We hope your child had a great first week of school! This has certainly been a different pace and feel for all of us here at Cutler. It is great to see smiling faces on Zoom. We know there are still some technology glitches that we are working through, and we learned what we need to do when the power goes out unexpectedly on Friday! Please reach out to your child's teacher with questions and concerns, they appreciate your feedback and have been working hard to incorporate your suggestions into their plans for this week.
We will continue to offer a Friday pick up/drop off each week that we are in the remote mode. Besides the untimely fire alarm last week, the process went smoothly. We will organize this week's 9am-1pm pick up/drop off session similarly. Having friends or neighbors pick up is helpful, and we can arrange for a Monday morning pick up if that's better for your schedule. Your child's classroom teacher will remain the point of contact to let you know what to pick up and what to drop off.
As Mary Beth Banios noted in her most recent district newsletter, the COVID Response Team will meet later this week to determine if a move to hybrid learning is possible for October 1. To prepare students that will be attending school in-person soon, please make note of our mask guidance which was shared earlier in the month.
Mask Requirements
○ All students and staff are required to wear cloth face masks at all times inside the building with the exception of eating and mask breaks, per the Hamilton-Wenham School Committee policy.
○ Masks should be worn in the hallways on arrival, departure, and traveling between rooms.
○ Students will not be permitted to board the school bus unless they are wearing a mask. Students are expected to wear a mask at all times on the school bus.
○ The mask should fit snugly over the nose and mouth and be secured under the chin. Bandanas, gaiter scarves, or masks with valves are NOT permitted since they do not prevent respiratory droplets from transmitting into the air.
○ It is the responsibility of the wearer to make sure the mask is labeled, kept clean and washed daily.
○ Best practice when storing a mask: fold the mask so the sides facing the nose and mouth are touching. Masks can be stored in a brown paper bag when not in use and clearly labeled on the front of the bag with the owner’s name.
○ Mask breaks will be scheduled outdoors as long as six feet of social distance is maintained.
○ During recess students need to wear masks when six feet of distance cannot be maintained if not running around. If students are running around, students must wear masks when 10 feet of distance cannot be maintained. This is in line with state guidelines for physical education activities.
