Viola Rand Elementary

Update! The school board voted last night to move the start date of school to Tuesday, September 8th. If you are having trouble signing up through the google doc for a "Meet the Teacher" time, please email cheryl.leonard@rsu34.org. We are planning 15 minute time slots from 10:00-12:00 and 12:30-2:30 on Sept. 2nd.

“Meet Your Teacher” at Viola Rand Elementary School! We will be arranging times for your child to meet his/her new teacher on Tuesday, September 1st. Please click on the link to your child’s grade to choose a time to visit at the school! (Pre-kindergarten has already made arrangements with Mrs. Talon.) Kindergarten: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C1aaCwn588zeLqLzus1cUG90zv11EIZZxSrqYLGQdNA/edit?usp=sharing First grade: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C1aaCwn588zeLqLzus1cUG90zv11EIZZxSrqYLGQdNA/edit?usp=sharing Second grade: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZMea-7qYj6pNze4M67ZuZxOaL7SdboUbhIAIyd3YpiI/edit?usp=sharing Third Grade: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hOaWSF2GacCe3iZF7exTolWCnHwE1vmawzCKCY39kZQ/edit?usp=sharing School address: 55 Highland Ave., Bradley Phone: 827-2508 Principal: cheryl.leonard@rsu34.org

There will be a lot of changes at the Viola Rand School this school year! We are excited to welcome new and returning students to our school!! To spread students out, enabling more in person instruction, we have added classes . All of the Viola Rand School students will be coming to school all 5 days! There is a lot of moving under way to be ready for students on September 2nd. Here are the teachers at each grade level: Pre-k - Mrs. Talon K - Mrs. Rand Grade 1 - Mrs. Berube Grade 2 - Mrs. Vose Grade 3 - Mrs. Harper There will be a new faces, both students and staff, which be a lot of fun!! We are making plans for an open house at each grade level to ease any anxiety our families may be experiencing. This will be a different year, with masks and distancing between kids and adults, but we are determined to make the best of it and look for ways to have fun in this crazy new situation!

Required parent form for RSU #34 students - Fall 2020 Dear Parents/Guardians of RSU #34 Children, Our district has put together a form through which parents/guardians will inform the schools of their family’s plans and needs for the upcoming start to the school year. Please submit one form per RSU #34 student in order for us to coordinate family plans PreK-12. We estimate this form will take no more than 5 minutes per student to complete. Please submit this form as soon as possible and no later than Friday, July 31st. You can watch the presentation of our planning to the School Board here: https://www.rsu34.org/article/272060?org=rsu-34 RSU #34 anticipates needing to move flexibly between three “lanes” in 2020-2021, depending on things such as community transmission rates of the novel coronavirus and the rates of student and staff illnesses with symptoms similar to COVID-19. These lanes are: fully remote learning, a combination of in-person and remote learning, and in-person learning five days per week. Families that wish to participate remotely all year long may do so. More details and background about the district’s plan can be found here (tinyurl.com/y9o23gmk). Here is the link to the form: https://forms.gle/qzbHRsjgZQuNAkuNA Any questions should be directed to the building principal of your student. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We thank you for your hard work, patience, and community spirit supporting our children throughout the pandemic. Sincerely, RSU #34 Planning Team

The school board meeting on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 included a presentation by the RSU34 administrative team on a reopening plan for this fall. The video of the board meeting and chat file can be found here: https://www.rsu34.org/article/272060?org=rsu-34

Maine Department of Education continues to work with educators and health experts from across the State to develop health markers and corresponding plans to ensure the safe return to classroom instruction. As this work develops, the Department is seeking input from additional stakeholders from across the State, and is releasing a survey on July 6. On June 11, 2020 the Department of Education released the first draft of a framework to assist school administrative units (SAUs) in developing their plans and determining their capacity to meet the national CDC guidelines for safely returning to classroom instruction. This draft framework will continue to evolve and will be developed based on science and community health markers. The framework was created with input from a diverse group of stakeholders, and included education and health experts, students, parents, education advocates and leaders. We have worked with a research organization to develop a survey through which educators and support professionals, education leaders, and families of students can provide comment and share their opinions on the 2020-2021 school year and possible models and needs for a safe return to classroom instruction. Four different surveys have been created, specific to the role of the person completing the survey, including: 1. Teachers and educational technicians; 2: School or SAU leadership; 3: Specialists and student support staff or 4. Family member. The surveys will be available at https://www.maine.gov/doe/fall2020survey beginning July 6 through July 12. The Family Survey is available in 11 languages. The data and feedback will be compiled by the research group and considered by the team who will continue to revise the framework over the next month. While these surveys will provide a snapshot at the state and county level, many superintendents have asked for and are reviewing their own community-specific information, which will inform the work of their Collaborative Planning Team in developing instructional plans that will be responsive to risk levels. Your participation in these surveys is greatly appreciated in preparation for the next school year. Our fervent hope is that our continued trends in the battle against COVID-19 here in Maine will allow our schools to resume classroom instruction for the start of the 2020-2021 school year, as our schools serve as a stabilizing force for our communities, students, families and the economy. Yet, it is prudent at this time to both hope for the best, and prepare for many possible scenarios.

Good morning! We are nearing the end of the 2019-20 school year and it has been a challenging one for all of us! Over the summer, we will be making preparations to be ready for whatever scenario we are faced with when it is time for school to resume. As we make these preparations, it would be very helpful to have feedback from parents and guardians as to how things really were on your end of the remote learning. Being well informed will help us tremendously. This is a link to a survey that is specific to Viola Rand School. https://forms.gle/nvTTKketQ9NXfcmg9 Your feedback is important to us as we begin this important planning! Thank you in advance for taking the time to let us know about your family's school experience this spring.

Parents & families of RSU #34 kids, we seek your input/feedback! Our families and educators have done amazing things with kids on an emergency basis this spring. Please let us know the strengths and challenges on this anonymous survey: https://forms.gle/hdJ4X7RseMUhHjdp9 Please do the survey by June 3rd. Thanks!

There will be a VRS staff parade through Bradley on Wednesday, May 27 from 11 - 12:30 in appreciation of our students and parents! It is a beach theme, so join the fun!

Another Thursday bus run will be rolling this morning. Please request the grade level packet your child(ren) need along with the food. Thank you for all the work you are doing as interim teachers! It is so important for children to use their skills so they don't lose them. I'm missing all of you! Be well!

Buses will roll this morning to deliver this week's supply of breakfasts and lunches for any child up to 18 years old. The buses will be carrying grades K-5 school work packets for the week of May 4th. Please request the ones your family needs. Meals are also available for pick up at Old Town High School from 10-12 today. Schoolwork packets may also be picked up from the bin in front of the school for the next several days. Please call the school if you have any questions or needs. Starting Monday, May 4th, secretaries will be back working regular hours in the schools!

Happy Thursday! The lunch buses will be around again today with another week's worth of lunches and breakfasts. Since next week is April break, the next delivery will be on April 29th. The buses will have paper copies of an optional Bingo Board for next week with the work packet for April 27-May 1. Please ask for the grade(s) you need. We will have copies in the bin in front of the school as usual!

Today is the first day of providing a week of breakfast and lunch for each student. From now on, the busses will run only on Thursdays and will drop a box of food for each child with items for a week. We will be making the process safer for all those who are involved in prepping and delivering lunches. More time at home and less contact with others for these staff members and bus drivers who are doing so much for our community!

There will also be copies of next week's lessons available for each grade in the bin at the front doors to the school in case you don't catch the bus!

The lunch busses will have hard copies of next weeks lessons on board today for kindergarten to grade 5 so please ask for the grade your child needs!

The buses that are coming around today to distribute lunches will have print copies of next weeks work for students in kindergarten and first grade. If you would like to receive a hard copy, please come out to the bus and ask for the packet your child needs. There are also copies in a box at the front doors to the school if you prefer to pick up a copy there.

On Friday we had overwhelming success delivering school packets to our students. Thank you so much for meeting the bus or picking materials up. It will take a team effort to get through this and we are off to a great start! Please call the school or email any of your contacts at the Viola Rand School if you need anything. We will do our best to help! Thank you again for your help!

On Friday, when the buses make their rounds to deliver meals, there will be packets of new materials on board for students from their teachers. The buses are generally in Bradley between 10:35 and 11:40. If you have not been able to connect with the bus, please call the school to help us work that out. If you are not able to meet the bus, we will be in touch to make a plan B. (Our Old Town pre-k students will have materials delivered as Mrs. Talon has indicated.)

Viola Rand School Family update March 20, 2020 Meal Distribution Monday 3/23/20 Meals for children 0-18 will be available for pick up DAILY Monday through Friday (meal distribution for the weekend will be on Friday) by the tent at OTHS from 10am-12pm Daily bus routes will also begin Monday, March 23. Nine buses will depart OTES at 10:30am and navigate their typical routes. Here are a few things to keep in mind: • Please be patient. We do not have a timeline for how long these routes will take, yet. The typical routes will be posted, however the times listed will be the school day times, not food delivery times. • Please be safe. Wait at the stop with younger children and review with older children how to wait by themselves if you feel this is appropriate. • Please keep your distance. Do not approach or enter the bus. Staff members will exit the bus and leave items on the ground to be picked up. Share this information with your children as well. • Please call the school with any questions 827-2508. • Staff distributing materials will be using gloves and hand sanitizer regularly. • See bus routes here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_nxNESG_Y9ExsViikYDfjnel-CvOSKIm/view?usp=sharing As we get this process down, we will be sharing packets from teachers on the bus runs also. Please contact the school with any questions concerns or needs. We are here to help if we are able! Have a safe weekend, and please follow social distancing to slow the spread of this illness and help us get students back to school as soon as possible! We miss our routine with students!

As we begin this time of school closure and social distancing, here is a link to an incredible list of educational sites for you to explore. Please preview each site before your children begin using them as the caution at the bottom of each page states. I hope this is helpful as we know children will need to exercise their minds as well as their bodies! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1b0a_8B240x25C1bYDgJAJ17KvVYUvkpGsIgtHexUfVA/edit