The CMS Tide Weekly Newsletter

While in the interest of safety we discourage out-of-state travel at this time, we understand some staff members and students/families have travel plans which may take them out of state. It is important to be reminded of Governor Baker’s Travel Order. It is also important to be advised of the school district’s protocols regarding out-of-state travel for staff and students. Please see Cohasset Public School’s Travel Order Protocols.

As the Holidays are approaching it is paramount that we all adhere to the travel advisories set for us by the Department of Public Health (DPH). Here is the current travel order. It is our collective responsibility to follow this order, which currently states that:

"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."

Thank you for avoiding travel if at all possible to help us continue to keep our schools open and safe.

Sincerely,

Patrick Sullivan, Ed.D.

Superintendent

• When a quarantine is required, students/families must contact CMS Health Office and Administration who will communicate with teachers that the student will be participating remotely and the expected date of re-entry;
• Teachers will be informed of any students who will participate remotely during in-person days;
• Quarantine students are expected to participate virtually in each class unless instructed otherwise;
• Students are expected to complete all teacher assignments given to remote students by the announced deadline;
• Assignments given to in-class cohorts are to be considered make-up work. Make-up will be determined by the Assistant Principal after consultation with the student and teachers with deadlines and grading procedures clearly identified. This will inform the creation of a re-entry plan which will be managed by the School Counselor. The plan will be shared with students, parents, and teachers;
• Re-entry plans will state:

-work needed by be made up in each subject;

-the date by which the work must be submitted; and

-consequences for uncompleted/unsubmitted work (e.g. loss of 10% for first 3 days late; 20%

for days 4-7; 30% for days 8-14; 40% for 15 days or later).

• Students struggling to make work up should communicate with the School Counselor and/or teacher before assignments are marked late.

"Gratitude is an antidote to negative emotions, a neutralizer of envy, hostility, worry and irritation. It is savoring; it is not taking things for granted; it is present-orientated."

Sonja Lyubomirsky

Achieving this degree of social protection will require a new clause in our social contract that will mean fewer contacts with others and wearing protective gear.

Just as we obey the most basic laws in order to protect all of us, everyone needs to accept responsibility for not only their circle of friends, family and colleagues, but for the wider community.

Our collective behavior will be the primary determinant of whether we can keep this virus in check. We each hold the health of our neighbors in our hands.

Excerpt: Kessler, David. "We Need a New Social Contract for the Coronavirus." New York Times, April 20, 2020

Hello Parents/Guardians of Middle School Students:

Over the summer, The Cohasset Public Schools IT department updated the My School Bucks system to separate the Middle School and High School into two entities.

As a result, all Middle School lunch accounts defaulted to the High School. (Aspen was not affected.)

To be sure that everyone is listed in the correct category, please sign into your My School Bucks account were you normally go to add payments (myschoolbucks.com): https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/getmain.action?clientKey=&requestAction=home

and delete your student from your existing account, then add them back, and choose the Middle School as their building.

YOU DO NOT need to delete your entire account, just the Middle School student! Once this process is complete, you will be able to add funds and check balances as in previous years.

We apologize for this inconvenience. We discovered this when we started selling a la carte items this week, and this process is the quickest way to correct the issue.

Please note, all meals remain free for all students this year. This is only to add funds for extras.

If you have any questions, please contact Marilyn Haraden, Director of Food Services at mharaden@cohassetk12.org or 781-383-6107.

Enrichment activities are run by parents who want to offer fun and engaging activities to students outside of the school day. They will begin the week of November 16th. COVID safety precautions will be taken in all of the classes.

The fee is $25.00 for one activity, $50 for two, and $75 for three or more. Parents will need to fill out the Google Form online to sign up for one or more activities. Sign Up for Enrichment Classes here

Checks should be made payable to Cohasset Middle School. Students will need to deliver the checks to the CMS front office by the 1st day of class.

• 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.

• Parents of students who are ill (non-COVID) should report the absence to the CMS Main Office and the nurse. We encourage students to rest when absent to recover and return to school in good health.

• We ask that students refrain from logging into class remotely on their in-person days without permission from the office.

• 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.

We appreciate your cooperation with these policies. Thank you.

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 evening from 5:30-7:30PM on Zoom.

• To reserve a spot for Tuesday’s session, please register by 6pm Sunday night.

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!

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.

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