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Superintendent Update 4/29/2020: May/June Planning

4/29/2020

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Superintendent Update 4/29/2020: May/June Planning

Dear North Smithfield Families, Staff, and Students,

Please review below updates and plans for May/June. Please keep in mind that situations and guidance may change and we may update or modify a few items along the way.

May/June Statewide School Calendar

May 06, Wednesday      Planning Day for Teachers
May 15, Friday          Vacation Day
May 20, Wednesday      Planning Day for Teachers
May 25, Monday      Memorial Day
June 01, Monday     Planning Day for Teachers
June 16, Tuesday      Last Day of School

Student pickup of personal items

Each school will be bagging up the contents of student desks and lockers, labeling the bags, and releasing a time/date schedule for curbside pickup of student personal contents. 

Student return of textbooks, chromebooks, and instruments

Students in grades K-11 can hold for the summer any textbooks, workbooks, chromebooks, musical instruments, or any school-owned property currently at home and bring it back on the first day of school in the fall. Graduating Seniors will be given a separate opportunity and time to return school-owned property.  Families who move out of North Smithfield during the summer or plan to attend a school out of district, please call your child’s school and arrange for a return. 

Grading and Exams

Due to the interruption of standard classes for extended Distance Learning, report card grades for K-8 students will be issued as Pass/Fail during the last semester/trimester. 

The report card grading for students in grades 9-12 will remain unchanged as their grades are connected with School and State graduation requirements, grade point averages, college admissions, and other considerations. 

For middle and high school students, there will be no scheduled final exams at the end of the school year. While teachers may give some form of assessment at the end of this semester, there will be no comprehensive final exams.  

Graduation and end of year activities and events 

I would like to send a special thank you to  everyone who sent in their ideas and offers of help to celebrate our graduating seniors. The School Committee has pledged its full support and we are still holding onto the original graduation date of Friday, June 5th and are currently working on multiple plans and options to align with the Governor’s and DOH’s guidance. We all want to do something special and memorable for our graduating seniors.

Our principals will send specific information to let you know how we will be handling events such as kindergarten registration, honors, graduation, etc.

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Superintendent Update 4/20/2020 NSHS Viewbook and Parent Survey

4/20/2020

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Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff, 

We anticipate the Governor will make an announcement this week regarding schools opening or remaining closed, and if so, for how long.  In the meantime, we are making plans, alternate plans, and backup to alternate plans on how we can handle honors, awards, and graduation. We want to make our students proud.  

North Smithfield High School Viewbook: 

It was my hope to have our NSHS Viewbook printed and distributed throughout the community as a celebration of North Smithfield High School, its students, faculty, and programs. For those who miss NSHS, or will be attending NSHS in the fall, or even if you live outside of North Smithfield and would like to attend NSHS through one of our Career and Technical Programs, below is a link to the North Smithfield High School Viewbook.  In this booklet, you will see students, staff, a school, and a community dedicated to excellence.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eKP4SyPXwcYf8KT0qeUtyZ25IDV9DTzG

Parent Distance Learning Survey 

I want to thank the parents who responded to our Parent Distance Learning Survey. As a reflection of the innovative work our teachers are doing with your children, the majority of you responded very positively to the survey questions. The feedback you provided on striking a work/home balance, organizing assignments, and providing clear expectations has been invaluable. Your responses to the questions regarding instructional, social, and technical supports will allow us to work even more closely with your children to help them be successful. 

We especially appreciated the many thoughtful and insightful comments you included. Each principal has taken the comments specific to his or her school and is reviewing them with their leadership teams and faculty. 

Since this survey was anonymous, we cannot follow-up with the few individuals to address your specific issues or concerns.  We can however encourage you to reach out to your teacher, case manager, school counselor, assistant principal or principal as we are all here to help.  

We are all working together in the current situation to accommodate all students' needs. Thank you for your assistance. 



Michael St. Jean,
Superintendent

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Superintendent Update 4/14/2020

4/14/2020

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Dear North Smithfield Families, 

Last we sent to our teachers and support personnel a summary of Instructional Guidelines for Distance Learning.  These Guidelines are based on parent and student feedback and best practices seen and suggested by North Smithfield’s teachers and administrators. 

We are sharing the guidelines with our families for review as well. Please take a look.  At the end we are including a link to a brief survey form for your direct input and feedback. 

General Considerations
  • Family Situations - We have to be considerate of the wide range of time, support, and pressures our families are facing during this period. Don’t overwhelm either them or yourself.  
  • Design for Independent Learning -  Not all students have parents to support their learning during the day and/or they may lack the confidence in their ability to learn independently. 
  • Allow Extra Time - Without the teacher present to immediately answer a student’s direct questions, it will take students longer to complete an assignment. 
  • Avoid Technology Overload - Be consistent with virtual meetings, web apps, and services to avoid technology overload.  Use Google Classroom to streamline information in one place for all the assignments, schedules, and expectations.  Leverage the consistent set of applications and capabilities of Google’s GSuite and other NSPS purchased and endorsed systems and services. 
  • Encourage Personal Connections - Working remotely does not mean working alone. Give assignments or projects that encourage students to work collaboratively. 
Grade Level and Content Areas
  • Organize -  Help students and families organize their time: 
    • Start the week with an agenda and framework for learning. This will help our students and families to better navigate their time and schedules. 
    • Give assignments at a consistent time (such as by 8am) or by intervals (such as every other day). Don’t drop assignments on students during the middle of the day.
    • Coordinate with your school, departments, and teams when you are scheduling virtual meetings to avoid overlapping. 
  • Record your virtual meetings, discussions, demonstrations, and direct lessons and post to Google Classroom for review and replay. Capturing recordings will help accommodate all students and families no matter their schedules or circumstances. 
Itinerants/Electives
  • De-emphasize written assignments - With Distance Learning, the content area teachers will have to focus more on reading and written assignments due to limited time for classroom discussion. 
  • Emphasize the creative and experiential - This is an opportunity for students to engage in creative exploration and enrichment. Students can work on daily and weekly fitness goals. They can build or fix something with/for a parent. Students can draw, model, or create using any media, they can visit virtual museums, watch great performances and record performances of their own. There are so many opportunities and resources out there for students to explore, experience, and be active and creative. Lend them your guidance and encouragement.
Specialists and Support 
  • Maintain connections and availability to students and families: Call, conference, check-in, connect students and families with local, state, and federal organizations and resources. Continue to do whatever it takes to ensure student physical and emotional  health, safety, and success. 

We welcome any further input by completing our brief survey: https://forms.gle/YdBAWPAfBfYcsT5c6


Michael St. Jean,
Superintendent

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    Michael St. Jean, 
    Superindent of Schools

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North Smithfield School Department
P.O. Box 72
​Slatersville, RI 02876 
P: (401) 769-5492      F: (401) 769-5493

Michael St. Jean, Superintendent
North Smithfield Middle School - ​Room 137
1850 Providence Pike
North Smithfield, RI  02896

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