Good Evening Caregivers & Students,
We have completed Day 8 of our 10-day planning and professional development in anticipation of Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School reopening on Wednesday, September 16th. During this time, teachers have learned new technology strategies for hybrid learning, worked together to plan lessons, and attended several workshops including self-care! We are prepared and excited to see our students in person next week and know that everything we do is for them.
Here is a quick preview of the schedule for this coming week.
| Monday, September 14 | ||
| Tuesday, September 15 | Orientation | New Student Orientation: in-person 7:45 am – 11:45 am
Virtual Learning Plan Orientation: virtual 6:00 pm |
| Wednesday, September 16 | Day 1: Blue | On-Campus: Grade 9 Academics & Grade 12 CTE
Remote: Grade 11 Academics & Grade 10 CTE |
| Thursday, September 17 | Day 2: Blue | On-Campus: Grade 11 Academics & Grade 10 CTE
Remote: Grade 9 Academics & Grade 12 CTE |
| Friday, September 18 | Day 3: Blue | On-Campus: Grade 9 Academics & Grade 12 CTE
Remote: Grade 11 Academics & Grade 10 CTE |
Virtual Learning Plan Orientation
There will be a virtual orientation session for all students enrolled in the Virtual Learning Plan on Tuesday, September 15th at 6:00 pm. More details to follow.
Freshman & New Student Orientation
We are excited to welcome our new students to the Essex Tech family! On Tuesday, September 15, 2020, all new students will come in person to school for a formal orientation! An email about orientation was sent on Monday, August 24, 2020. If you have specific questions regarding New Student Orientation please email Ms. Jennifer Skane at jskane@essextech.net.
Schedules
We are excited to announce that grade 10-12 student schedules will be available through Aspen beginning today, Friday, September 11th. Grade 9 students will receive their schedules at our New Student Orientation on Tuesday, September 15th.
We also wanted to share some important information about schedules:
- Be sure that your term is set to “FY” to see your entire schedule.
- Room numbers may change for some students, and students should double-check their schedule online
- Given the complexity of scheduling students throughout the school while following 6-ft social distancing guidelines, we will not be making changes to student schedules until October.
- If you have a concern about your schedule, please do not email your guidance counselor directly, please complete the following form.
- Please be aware that the following special education services, academic support, reading, and speech-language are not reflected on your student’s schedule that has been shared via Aspen. Currently, you will see an elective listed, Title I reading (Reading Skills Seminar) or math (Math Skills Seminar), and/or health and career enrichment as placeholders. Early next week, by email, you will receive an annotated schedule reflecting those services and information from Sue Stevens, the Director of Special Education, further explaining special education support and the hybrid teaching model. For those students who receive counseling services, those times will be scheduled with the student’s counselor.
Nurses Letter
Please review the following important information from the Health Office.
Medication Drop Off
If you need to drop off medication that your child will take at school, please contact nurse@essextech.net to set up drop-off time. Thank you.
Important Information Regarding School Meals
As explained in an email sent by Grace Clarke, our Food Service Director, yesterday, all students will receive free breakfast and lunch until December 31, 2021. For more detailed information please review Ms. Clarke’s email: School Meals Information
Lunches
Breakfast and lunch will be grab and go this year. Breakfast will be served in the Main Cafeteria and students may eat in the Gym, Main Cafe, or nearby Tent. For lunch, students will be assigned to a seat and all students must sit in their assigned seat. Teachers will have seat locations for the students on the first day of school. There will be two lunch choices every day, a hot lunch and a cold lunch. We will not have a la carte items at this time. Students will need to have their ID to scan when they leave the lunch line. As a reminder, there is no charge for breakfast and lunch for all students until December 31st.
Remote Day Lunch Pick Up
Our Food Service Department will provide lunch to your child if you want them to on the days that they are learning remotely. If you would like to sign your child up for Remote Day Lunch Pick Up, please email our Food Service Director, Grace Clarke, at gclarke@essextech.net. Lunches will be prepared the day before and will be available for students to pick up before they leave school on their in-person day.
First Days of Remote Learning
For students who will be joining remotely for the first day of school, your teachers will be in touch via email with the information needed to access your virtual class. On remote days, students will be following our normal bell schedule and should report (virtually) to class at the appropriate start time. It is important to remember that attendance is based on students being live with their teacher and classmates remotely when the class is scheduled to be held on the remote learning day.
Athletics Update
We have been working with our Athletic Director, Ms. Lalli to review new guidance released by the MIAA and the School Committee voted last night to allow soccer, golf, cross country, and field hockey to be played this fall. All registered athletes will receive communication from Ms. Lalli early next week with more information.
Parking Fees
At the school committee meeting last night, it was approved to not charge for student parking this year due to COVID-19. We will be reimbursing those that have paid the school in the next few weeks. For those seniors who received a credit toward their parking from last year, we will be reimbursing you less any fees due.
Updated Calendar
We have again adjusted the school calendar for the 2020-21 school year. The most recent version of the calendar, as well as the hybrid learning schedules for each grade, are available on the Calendar page of our website at https://essexnorthshore.org/
Sincerely,
Heidi T. Riccio, Ed.D., Superintendent-Director
Shannon Donnelly, M.A.T., Principal
Thomas O’Toole, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent
