Naquag News - August 14, 2020

Good Afternoon Naquag Families,

Greetings and positive hopes that you are well and are having a superb summer. Our new school year is beginning soon! Due to the Covid-19 virus and circumstances beyond our control, this upcoming school year will certainly be unique and interesting! As always, here at Naquag, our teachers and staff will continue to move forward and focus on supporting our children and families.

As you may have heard, the Wachusett Regional School Committee voted this week to begin this school year with a remote learning plan. This detailed plan incorporates a phased approach to eventually bring students back to school. This plan was developed with the goal of keeping our children, staff, and communities safe. As Superintendent McCall shared in an earlier message, “...our primary objective is to educate our students; we must remember that the health and safety of our students and staff comprise the foundation of our decision-making processes”.

In the coming weeks, we will strive to work out the specific details to ensure we are as effective as possible while educating and caring for our children in the coming months. The Online Education Program (OEP) will look very different from last spring’s Remote Learning; students will be expected to follow a schedule, new content will be taught, and student progress will be assessed regularly through a variety of measures. Additionally, in the coming weeks we will polish our methods which nourish our children’s social and emotional needs and explore ways to incorporate check-ins, as well as to provide safe social opportunities throughout OEP.

The only thing we know for sure about the 2020-2021 school year is that it will be unlike any school year that any of us have ever experienced. Now more than ever, the home-to-school connection is critical. Teaching and engaging students can be difficult even during the best of times - and there will be times when it is even more so while we are not in-person, but it is also incredibly rewarding and fun! I ask you to keep in mind that attitude is everything. Perseverance and positivity are traits that we model at school; I encourage you to be sensitive while expressing concerns, frustrations, or negative comments about what our children’s school experience will be this school year. We are on this journey together and we at Naquag ask you to join us in making the best of it.

We pursue education and teaching because we love children and want to make lasting connections, and ultimately, a difference in their lives. Know with confidence that the staff at Naquag will do everything they can to support our children. Your collaboration and cooperation is needed and is much appreciated. Please let us know when things are not going smoothly, but also share when something works well so that we can build on that experience.

I’ll be sharing more information in the upcoming weeks as it becomes available. We appreciate your patience and understanding. Please feel welcome to contact me @ Dixie_Estes@wrsd.net with any questions, concerns or even to say hello!

Kind regards,

Principal Dixie Estes