December Weekly Update

Thank you to those who donated to the West EL Season of Giving. Families are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Carideo-Cobbs if you or your family require assistance this holiday season and beyond. Your email will remain confidential and your privacy respected. maryellen.carideocobs@andoverma.us

Family Math Resources: Please take a moment & review this month's parent resources prepared by Math Instructional Coach Tim Harkins. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AXoHyZdrmE2sXg1W_gIektJSE78owuM4/view?usp=sharing

Our School's PTO has been hard at work providing before school activities, arranging enrichment programs, running our book faire and raising funds! Thank you to our PTO and greater West EL families for honoring our teachers' Scholastic Books wish lists. This week we are expecting 2,500 for 222 book/classroom items.

These forums have no set agenda and the community is welcome at any time to speak with two members of the School Committee on any topics related to our schools. Because these sessions are attended by only two School Committee members, they allow an interactive dialogue outside of the Open Meeting Law legal parameters. Issues raised at the forum that might require further discussion with the entire School Committee will be communicated during a regular business meeting.

Pre-registration is required for this meeting and can be done at any time. Upon registration, attendees will receive a confirmation email to join the meeting.

We hope to see you if you have an issue you'd like to discuss.

Event Information

Link to Register

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0rceypqDsrGdHDP_UCsAUavnuGbRFqF6lr

When?

Wednesday, Dec 11, 2024, 07:00 PM

Additional Informal Forums for 2024:

· Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 4 p.m. - Doherty Middle School Cafeteria (50 Bartlet St.)

· Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. - Memorial Hall Library (2 N. Main Street)

· Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 7 p.m. - Ballardvale Fire Station (161 Andover St.)

· Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 7 p.m. - virtual

· Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 4 p.m. - West Middle School Cafeteria (70 Shawsheen Rd.)

· Saturday, June 7, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. - Memorial Hall Library (2 N. Main Street)

Let's collect some food for our Student Council Food Drive & have some fun at the same time! Families and staff are encouraged to participate in our Winter Spirit Week December 16th-December 20th.

COLD/FLU SEASON:

When to keep your child home:

• Fever
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Contagious diseases- please call the clinic to discuss with the nurses if you have any questions
• 
  

Criteria for a student returning to school following an illness:

• Fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications.
• Vomiting or diarrhea free for 24 hours.
• If your child has a contagious illness – contact the school nurse before your child returns to school so that we can advise you regarding return to school protocols
• Andover Public Schools does not support a “no nit: policy. If you find your child has lice, please contact the school nurse so we can support and advise you. All students should be checked by the school nurse before returning to school.

Although we are not currently seeing a lot of head lice in the school, returning from vacation tends to be when we see an uptick in cases. As a preventive measure, please continue to perform head checks on your children monthly and call the clinic with any questions.

As we enter winter, we want students to have a consistent outdoor experience between grades and classrooms. To support this, we have set guidelines for temperature/weather type when deciding outdoor vs. indoor recess for all classrooms. Below are guidelines for outdoor recess for ‘24-25' school year.

• Students will be outdoors if the temperature (including wind chill) is 20 degrees or warmer and it’s not raining, sleeting, hailing, or blizzarding.

• If students want to play in snow, they must be wearing snow pants, boots, jackets, and gloves/mittens. If students do not wish to play in the snow, they will remain on the blacktop.

• With a large amount of students out on the playground at each recess, we need to be extra vigilant about safety. There is no throwing of snowballs or ice.

• Label each article of clothing so that if something is misplaced, it can be returned to you as quickly as possible.

Please be aware that all students go outside when the weather meets these conditions. Thanks for taking the time to remind students of the winter expectations. Snow play is beloved by many and we want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to safely enjoy their recess time during these months.

If your child is in need of appropriate recess gear, please reach out.