Mr. Z's Grade 4 Class – School Closure Update #2

Greetings again from the Room 302 (not so) top secret remote headquarters. I hope you are all managing well. I have a few pieces of news I’d like to share in this update:

PHONE CALLS TO FAMILIES

The district has asked teachers to check in by phone with families of all students at least once a week. I am starting these calls this week. I will be calling via a new telephone number that I set up specifically for this task. The number is (413) 342-1490. It will show up on your caller ID as “Springfield, MA.”

If you are busy, please do not feel obligated to answer when I call. I will just leave a message if you don’t pick up. You may also use this number to call me, leave a voice message or send text messages to me. This is not my home phone, but I can access it at home, so don’t feel funny about using it to reach me. That is the purpose of it.

SPECIAL FOOD RESOURCES AVAILABLE

The school community, including the PTO, is putting together some great resources available to families during the school closure period, such as free school breakfasts and lunches, some Stop and Shop gift cards, etc. Please feel free to contact me by any of the means mentioned below if you need a hand getting connected to any of these resources. I would love to help.  

WAYS TO CONTACT MR. Z

You can reach me at my new phone line (413) 342-1490. You can also email me at jzyskowski@northampton-k12.us

I also want to remind you that I am posting copies of all these e-mail updates I send on my classroom blog at: http://bssroom302.blogspot.com/  You can always visit there for access to the complete collection of the school closure updates I send.

Mr. Z's Grade 4 Class – School Closure Update #1

I hope you are all settling in to a new routine for the next few weeks, and that you are all as well as can be.

In the first work packet you will find a cover letter from Ms. Liz and I that details the work enclosed and offers a semblance of a school-day schedule. The schedule idea of course is just a suggestion. We anticipated that some folks might find it easiest to try to keep a bit of a schedule, but it’s really up to you and your family’s needs if you want to follow it. The included work is largely review and enrichment, an approach that is being used across the Northampton school district for all the elementary grades.

I will try to keep my communications to you brief (I know I’m getting a little burned out myself already trying to stay abreast of all the news). I will number my updates to you to hopefully make it easier to keep track of them. This is Update #1.

I will also post copies of all the e-mail updates I send on my classroom blog at: http://bssroom302.blogspot.com/  You can always visit there for access to the complete collection of the school closure updates.

Finally, I feel a little bad about the situation last Friday afternoon at school dismissal time. I found out about the school closure literally two minutes before the dismissal bell, and was told not to tell the students. When one or two students packing up at their cubbies asked me if the school was going to close, I told them it hadn’t been decided yet. However, some of the older students had found out about the closure and were talking about it in the bus line, causing some confusion and perhaps anxiety. It’s so important for children to be able to trust adults, and I do feel bad about not being able to be more forthcoming in that moment. If your child wondered if I knew about the closure, I’d be grateful if you could explain the special circumstances we found ourselves in that afternoon and why I said what I said.

Please be safe and healthy. Please contact me at jzyskowski@onrthampton-k12.us if there’s anything I can do to help support you and your child these next few weeks. Lastly, please tell your student I say “Hello” and that I miss them already.