Hello OCRS families,
I hope that you were able to take some time to enjoy this long weekend together, particularly if you celebrate Passover or Easter. As we begin our third week of online learning (and fourth week away from school), here is some important information for the week.
April 17th Staff PD Day
Like Friday, April 3rd, this Friday will be a staff Professional Day. There is online learning for students on Friday April 17th, but there won't be any "live" teaching via video because the teachers and staff will be participating in professional development on those days.
- Teachers will post a few low-key activities in Google Classroom for students to engage in on Friday. Some examples will be to finish up owed work, read to someone in your house (or read silently), play a math game, draw something that you learned about this week, etc.
- Students do NOT need to adhere to any specific schedule or time requirements this Friday. We know that students and families could use a break and may appreciate a less structured day to end the week.
- Please don't forget to sign your child into the online attendance form on this Friday because Smithfield is still counting this Friday as a school day.
Daily attendance during online learning
We know that there has been a LOT for families to think about during our transition to online learning. Daily attendance is definitely one of those things! Here are a few reminders about signing in your child each school day so that we can accurately report daily attendance to the R.I. Department of Education.
- Even if your child's teacher "sees" them online, you still need to sign your child into the Daily Attendance form each day and mark your child as "Present". https://forms.gle/1AyJH9HKxNF5...
- While ideally we would like families to sign-in their child by 9:00 a.m. each morning, if you forget, please sign them later in the day. It's better for us to have an accurate record, even if it's late.
- If you have any questions or run into any issues, please reach out to Mrs. Deus via email at mdeus@smithfield-ps.org.
"Grab and go" lunches available starting on Tuesday, April 14th
We know that a number of families are currently experiencing food insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Smithfield Public Schools are grateful to be able to begin to provide free "grab and go" lunches beginning on Tuesday, April 14th. Here are the details:
- (UPDATED) "Grab and go" lunches will be available for pick-up Monday through Friday (beginning on Tuesday, April 14th) from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Old County Road School.
- Everyone 18 years of age and younger is eligible to receive a free "grab and go" lunch and a breakfast. Parents may also pick up meals for children in their family that are not with them.
- On Fridays, meals will also be distributed for the weekend, one lunch and one breakfast per day for each child.
- Meals will be prepared and distributed by staff from the district's food service provider, Chartwells, and these staff will be required to wear a mask and gloves.
- We strongly encourage all families that come to pick-up meals to follow the recommendations of the governor and wear a face mask. This is for the safety of all families and district staff.
- A strategy that has worked well across the state is for families to pull up in front of the school and pop their truck/tailgate so that meals can be placed directly in the back of the vehicle.
We are very thankful for the cooperation and support of our partners at Chartwells, along with the Smithfield Public School facilities staff, that are allowing this program to happen.
Story Time Hosted by the SHS National Honor Society
The information below is from the Smithfield High School Honor Society:
The Smithfield High School chapter of the National Honor Society is working to do what we can to help our community during these difficult times. We will be hosting a Story Time live stream every weeknight beginning Monday, April 13 at 7:00 pm through Google Meet. During each live stream, two Smithfield High School students and/or local community members will read a bedtime story. Each story will last about 15 minutes and will be repeated five minutes after the first reading ends. These live streams are open to the public and are appropriate for children of any age level.
We are linking a flyer with information about the live streams along with the link to watch the live streams. Please share this flyer along with the live stream link with your students’ families so elementary age and younger kids can enjoy these live streams.
Link to the live stream, href="https://stream.meet.google.com...
Smithfield Fire and Police Departments celebrating town birthdays
From the Smithfield Fire and Police Departments; We know things are tough right now but we still want to celebrate the day you were born! We would like to send a fire truck, rescue, and police cruiser to you on your special day to wish you a Happy Birthday. Check out the linked flyer for more information!
Mr. Paul Barrette
Students reading to their pets
