Principal’s Pen ~ May 14, 2020
The Final Days of Remote Learning:
I want to thank you for all the efforts you are making to support your children through these less than ideal non-traditional days of school. We remain disappointed that we can’t actually be in school with your children and are enormously appreciative of all that you are doing at home with Remote Learning. This week teachers and specialists met again via Zoom to plan the final weeks of school. On Monday, May 18th, you should receive an email link from teachers with a newly revised menu. The links for the menu will also be available on the district website.
Elements of the new Remote Learning Menus:
New plans include projects for Science or Social Studies
Continuation of on-line learning: Dreambox, eSpark, or Lexia
Menu items for literacy and math have many ideas that can be done over and over.
If you have questions about getting access to online learning or how to find the menus please reach out to classroom teachers. They will either answer questions or refer you to one of our technology support staff who can help. The last day of Remote Learning is June 5th.
Student Belonging Pick Up
We are working next week to begin the process of packing student belongings. We are planning grade level pick-up time slots for June 8, 9, or 10th. At this time all families will come to pick up: artwork, student work, pencil box supplies, or other personal belongings that were left in the classroom. During the pick-up time, we will ask that you return musical instruments for 5th graders, iPads, and/or Kajeets for anyone who has borrowed one from the district and all library books. More specific information will be coming out in the weeks ahead.
5th Grade Celebration
I know that many of you are wondering about the 5th-grade transition to the middle school and about when or how our end of the year celebrations will occur for your children. Dr. Levesque, Principal at MCMS is in the process of joining 5th-grade class Zoom meetings in order to introduce herself and provide a brief welcome and Q & A session to students. On Thursday, May 14th, elementary principals and 5th-grade teachers met via video conferencing to consider plans for alternatives to the typical end of the year celebrations and these will be communicated as the details emerge.
End of Year Retirement
At the end of the school year, Mrs. Godfrey will be retiring as the physical education teacher from Wayne, Readfield, and Manchester Elementary Schools. She even spent some years teaching at Mt. Vernon as well. We have appreciated her leadership, collaboration, and dedication to all the students throughout the district. We wish her well in her future endeavors. The students, staff and parents will certainly miss her! Below is a message to families from Mrs. Godfrey.
Dear Parents/Guardians,
As some of you might already know, I have decided that this will be my last year of teaching physical education in RSU #38. The school board approved my retirement request in February. This is not a result of Covid-19; it’s just time for me to retire. I’ve been here long enough that some of you parents were my students many years ago! Working in the gym with children has been a pleasure, and it was an honor to be in such a supportive school system.
Retirement for me will consist of continuing to work as office administrator at TMSI, a small civil engineering company that my husband and I own, and devoting more time to my personal training business. There will also be plenty of time for hiking, biking, swimming, paddling, horseback riding, and of course, grandchildren.
Thank you for your support over the years. I will miss everyone in RSU #38.
Sincerely,
Barbara Godfrey