April 17, 2020
Hi Laurel Families,
It was a little hard to get back to school this week after our spring break, but we all rallied, got back into our routines, and wonderful learning happened! As I drop into classes, it is inspiring to see the tenacity of our students for figuring out computer glitches, and navigating Google Classroom and Google Meet, while they are taking learning so seriously.
We had some fun too! We celebrated birthdays, created a newspaper and welcomed a new student to our school. Welcome Kate Yewaisis to Ms. Rebecca’s class! Kate’s mom, Maureen, and Kate were thrilled to begin school yesterday, and the students and teachers who have met her are so happy she has joined us. Kate lives in Scotch Plains. She loves riding horses and told us all about her horseback riding experiences prior to coming to Laurel.
Governor Murphy has announced that NJ schools will be closed until at least May 15. In response, we are now preparing additional materials so that our students can continue their learning without significant interruption. We will ensure that your children have all the reading, math and science materials they need. We may arrange to pack new supply bags similar to the ones we sent home on our last “in person” school day in March. These bags would need to be picked up on the porch of Building 1, and we will probably request that families return the current bags with all completed student work when they pick up the new materials. That way, we can document all the great work our students have continued to produce under tough circumstances. More information about this to come as we decide what is necessary to continue providing effective instruction to all of our students.
Our faculty has been discussing some of the events and traditions that are most important to our school, including the musical, yearbook, art show, our Fish Bowl and STEAM Expo, and of course, eighth grade graduation and end of year ceremonies. We are thinking about this in creative ways and will get back to you soon about how these traditions will be honored and celebrated. Although we may need to celebrate in new and different ways, we will honor the spirit and intent of each event and recognize the significant work each student has put into preparing for these all year long.
Thanks to all who have signed and submitted your Enrollment Contract for next year. Please remember that all families (private pay and district) must complete their 2020-2021 Enrollment Contract in TADS. The TADS Enrollment Contract is just between families and the school. It also includes permission slips and provides us with necessary medical information. Deposits have been waived, so there is no payment required at this time. If you have any questions or extenuating circumstances, please contact me. Thank you for your quick attention to this as we are excitedly budgeting and planning the coming year for your children.
During these unprecedented times, building community for children is simultaneously essential and more challenging than ever. Ms. Maureen's class brainstormed and decided to have our first online Laurel newspaper, called the
Laurel Lynx
. Many students contributed their original work to this edition, and we can look forward to an end-of-year edition, so others will have a chance to contribute too. You can read, download, and print the
Laurel Lynx- Special COVID-19 Edition by clicking here
. Special thanks to Ms. Maureen’s editors, the writers, and to all who helped put this together for us to enjoy. We hope you and your children enjoy reading and are reminded that the entire Laurel community is in this together!
I want to say a special thanks to all of you for helping us to navigate our online lessons. It has been so helpful to have family assistance to ensure that instruction occurs well. I look forward to having parent meetings by Google Meet next week. You should have received an invite for the meetings, which will take place next week in the following order: Monday (Ms. Jen’s and Ms. Maureen’s classes), Tuesday (Ms. Sharon’s and Ms. Nancy’s classes), Wednesday (Ms. Rebecca’s classes), and Thursday (Upper School). All meetings will be at 4:00 and hopefully you can join us to share questions, concerns, or just to see friends.
Have a great weekend, and please do everything you can to stay healthy.
Dee
P.S.
We just received
this wonderful surprise
from your children. Thanks to Karen Schoenfeld and Kelly who helped to put this together for all of us... just what we needed at the end of a long week.
I miss you all,
D
