Dear Parents and Guardians, I hope this message finds you well and developing new family rhythms as we are now in the 7th week of Shelter in Place. Yesterday, Governor Newsom suggested that schools could open the 2020-21 school year as early as July, even though this suggestion had not included input from the education community. Our public health officials will provide the necessary guidance on how and when schools can open safely. Schools will need to follow any restrictions and conditions outlined by the Marin Health and Human Services Department in order to reopen. Additionally, California law requires that school calendars be negotiated with employee associations. At this time, there is no plan to open the 2020-21 school year earlier than the August 20, 2020 negotiated and Board adopted date.
Need Supplies? As we move into the remainder of the school year and distance learning, we want to ensure that you have the materials you need for your child to continue to fully engage in the learning program. Teachers have made adjustments to lessons so all students should be able to participate without barriers, however we know that some families may be running low on items that will keep students’ completion of assignments and learning activities moving forward. We will distribute K-5 supplies on this Friday, May 1st from 1:00 – 3:00 PM at the circle in front of Reed School. Please remain in your cars and we will hand you the supplies you request. We will be wearing masks and gloves. Again, this is optional so only come if you need to replenish supplies for your child. Please see the list below so you can make a list of things you need. Items that will be distributed include: · Printer paper · Lined paper · Glue sticks · Crayons · Markers · Colored pencils · Pencils · Erasers Del Mar Middle School has locker clean out dates scheduled on Thursday, April 30th and Friday, May 1st. If your middle school student needs school supplies, please stop by the front office to see Laurie Kristy or Heather Johnson. Supporting Mental Health: Our psychologists are a wonderful resource for parents in helping their children cope and adjust to the Shelter in Place. I’d like to thank Dr. Van Putten for sharing the following message when I asked our psychologists to gather information that I could share with you: I have been listening to many webinars about supporting students during the closure, and something that resonated with me is to clarify that mental health is not the same as happiness. Our culture sometimes equates them, but this is incorrect. Mental health is the ability to have the right reaction at the right time, to have appropriate reactions, and to use coping skills to manage our feelings. In this way, it is very appropriate and healthy for children to be having feelings of worry, sadness, and grief right now. It’s our job as parents to have a lot of empathy for these big feelings, to name them and to share that these feelings are OK and normal, and also to teach them how to manage them and to model coping skills for them. Healthy coping skills for feelings of stress and worry and sadness include asking for a hug, taking a break, going for a walk, connecting with a friend, deep breathing, positive self-talk, expressing gratitude, and also trying to accomplish something even if one feels unmotivated, or if it's hard. Also, related to mental health, the Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley is a great resource for mental health information in general. They featured a nice interview recently about how to help children focus on the good during the closure, which is an example of an excellent coping skill that supports mental health. Kindest regards, Nancy Lynch, Ed.D. Superintendent Reed Union School District Comments are closed.
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