Good Evening Caregivers and Students!
Reopening Plan
As you know, on August 6, 2020, the Hybrid model was approved by the school committee to reopen our school year on September 16, 2020. This week, we submitted a final reopening plan to MA DESE. It is located HERE.
We wrote this plan with some level of flexibility. This allows us to receive feedback from MA DESE, our attorneys, and our staff. For example, it was brought to our attention that it may be better to have Grade 9 and 12 for Quarter 1 as 3 days in and flip on Quarter 2 for Grade 10 and 11 as opposed to the original course of a semester flip.
We will have a Zoom Webinar this Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 6:00 pm to give students and caretakers the opportunity to ask questions they have related to the reopening plan. To join the webinar, please use this link.
Schedules
- Students will be given their schedules as soon as it is done. There is a rescheduling committee that is actively working on the master schedule to accommodate this new model.
- Some time will be taken out of the schedule for a mask break.
- Lunch will be provided by pre-ordering using an app. Further information will be provided.
Updated Calendar
We have adjusted the school calendar for the 20-21 school year. This change reflects the 10 teacher professional development days at the start of the year as required this year by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Given this, our first day of school for students will be Wednesday, September 16, 2020.
Freshman & New Student Orientation
We are excited to welcome our new students to the Essex Tech family! We will be hosting a parent Zoom orientation on August 25, 2020. This will take the place of our in-person New Parent Orientation. On September 15, 2020, all new students will come to school for a formal orientation! More information to follow with details about New Student Orientation over the next two weeks.
Freshman Integration Summer Academy
We just completed our first week of our first-ever Freshman Integration Summer Academy and we are happy to announce that it has been a great success. This program was funded by a grant from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. We will be hosting similar programs throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Heidi T. Riccio, Ed.D., Superintendent-Director
Shannon Donnelly, M.A.T., Principal
Thomas O’Toole, Ed.D., Asst. Superintendent
Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School