Starting January 25th, the new school day will be from 8:15 to 1:15. Also, this is when remote only students are invited to return to in person learning at WS, if they so choose.
With this change comes several adjustments. The WS Task Force is meeting this coming week to discuss traffic flow changes in the AM and PM, bus schedule changes, 100% supervision of students at all times, which impacts paraprofessional schedules, and a few other odds and ends. We are lucky to have a few teachers working on shared staff schedule changes to support this move, which is a huge help to the WS Task Force. All teachers will begin to work on their classroom schedule changes now in preparation for January 25th. The point of this change is to increase face to face instructional time, (instead of Remote WIN time), to four hours, with 30 min devoted to lunch and a 30 minute recess for K-4 and up to 30 min of recess for grades 5-8, which can be broken into smaller time slots or taken all at once.
It will take us a little bit to make good decisions about these changes. Prior to January 25th, teachers will let parents know of important schedule changes in their classrooms. I will announce changes to bus schedules and pick-up and drop-off times and locations this week, so parents can make arrangements early, if needed.
We heard you! Many of you and your children have expressed that you felt exhausted by remote only WIN time in the afternoon. We had to come up with a better plan and still meet the needs of struggling learners, and frankly, all learners. We believe increasing the school day by one hour, starting our school day earlier and ending later, is indeed in the best interest of children and families, faculty and staff, too. We feel confident that this change is a good one. The statistics bear out that we are safe in school. We will continue with our vigilant mask wearing, utilization of the outdoors, hand washing, and social distancing.
As more information unfolds, we will make sure you know what is going on. Please give teachers the time they need to prepare their new schedules. When they are ready, they will share them with you.
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to the Weathersfield School Community! You are a blessing!
JeanMarie