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Dear Alcott Families,
Every time we start a new month, we reach a milestone. If you had asked me last summer whether I thought we would still be learning in person in February, I would have expressed some serious doubts. For sure, the Alcott community has recently encountered some COVID challenges. However, public health officials feel comfortable that, with the classroom closures we have implemented, the situation has been contained. Of course, Dr. Hunter and I are monitoring everything very closely and will continue to be in close communication should anything change. In the meantime, I have several other updates to share in this newsletter!
Kindergarten Registration: Kindergarten registration is now open! If you or anyone you know has a student entering kindergarten next year, they can find more information about registration here: https://www.concordps.org/new-student-registration-information/
Pooled Asymptomatic Testing: As a reminder, we will begin pooled asymptomatic testing for students on February 22nd. To give permission for your student to participate in the COVID-19 Pooled Testing Program at Alcott, including consent to transmit student information via the pooled testing technology platform and consent to share the test result information with the Department of Public Health, CIC Health (a third party organization contracted to compile consent for testing and to share test results), and the Broad Institute (lab that processes the tests), please complete this form by Wednesday, February 10, 2021. Please complete the form for each child in your family. A PDF of the consent form in its entirety is found here. You may also want to check out FAQ or Visual of Nasal Swab.
Black History Month Film Festival: Please consider checking out the Boston Globe’s Black History Month Film Festival.
At this pivotal moment in our nation's history, The Boston Globe honors films and filmmakers documenting the Black experience and the continued plight of systemic racism in the United States. Please follow the link below to join us throughout the month of February we stream and discuss newly-released films alongside time-honored classics.
Midyear Suggestions for Supporting Remote Learning: Never in a million years could we have imagined how much we would learn about remote learning in a relatively short period of time. At this midway point in the year, we wanted to reshare some ideas for supporting remote learning at home. If you feel like you have a really good handle on the remote learning component of the day, keep on doing what you have been doing! If you feel like the afternoon is still a bit of a struggle, we’ve compiled some best practices we have learned over the last six months that you might consider. You can find them here!