10/2/2020
School Opening Fall 2020 - Superintendent's Bulletin #17 - First Day of School Communication K-4 and SC Presentation
Dear Parents and Guardians,
School begins on Thursday, October 8th, for hybrid-in person learning for grades K-4 beginning with Cohort A. The following communications will be sent by your schools:
- You will receive your cohort assignment by the end of this week.
- As you know, each school individually will be hosting a hybrid learning information night early next week, and you will be sent a link for that meeting.
- You will receive logistical and operational information before the first day of hybrid learning.
Week of October 5th:
- Thursday, October 8 – Cohort A
- Friday, October 9 – Cohort B
Week of October 12:
- Monday, October 12 – Columbus Day Holiday – No School
- Tuesday, October 13 and Wednesday, October 14 – Cohort A
- Thursday, October 15, and Friday, October 16 – Cohort B
Week of October 19:
- Monday, October 19 and Tuesday, October 20 – Cohort A
- Thursday, October 22 and Friday, October 23 – Cohort B
Week of October 26:
- Monday, October 26, Tuesday, October 27, and Wednesday, October 28 – Cohort A
- Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30 – Cohort B
The period to choose hybrid or remote-only learning is closed. If you wish to switch from hybrid to remote-only or remote-only to hybrid, there is a process and a waiting period. All requests must be made to your school by the second Monday of any month, and those children will start on the first Monday of the next month.
Given the late start date and the Monday Columbus Day holiday, the first opportunity to request a change would be by November 9 to start on December 7.
Before school begins, we ask our families to familiarize themselves with the COVID-19 Protocols on the health and nursing services website. As we continue preparing for our hybrid start, we also ask our families to help us by reminding children of social distancing practices, limiting the size of group gatherings, promoting good handwashing, and wearing a mask that covers the nose and mouth.
At the September 29 School Committee meeting, there was a presentation that included information on health and safety protocols and special education services. The hybrid models for the Chenery Middle School and Belmont High School were also presented by principals Karla Koza and Isaac Taylor, respectively.
As a reminder, all bulletins and presentations can be found on our School Opening Fall 2020 page on the BPS website.
The next School Committee meeting is on Tuesday, October 5. Please see the School Committee page on the website for the agenda and access.
Respectfully,
John P. Phelan
Superintendent of Schools
Town of Belmont