Teacher assignments have been released via Bloomz. Please email cws.bloomz@gmail.com if you have not received your Bloomz notification.
August 31, 2021
Dear Families,
I cannot wait to see your beautiful faces in just two short weeks! Our staff and teachers have worked tirelessly this summer (during their vacation) to plan for a school year that nurtures our students so that they can flourish and remember why they love to learn. In true CWS fashion, we are concerned with the whole child well beyond what can be measured on any standardized test. Our teachers and staff will be working with students to reacclimate them to the full-day, in-person learning environment and making sure their social-emotional needs are top priority. We realize the pandemic is ongoing, many of our students have suffered great personal loss, and the mental health of our students is fragile. We will continue to be a community that cares for one another.
In the meantime, I know many of you are anxious for more details on our opening details with the first day of school being Monday, September 13 and running from 8:30am to 2:50pm. Below is a lot of information so take some time to read it over. As always, things may change as guidance from the DOE and CDC evolves, so we appreciate your flexibility in advance.
Dropoff & Pickup – Families will wait in their teacher-specific spots on the north or south side of E 12th St. A map will be provided via Bloomz a few days before school starts. Teachers will pickup the students outside at 8:30am. There is no early drop-off. Due to health regulations, the child’s guardian must remain with the child at drop-off until the teacher has cleared the student. Pickup will be at 2:50 in the same assigned spot. Please do not crowd the school doors, and instead wait for the teacher to ensure their entire class has made it to the pickup spot before letting the teacher know you are there. Teachers must make eye contact with every adult at pickup to ensure the safety of the children.
Daily Health Screening – Every morning before you leave home you will need to take your child’s temperature and complete the DOE-required health screening form If you arrive at drop-off without having completed this form, you can either complete it via your phone or on paper and the child’s temperature will be taken outside. Students will not be able to enter the building without this. Teachers must verify it for every student every day. A guardian must remain with the child at drop-off until the teacher has cleared the student. If you need a thermometer for at-home use please contact the office and one will be provided.
Breakfast and Lunch – Free breakfast will be available for all students; students who would like to eat school breakfast will do so in their classrooms. Free lunch will be available to all students. Students will be eating lunch outside whenever possible, and if inside, all efforts will be made to keep students 6 feet apart and not to comingle classes.
Masks – All people in the building (students, staff, and teachers) are required to wear a mask at all times, except when removed for short periods to eat or drink. Masks must:
If someone’s mask does not fit properly (i.e. continues to fall below the nose when they talk) or they do not have a mask, they will be provided a disposable surgical-type mask.
Classroom safety – In addition to mandatory face masks worn in classrooms, teachers will have their windows open and two sets of window fans to provide as much circulation as possible. Lunch will be held outdoors whenever possible. Teachers will space the students at least three feet apart in the classroom whenever possible, and six feet apart whenever possible to eat. Students and staff will have opportunities for frequent handwashing and/or sanitizing.
Technology – As we expect that students may need to learn remotely with little notice due to possible quarantines, we will be setting up CWS student email accounts this year to utilize with Google classroom. More information will follow on this. Students need to bring their devices with them the first week of school so that they can be configured to work with their new CWS accounts.
It is imperative that every child have access to a device for home learning should quarantines be necessary. Please fill out this google form if you have not already to indicate whether or not your child will need to borrow a device for home learning this year (this is the same link was already sent via your classroom teacher in their welcome letter)
Vaccinations, Quarantines, and Testing – The DOE has announced that all teachers and staff must be vaccinated by September 27. We realize that most of our students are not yet old enough for the currently approved vaccines, so we urge all guardians to be fully vaccinated to minimize the amount of disruptions to your schedule should your child be exposed and need to quarantine. Fully vaccinated people who are exposed to COVID-19 are not required to do a mandatory 10-day quarantine. It protects you and the rest of our community. Guardians will be asked to consent to the same front-of-the-nose, q-tip covid testing performed by trained nurses as last year. Our students did wonderfully with this last year. 10% of the unvaccinated students in our building will be tested every two weeks, but this is not nearly enough. If your child is feeling any symptoms (a slight fever, any vomiting, runny nose, coughing) please keep them home and secure a free PCR test. Here is a link to the city’s list of testing locations.
At-Home/Virtual learning – Per the DOE’s current guidance, virtual learning will only be available if a student is in required quarantine for COVID-19 exposure for up to 10 days. We are awaiting further guidance from the DOE on details regarding these plans.
Classroom closures – The DOE has indicated that a classroom will be closed for up to 10 days if there is a case of COVID-19 in that class and the situation room determines that the person may have been infectious during any classroom time.
For more details on closures and other DOE health and safety guidance, you can visit the DOE website.
I look forward to seeing you at 8:30am on Monday, September 13. Should you need something, your classroom teacher is available via email and Bloomz beginning September 9. If you have a specific question for me, please email me at mvelez4@schools.nyc.gov as I am not able to promptly respond to Bloomz messages.
Wishing you a wonderful last two weeks of summer!
Warmly,
Maria
