you plan on leaving. 
  2. If you travel to counties that are Green and have less than 400 active cases per 1 million residents you will be able to travel out of state without quarantining upon return. 
  3. Travel to yellow or red counties will require a 14 day quarantine without a COVID test or a 7 day quarantine with a negative COVID test. 
For further detail and explanation please visit the Department of Health web page on travel: Travel 

For further detail on Isolation, Quarantine and Self Observation please see the Department of 
Health table below:


If you have any questions please contact the school at 748-9393.

Respectfully,

Chris Miller 

Thursday, September 3, 2020

Welcome Letter -- September 3, 2020

Hello Waterford School Families,

Attached please find the 2020 - 21 school year welcome letter along with important information on school routines. We look forward to getting started! 

Chris Miller 

Principal 





Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Reopening Waterford School Update -- Remote Student Device Pickup

  ** This is the second update that includes Remote Device Pickup

On Thursday September 3rd and Friday September 4th students in grades Kindergarten  - 8th Grade  who will start the school year remotely can pick up their Chromebooks from school at the following times:

Thursday September 3

9:00 a.m - 10:30 a.m

12:00 p.m - 3:00 p.m


Friday September 4

9:00 a.m - 10:30 a.m

12:00 p.m - 2:00 p.m


In order to take the device home Acceptable Use paperwork will need to be completed. Please note all visitors to the school will be required to wear masks.


We look forward to seeing you!


Chris Miller

Principal