Head of School Family Newsletter 3.20.2020

March 20, 2020

Dear PHAmily,

As we enter the end of our first week of school closure as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, I’d like to assure you that our community’s health and wellness remains my number one priority. At a national, state and local level, this situation continues to evolve and remain fluid. Although the near future is uncertain, our community members can be certain, as demonstrated last week, that we will remain calm, cautious, and conscientious as we continue to assess, evaluate as well as plan and execute for the school closure at least through April 6.

To that end, we trust that you’ve been able to keep your child(ren) busy and engaged with Learning Packets that we sent home on Friday. This week, the school leaders have been preparing for further remote learning. For example, our IT department has been busy identifying and distributing internet/devices to ensure maximal student equity for virtual learning. Our advancement department has been gathering meal resources across our various sending districts. Our principals and academic leaders have been curating and cohering the high quality K-12 learning resources to be accessible next week on our website.

Lastly, as we live in this time of uncertainty, I would like to ensure that we stay connected as a community. Over the coming weeks, I will reach out to you regularly with school and learning updates, newly available community resources for food, medicine and essential necessities, and with tips on keeping you and your family healthy and happy.

Angela F. Allen, P.h.D.

Head of School / CEO

K-12 Teaching & Learning

Learning at Home

I understand how challenging it might be for students and families to engage in learning at home. You can help your children by making sure that you establish a quiet space and a consistent daily routine for learning. We are awaiting more details from the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) related to learning during the school closure. Like you, we too have many questions and they are working on a multifaceted plan for various scenarios. Meanwhile, we at PHA are deeply committed, to the greatest extent possible, to providing high quality learning resources for our K-12 students.

In addition to the K-8 Learning Packets sent home with students last Friday, our academic leadership team is working hard to identify grade-level and developmentally appropriate learning resources that students can engage in independently at home. We are expecting to make additional learning resources available by Monday. Starting next week, our caring and passionate teachers will be designing lessons to disseminate to their students. They miss their students and send their love.

While we know that many of you have access to the internet and computers at home, we recognize that this is not the case for everyone. We are working on finding equitable access solutions for our students and families. Next week, I look forward to providing you with updated information on learning at home. Stay tuned!

The administrative team assembling grades K-8 Learning Packets.

All hands on deck: The administrative team preparing Market Basket gift card mailings for our students who received free meals.

Access to Food and Other Resources

Food Resources

The health and wellness of our students is of upmost importance to us. As such, we supplied our families enrolled in the THRIVE food security program with food packages and provided all students enrolled and qualified for the federal free lunch program with Market Basket gift cards. After mailing the second round of gift cards we will have distributed nearly 1,200 $25 gift cards to ensure initial stability for our families.

However, as this crisis prolongs and increasingly more organizations provide access to free food, PHA will be referring our families to other community resources. Most large public school districts provide free school breakfasts and lunches for all students who reside in that city. For example:

Somerville:

Every Monday through Friday, 9:00 - 11:00AM

West Somerville Neighborhood School, basketball court
Winter Hill Community Innovation School, Medford Street entrance
East Somerville Community School, side parking lot
Healey School

For resources in Cambridge, Everett, Malden, Boston,and other towns, please click here: https://www.phacs.org/apps/pages/food-resources

If you have extenuating circumstances that cannot be addressed by the above resources, please contact In Paik ([email protected]) or Anja Bresler ([email protected]). While we strive to support you and connect you with appropriate resources, please understand that there are limits to the situations we can effectively solve during these challenging times.

Non-perishable food waiting to be packaged for THRIVE food bags.

PHA Board of Trustee Chair Jeff Kushner distributing THRIVE food bags.

Healthy Mind Healthy Body

Uncertainty can cause stress in both children and adults. During these times, we encourage you, as parents, to take care of yourself and remain calm so that you can best support your children. Here are some helpful tips.

While your children are confined to the house, consider engaging them in some relaxing yoga poses.

Activities for Your Children

10 Classic Indoor Games

Like you, I’m home trying to balance working remotely and attempting to find and seek fun ways to engage my own 9th grade daughter. In a recent quiet reflective moment, I’ve rekindled a few of my childhood favorite indoor games that do not require electronic devices that you and your children of any age might play.

Scavenger & Treasure Hunts
Simon Says
Duck, Duck, Goose
Hide & Seek
Charades
Indoor Obstacle Course
Musical Chairs
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Tic Tac Toe
I Spy

For the past several evenings, my family and I have been enjoying Charades. We all put words/categories on a small piece of paper in a bowl. Then, we take turns drawing a word or phrase from the bowl and act it out and laugh really LOUDLY!

Make your own Tic Tac Toe grid - Three in a row wins!

Who wins in Rock, Paper, Scissors?