NIS Weekly News
Nantucket Intermediate School - Dec. 14 - Dec. 22, 2020
Remote Learning Continues through 12/22/20
As you know, ALL REMOTE LEARNING continues all this week and next week on Monday and Tuesday. Again, we greatly appreciate your hard work to log children into their classes, monitor their engagement during remote learning, and ensure their schoolwork is completed! We also appreciate your patience with any and all technical glitches. This is just an unwelcome part of the remote learning experience. Dr. Hallett will share a decision over the holiday break about remote or hybrid learning. This way, we will be ready for what to expect the week of January 4th.
Attendance questions answered: Students not arriving to class on time will be marked "tardy". Students who are not engaged in class - not responding to the teacher or peers when called on, camera off, no activity on Go Guardian - will be marked "dismissed". Students who do not log back into class after a special or after recess OR who disappear during class will be marked "dismissed". *If your child is sick, please continue to call the school to report your child absent due to illness.
Other news to share about trips out of state or the country: Students who are traveling out of state or to another country would, in normal times, be marked absent. The district has made the decision that whether students are remote or in-person, when they go on trips they will be marked absent. If the trip is five to 14 days, an extended leave meeting needs to take place with administration to discuss the absences. If the trip is 15 days or longer, the student will be unenrolled from the Nantucket Public Schools. *While we are in all remote learning, students logging into their entire school day will be marked present.
Visit the trees: Town has been beautifully decorated with trees, several of which feature Nantucket Intermediate School student made ornaments. Be sure to mask up and take a walk to see these lovely trees!
No School: Wednesday, December 23rd - January 3rd is the holiday break this year. See you on January 4th!
We wish you a safe and healthy holiday break! While for many of us this holiday season will be very different, may we all find opportunities for peace and joy. Please know how much we appreciate all that you do to support your children's learning. We can't do it successfully without you!
Here's to welcoming in 2021!
Evemarie McNeil, Principal & Donna Johnson, Assistant Principal
Teaching, Learning & Report Cards
Trimester 1 report cards will be published in ASPEN by the end of the day Friday, December 18th. NIS will also mail home printed report cards the following week.
What is the same and what is different?
We will still be measuring student progress against grade level standards. The ratings are "not meeting" grade level standards, "partially meeting" grade level standards, and "meeting" grade level standards. Another option you may see is "I" for "introduced" when the topic has been introduced to the students, but they haven't been learning about it long enough to assess their learning against the standard.
We have identified priority standards. We recognize that it is not feasible to hold teachers and students accountable for every grade level standard when they had interrupted learning the entire spring of 2020 and we have 170 school days this year instead of 180. It is also salient that teaching and learning during a pandemic is challenging and takes longer - especially when learning remotely. As a result, we are adjusting our pacing to spend more time on lessons based on student responses to instruction and the most critical standards that are prerequisites for the next grade level and beyond. Our focus is on student learning, not just the coverage of grade level curriculum.
Our first term addressed prerequisite skills and standards needed to access this year's grade level standards as well as social/emotional learning. Remember, last March the state directed us to review skills and concepts taught during our first weeks of remote leaning. The state then identified priority standards to focus on for the remainder of an all remote trimester 3. As a result, there were concepts and skills we needed to teach and practice this school year before moving into grade level standards. Our recognition that students were entering school and a new classroom remotely to start the year required us to work harder at building community. This and the state of the nation with the pandemic, political strife, and racial conflict supported an enhanced focus on social/emotional learning embedded throughout the school day. We are proud of our focus on educating the whole child, but shifting priorities impacted the amount of time we spent on grade level standards during Trimester I.
Recently you talked with your child's teacher about their progress so far this school year. Your child's report card should be reflective of your conversation. As you may notice some "not meeting" ratings, please add the word "YET" to the end: "not meeting, yet". Work with your child's teachers to fully understand why your child is not meeting yet. They should be able to offer you and your child suggestions for what can be done at home in addition to what is being done at school. As a school, we are working hard daily to identify children's unique challenges with accessing the learning, implementing interventions, and reaching out to you for help. We are partners in this more than we have ever been and want to work with you to support our students.
Finally, we fully recognize there are some challenges that are extremely difficult to overcome such as sick family members, students who need to watch and help younger siblings while parents work, and technological challenges for example. This is a school year unlike any other and it's our goal to work with you to maximally support your child’s continued learning. Please don't hesitate to reach out.
Partners with you,
NIS Admin and Staff
Behavioral Support
Laura Stanley, NPS district behavior analyst, wants to share her newsletter with you full of strategies for supporting your any behavioral challenges you may be experiencing with your children at home. Here it is: Behavior Support Strategies at Home
Laura Stanley, MS, BCBA, LABA
District Behavior Analyst
Nantucket Public Schools
Phone: 508-228-7290 ext 4226
E-mail: stanleyl@npsk.org
BCBA Behavior Newsletter https://www.smore.com/wuh54
Please Charge Chromebooks Each Night - Thank You!
Meals Provided
Nantucket Public Schools Food Truck: During All Remote Learning...
Parents can pick up student breakfast and lunch meals served by Island Kitchen and Patrick Ridge between 9:30am - 12:00pm at the food truck while we are all remote. When hybrid again, the hours will revert back to 9:30am - 11:30am.
ACK Food Initiative: Weekly meal provided by The Community Foundation. Please click on the flyer below for more information...
NIS Nurse News
Hello Nantucket Intermediate Families!! I hope you are all managing through this island’s surge of Covid-19. With the rise in cases, we need to stop and think about our daily activities. Have we become complacent? Did we let our guard down? I know I did. I “suffered” from pandemic fatigue. However, after watching the numbers rise over the past week and the Board of Health meeting on Sunday night, I am now recommitted to hunkering down at home, staying within my pod (which is my immediate family members who live in my house), and only doing the essential trips. My hope is that you and your families will do the same so we can keep Nantucket safe and healthy.
On another note, only half of the school has received the flu vaccine. As you know the State mandated flu vaccines for all students. The Drive Through Flu clinic is over. Now you may call the hospital @ 508-825-1000 and ask to get on the list for a flu vaccine. The hospital is formulating a plan for another flu clinic, however, with the spike in positive Covid cases they do not want extra people in the hospital right now. So please give them a call and get on that list!!
Stay safe and healthy,
Nancy Small RN
NIS School Improvement Plan 20-21
Grade 4 Decorated Tree on View at Whaling Museaum
District and NIS Return to School Safety Protocols
NPS Return to School Protocols - Fall 2020
NIS Family Handbook 2020-2021
- English: NIS Family Handbook 2020 - 2021
- Espanol: NIS Familia Manual 2020-2021
Tech Help Desk Access en Español
Video # 1
Steps for TECH HELP DESK REQUEST/Pasos para SOLICITAR AYUDA TÉCNICA
Loom | Free Screen & Video Recording Software — Watch Video
COVID-19 Travel Order
Effective August 1, 2020, all visitors and returning residents entering Massachusetts must follow new travel orders. The Commonwealth has made great progress to slow the spread of COVID-19 and gradually re-open the economy, and all visitors have a responsibility to help us keep transmission levels as low as possible.
All visitors entering Massachusetts, including returning residents, who do not meet an exemption, are required to:
- Complete the Massachusetts Travel Form prior to arrival, unless you are visiting from a lower-risk state designated by the Department of Public Health.
- Quarantine for 14 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered up to 72-hours prior to your arrival in Massachusetts.
If your COVID-19 test result has not been received prior to arrival, visitors, and residents must quarantine until they receive a negative test result.
Failure to comply may result in a $500 fine per day.
Please find more information, including the list of lower-risk states, exemptions, business guidance and other details at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order
For NPS District Information
Be sure to check the www.npsk.org website for specific District communications and updates.
Nantucket Intermediate School
Email: mcneile@npsk.org
Website: https://www.npsk.org/NIS
Location: 30 Surfside Road, Nantucket, MA, USA
Phone: 508-228-7290
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nantucketintermediateschool/
Twitter: @NISlearners