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Dear SSCPS Families,
We have received notification from the Facebook page that there are some questions regarding bus services for next year. We will be providing updates on school bus transportation over the next few days. There have also been some questions pertaining to remote learning Fridays. The last remote learning Friday will be on March 26, 2021. We will adjust the school calendar accordingly. Fridays will remain half days (8:15-12:05) until further notice. As a reminder, there will be no school next Wednesday, March 17 as it is a Faculty Professional Development Day and there will be no school on Friday, April 2. Have a good evening. Sincerely, Alicia -- Alicia E. Savage Executive Director South Shore Charter Public School 781.982.4202 Ext. 101 www.sscps.org Dear SSCPS Families,
Good morning. We have been monitoring the impending weather conditions over the past three days. Due to the forecasted heavy snowfall expected late Wednesday night through Thursday morning, the South Shore Charter Public School will be transitioning to full remote learning on Thursday, December 17. We are informing families of the decision now so that you will be able to best prepare for the upcoming full remote day. Teachers and school administration have shared schedules or will be doing so today. Instruction will be synchronous barring power outages. This year the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has issued new guidance providing charter schools and school districts with the option of transitioning to full remote learning in situations of inclement weather. Because we will be facing this circumstance this evening and tomorrow, we will be using full remote learning to maintain the continuity of synchronous remote learning. We will be sending additional emergency notifications this afternoon to notify our school community of the remote snow day. Please be sure your contact information has been updated with the school to ensure that you receive all messages through the SendWordNow system. Dear SSCPS Families, This week our school community welcomed the return to hybrid and in-person learning. Kindergarten and first grade students have returned to learn in person for both A and B weeks. Our first and second graders will continue to travel to Holly Hill Farm, which classes did even when our school buildings were closed. Students in grades 2-12 have resumed learning within multiple models, full remote, hybrid, and some full in-person. The high school tent, fully installed one day before our transition to full remote, has been put up again and will now be put to use. Although we are relieved to be returning to more in-person learning, there are concerns regarding the working conditions for our faculty and staff members. The amount of planning time that is required for effective teaching, and the continual transitions of methodology using both learning models has been onerous for our teachers. Within the hybrid model teachers have to accomplish multiple tasks on numerous platforms, using applied technologies to three different audiences. The School has been happy to accommodate the many needs of our families during the pandemic, and teachers have been exceedingly flexible. Yet the arduous tasks associated with hybrid learning, having to teach both in-person and remotely at the same time, require planning to be effective. Teachers have been devoting non-teaching time, time after hours, and their own time in the evenings, to honing their online teaching skills. Sustainability concerns of our faculty and staff are now on the forefront. Last week the Elementary, Middle, and High School Instructional Task Force teams met to address these concerns and make recommendations. Recommendations include some schedule changes that would allow for a more seamless transition from in-person to remote learning and one remote day per week that would allow teachers professional development time to plan curriculum and hybrid methodology. The South Shore Charter Public School Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the recommendations at the November meeting last evening. I would like to thank our Board members and all parents in our school community who participated in this important discussion. The changes to the FY 21 school calendar are as follows: Full remote learning one day per week beginning on Friday, November 20. Classes on full remote learning days would occur for all students K-12 from 8:15am - 12:05pm. Two hours of professional development, curriculum and lesson planning, and level meetings would follow for teachers. Full Remote Learning Days 2020
Full Remote Learning Days 2021 (All Friday)
*Parent/teacher conferences 1:00-3:00pm The new calendar and student schedules will take effect on Monday, November 16. This means that Friday, November 20 will be a day of full remote learning for all students. If your child is on a level that requires some schedule changes, the modified schedule will be sent this afternoon. Thank you for your ongoing support. Sincerely, Alicia -- Alicia E. Savage Executive Director South Shore Charter Public School 781.982.4202 Ext. 101 www.sscps.org  Good afternoon.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has released the latest data regarding COVID-19 testing in Massachusetts cities and towns. Due to twelve of our sending districts being classified as red, we will continue with the online learning model for the upcoming week, October 26-30, 2020. Online learning will continue until the COVID-19 positivity rates in our sending districts decline. Thank you for your understanding and support. Last week we made the transition to full remote learning due to the number of sending districts that had turned red. Due to thirteen sending districts being classified as red, including our top sending districts, we will be continuing the online learning model for the upcoming week, October 19-23, 2020.
Every Wednesday, the state releases a Weekly COVID-19 Public Health Report. The weekly report provides the count and rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases and tests, including the daily incidence rate in Massachusetts cities and towns over the last two weeks. We use this data as one way to determine if our school needs to transition to full remote learning. If over 25 percent of our student population municipalities turn red, the school will transition to or sustain full remote learning. This week's report was published a few minutes ago. The following sending districts have been deemed red by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health: Abington Brockton East Bridgewater Hanover Hansen Hingham Kingston Marshfield Pembroke Plymouth Randolph Rockland Weymouth Our top sending districts in terms of student population are as follows: Weymouth 26% Randolph 21% Brockton 11% Rockland 9% Hanover 3% These calculations mean the following: Weymouth red = Full Remote Learning Randolph + Rockland red = Full Remote Learning Brockton + Randolph red = Full Remote Learning District student percentage must add up to 25% or more to activate the transition to full remote learning. The school will transition back to hybrid and in-person learning once the COVID-19 testing positivity rate goes down and the sending district(s) is/are coded yellow, green, or grey the Monday following the release of the calculations. Unfortunately, that did not happen this evening and we will continue with our full remote learning model. We will be sending additional email notification to all families this evening with tonight's updates regarding the current COVID-19 district metrics. Please be sure your contact information has been updated with the school by completing your emergency contact information. Thank you for your ongoing patience and support. Dear SSCPS Families,
We have just received some challenging news from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Every Wednesday, the state releases a Weekly COVID-19 Public Health Report. This weekly report provides the count and rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases and tests, including the daily incidence rate in Massachusetts cities and towns over the last two weeks. We will use this data as one way to determine if our school needs to transition to full remote learning. The Weekly COVID-19 Public Health Report has been released. Here is some of the data from the report released this evening: Brockton 8.9 (Red) Kingston 9.0 (Red) Plymouth 9.3 (Red) Randolph 8.6 (Red) Because of the high percentage of students coming from districts which have transitioned from yellow to red, we will be making plans to close our buildings and transition to remote learning over the next two days. Because of the difficulty in communication created by this evening's power outages, for tomorrow we will be keeping with the status quo of full in person, remote, and hybrid. Please plan for full remote learning to begin on Friday. However, all families have the option of keeping their children home tomorrow to participate in remote learning. We will keep you updated as this situation progresses. Sincerely, Alicia |
