The CMS Tide Weekly Newsletter

Now that Homework Center at the Paul Pratt Library can't be held in person, National Honor Society students have volunteered to run a virtual Homework Center via Zoom to help students of all ages with classwork, studying, and any other school-related work.

The Homework Center will run Tuesdays at 10am and Thursdays at 5pm on Zoom.

• To reserve a spot for Tuesday’s session, please register by 6pm Sunday night.
• For Thursday, please register by 6pm Tuesday night. Sign ups are available here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JOj7NcgKvckG2XAfTxmUdvb2NrLvX4D7K2mCMQwYLYI/edit?usp=sharing.

The zoom code will be emailed to you the night before your child’s scheduled meeting so that you are able to join easily by the next day.

If you have any questions, please email Brigid Lengyel: blengyel@ocln.org

They look forward to helping students as best we can during these difficult times!

Is your student falling behind with their school work? Here are two ideas that might help with organization and work completion!

• Daily: Check your Child’s Google Classrooms… all 8 of them(!) and make a list of what needs to be completed that night for homework. Total time needed: about 15-30 minutes for list making.

• Weekly: Check your Child’s ASPEN for each course...all 8 of them(!) and make a list of assignments marked as a ‘0’ to be completed over the weekend. Total time needed: about 10-15 minutes for list making.

As we are always working to foster students’ independence. Here are 4 steps to transferring these list strategies from parent responsibility to the child’s responsibility.

Step #1: Parent checks all 8 classes and makes the list of missing work each night/week for a month.

Step #2: The next month, both the parent AND the child both make nightly/weekly lists and compare to ensure the child added all the necessary items to their list.

Step #3: Once the child shows capability in making accurate lists, the child makes the list alone, and the parent double checks it for accuracy.

Step #4: The entire process (checking google classrooms/ASPENs and making the to-do list) becomes the child's responsibility. It could take a few weeks or months to get to Step #4, or it might take even longer based on your child's executive functioning limitations.

[The following is reposted from the CHS Newsletter. Both CHS and CMS share the same policies so Mr. Scott's eloquence applies to CMS and is greatly appreciated]

Now that we have settled in to remote learning to a certain extent, we are starting to see some misunderstandings around when and under what conditions a student can partake remotely. Remote learning offers some flexibility that we were not able to offer when totally in-person. A student who is hospitalized, for example, would have a difficult time in years' past keeping up with academics. In a virtual learning model, progressing academically is much more robust. It also provides a safety measure for students who are sick to stay home and learn virtually as their physician evaluates the cause of the illness. These are important measures in the current environment.

What we have started to see, however, are misunderstandings around the extent of flexibility that students have around remote learning. Students are expected to be in school during their assigned days and should only be participating from home if they have been asked to stay home for COVID-19 reasons. If you suspect COVID-19 exposure or are experiencing symptoms, you must call the CMS and leave a message on the attendance line (781-236-1070). Our nurse will follow up with a phone call.

While we appreciate students trying to keep up with schoolwork, it is not an option to be virtually present because the family wants to leave early for a ski weekend, or extend that weekend into a Monday. It isn't an option to take a vacation and log in from the beach, or to just decide that the student would rather be working from home.

In a hybrid model, teachers are essentially preparing two parallel instructional methods. These methods are not typically synchronous so while it does give us a structure for moving some students back and forth between in-person and remote, the lessons are not designed to have students pick and choose which method they would prefer.

Students who are experiencing symptoms or believe that they have been exposed should contact the main office and the nurse as well as teachers, and we will determine whether learning virtually during an in-person day is considered an absence.

SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) aims to promote child-focused, inclusive learning environments for all students. The council also works to support parents of students on IEPs and liaison with district and school administration to maintain open dialogue and transparency.

SEPAC holds regular meetings with Barbara Cerwonka, Director of Student Services and plans to host two virtual parent-only coffees this year to offer parents time and space to talk and share issues, concerns, and ideas. The first virtual parent-only coffee will be Tuesday, November 17th at 10am.

Keep a look-out for the flyer with the zoom link! Email us at cohassetsepac@gmail.com to ask questions, become more directly involved, or just say hello. We'd like to wish everyone a great year and extend a big thank you to all of the teachers, staff, administrators, parents, caregivers, and siblings for their ongoing and tireless efforts to keep our kids engaged and learning.

The Cohasset Public Schools has secured funding for the acquisition of approximately 170 Portable Air Cleaners (PACs) for use in various learning spaces throughout the district. We have ordered these PACs in anticipation of the winter months and in an effort to mitigate any potential air quality concerns within the buildings.

In support of this purchase, the district cites the following considerations:

· PACs can simulate a higher Air Change per Hour (ACH)

· PACs can improve air quality

· PACs can be used to reduce airborne contaminants

Thank you to the Cohasset Teachers Association (CTA) and the Town of Cohasset for their collaboration regarding this important safety initiative.

New Student Meet Up!! All students new to Cohasset this year are invited to meet up on Tuesday October 27th at 10:30 for Cohort A and Thursday October 29th at 10:30 for Cohort B. We'll be meeting in the main office and we'll head outdoors together! Students, if this is your lunch time, come with your lunch. Students if this is your utility time, just bring your backpack! Looking forward to seeing all new students next week!

Dear Cohasset Families,

We are happy to announce our new online meals ordering system. This will allow parents/guardians to order student meals for both the days that students are in school and the days they are remote learners.

Meals are available for order Monday-Friday for all students at no charge currently. Meals must be ordered before 8:00 am for that day. All parents/guardians must set up an account before ordering meals. The website for this is onlineordering.linq.com. After you have set up your account, to order meals, simply go to the district website, cohassetk12.org, and click on the menu tab at the top of the page (next to the calendar tab is a fork and knife and reads “Menu”). This will bring you to the nutrition site.

• Click on menus at the top, and then select your students’ school.
• Once the menu is open, click the online ordering button.
• Please choose the pick-up location for the student:
• For the days students are in school, select “cafeteria”
• For the days they are remote, select “remote pick up”

Meal pick-up for remote learners all grades is at Cohasset Middle/High School, behind the building at the loading dock, Monday-Friday from 12:00-1:00.

Attached are a few instructional videos to get started with online ordering. If you have any questions please contact Marilyn Haraden at mharaden@cohassetk12.org or 781-383-6107.

Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu observed "In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity."

These are certainly difficult times and many parents and families are experiencing great stress. Our ability to cope is regularly challenged and, understandably, there may be times when individuals can no longer manage their emotions. It is important to know where to turn when we reach that point.

To help our families, we share this contact list of support providers--Mental Health and Crisis Contacts These support providers offer great opportunities to help receive help when those we love are struggling to manage.

The Cohasset Middle School is a grade 6-8 school dedicated to the development of the whole child. We are an inclusive, supportive, and safe learning environment committed to excellence and growth. Our community values experiential, collaborative, active learning that is rigorous and relevant, and fosters creative, responsible contributors to a global society.

Website: https://www.cohassetk12.org/Domain/9
Location: 143 Pond Street, Cohasset, MA, USA
Phone: 781.383.6100
Twitter: @comsprincipal