Veazie Community School

VCS Families, please take a moment to read the recently updated MAAP document guiding how and when students are to return to school following any form of illness. Also, please do not forget to complete your daily health screening using our RESCO app. Directions for downloading and installing this can be found on our school website: www.veaziecs.org Have a great weekend!

Welcome to Veazie Community School Specials! We are proud to share what will become a growing collection of resources and asynchronous activities developed by our very own Specials Teachers. Check back often! https://sites.google.com/veaziecs.org/vcsspecials

After School Music Lessons Hello VCS families! Veazie Community School has the opportunity to offer after school music lessons with Mr. Arell through Zoom. These sessions will be combinations of 1 on 1 instruction and small groups and made available to all students in grades 4 - 8. Before we begin assembling a schedule, we wanted to find out how many students would be interested in participating in this program. This survey is not a signup form or commitment letter, it is just a tool to give us a number estimate: https://docs.google.com/forms/...​ ​ Any questions, please contact Mr. Arell at marell@veaziecs.org​​

September 17, 2020 4:00PM EST COVID-19 MEMO #17 STUDENT CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE (ONLINE/REMOTE INSTRUCTION) Confidentiality Notice for Zoom, Google Classroom, Google Meet, Seesaw, and Other Online Platforms used by Veazie Community School for Remote Learning Dear VCS Parents and Caregivers, In order to best meet the needs of our students during the COVID-19 pandemic, our teachers are using various resources and platforms to offer instruction and support. We also use these platforms for our meetings involving parents, including IEP meetings. Veazie Community School takes privacy and security of student information seriously. In order to help ensure everyone’s privacy, students, parents, and staff must not: *Share passwords for any audio/video meetings or class gatherings with anyone outside of the established classroom; *Permit unknown persons to enter or participate in any audio/video meetings or class gatherings; and/or *Record or take pictures of any audio/video meetings or class gathering The virtual classroom will be treated like the regular classroom. To the extent any member of your household observes or participates in the classroom, including your student, they will be held to the same standards of and expectations for behavior that would apply inside the classroom (in the school building). If you have questions about what these expectations are, please contact VCS Superintendent/Principal, Matthew Cyr. During classroom instruction, audio and video recordings and photography are not allowed. The same applies to our remote learning instruction. You may not make audio or video recordings of remote learning instruction, or take photographs during instruction that include any staff members or other students. If you receive such recordings or photographs from a source other than VCS, delta them and do not post or forward—should this happen, please notify Mr. Cyr immediately. Note that students who record, distribute, or otherwise misuse any video recording, may be subject to disciplinary action. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Matthew D. Cyr VCS Superintendent & Principal

September 11, 2020 3:00PM EST COVID-19 MEMO #16 VCS UPDATES & REMINDERS Dear VCS Parents and Caregivers, This memo serves as a reminder that beginning next week, (Sept. 14), we are moving to our normal 2:35 dismissal, or end of day for both in-person and remote learners. Penobscot County continues to be in a ‘Green’ Health Advisory so our current delivery of instruction will continue. I would like to use this time to thank and commend VCS staff for embracing this incredible challenge. I also want to publicly praise all of our families and students for supporting our new safety protocols and scheduling. There have been some bumps in the road during these first couple of weeks, but that was absolutely expected, and we are making adaptations and changes when necessary. I would like to offer some important reminders for our families: Health Screening: It is very important that families complete the RESCO COVID-19 online/app-based health screening prior to leaving the home each morning. It only takes a few moments to complete. If you have lost your child’s COVID ID number or are having trouble with the download, please contact our office manager, Tiffani Lindsey (tlindsey@veaziecs.org 947-6573) and she will walk you through the steps. You should also visit the school website: www.veaziecs.org as it contains step-by-step instructions. Masks Required: All students must come to school each day with at least three clean and properly fitting masks in a labeled bag (ziplock style is fine). The following mask types/styles are not acceptable: gaiters, fleece, single layer mask, materials that are see-through when stretched, and masks with breathing ports on the side. VCS Website: Please visit the Veazie Community School website to read details of all of our plans: www.veaziecs.org Pick-up & Drop-off: We continue to observe and modify pick-up and drop-off procedures. Morning drop-off seems to be getting smoother each day. When possible, parents should remain in their vehicles, exercise patience, and follow the flow of drop-off traffic. This way students can safely be unloaded in front of the building without having to walk through the parking lot or driveway. For afternoon pick-up, we have relocated all buses to a separate location for purposes of safety and reducing traffic congestion. Similar morning procedures, it is safest if parents remain in their vehicles and drive through the pick-up circles so that we can call out students and load them into your vehicles. Unlike years’ past, we are not going to be releasing pick-ups and walkers at the same time. We do not have staff available to screen students in the morning until 7:50…if possible, please plan your arrival for after that time. We are trying to avoid having students being dropped off and lining up without supervision. Indoor Temperatures: As stated in our reopening plan, we have adjusted our HVAC controllers so that we are pulling in 100% outside air, 24/7. This efficiently and safely removes indoor air and replaces it with outside air. As crisp fall temperatures begin to take effect, this will cool off our building. While we are trying to balance safety and comfort, we are asking that all students come to school with a sweatshirt or light jacket to put on if they are chilly—especially in the morning. As the daytime temps get colder, we will begin using heat exchange systems to heat the outside air. Free Breakfast & Lunch for Everyone! Thanks to the efforts of our kitchen manager, Betsy Brooks, and our business manager, Lisa Swift, we are now participating in the USDA COVID Relief meal program. This means that from now through the end of December, all VCS students can receive free breakfast and/or lunch. These meals are also available for remote learners, but parents will need to pick-up the meals here at VCS. Contact Betsy Brooks with questions, or to be placed on the remote order list: bbrooks@veaziecs.org Yellow and Red Health Advisories: While we are presently in a Green health advisory, I am urging all families to have a back-up plan ready to go in a moment’s notice should we be forced to shift to a Yellow or Red advisory. In a Yellow advisory, Grades 3-8 will maintain the same schedule as they do under Green. In a Yellow advisory, PK - 2 will shift to being in-person on Monday/Tuesday, and remote on Wed/Th/Fri. In a Red advisory, all students will shift to remote only. Zoom Etiquette: This is a reminder that school rules still apply to our remote students. We strongly encourage families to have a safe learning location for students during remote days. Thank you all for your continued support. Have a great weekend! Sincerely, Matthew D. Cyr VCS Superintendent & Principal

Dear VCS Families, We are excited to share news that Veazie Community School has been accepted to participate in the USDA school breakfast/lunch meal program under current COVID-19 guidelines. Our participation means that all VCS students qualify to receive a free breakfast and lunch—remote learners too! We are not able to deliver meals as we did last spring and are presently organizing a meal pickup procedure for our remote learners. We are requesting that interested families contact Betsy Brooks, VCS Food Service Director by phone or email to be added to our list. Once we know how many people are requesting meals, we will communicate scheduled pickup times and starting date for this wonderful opportunity. Please reach contact Betsy Brooks asap to be added to this list: bbrooks@veaziecs.org 947-6573 ext. 209 Please note that we still need 100% of our families to complete the Free/Reduced Lunch application as this important document directly impacts State and Federal school funding levels.--Thank you! Have a good afternoon! -Mr. Cyr

The Maine DOE just announced that Penobscot County remains 'Green' in the health advisory system. Veazie Community School will be proceeding with next week's schedule as planned. Please visit our website for details: www.veaziecs.org

Veazie Community School Families. Please take a moment to read today's school reopening reminder with new information about possible changes in Penobscot County Health Advisories . Here is a link to the notice: https://5il.co/kh08

VCS Families. Get a head start on your back-to-school paperwork and complete the Free & Reduced Lunch form online. All families must complete this form regardless of eligibility. https://www.nlappscloud.com/Welcome.aspx?api=b5e2055a07ad32dacf1c26fcc208baef#loaded

BEGINNING OF YEAR PACKETS - The most important information and forms just went out in the mail to all families. To save on postage, less pressing documents will come home with children on their first day of in-person learning. (Remote-only learners were mailed everything.) Please note, there was an error on the cover sheet. It says the Free/Reduced Lunch form was mailed. It is actually coming home from school instead.

VCS Middle School Update: To start the school year, students in grades 6-8 will be learning remotely Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and will learn in-person at VCS Thursday and Friday. We suggest that prior to the first day of school, Wednesday, September 2nd, that parents work with their child to create a comfortable home learning space. Having the suggested supplies in that area will help you to be prepared for your virtual classes (click the link below to see suggested supplies for the home). At school, students will not have access to lockers. Please only bring necessary materials that will fit into a single backpack, that can easily be kept under a seat or desk. Please contact your homeroom or middle school teachers with any questions you may still have. Suggested Home Supplies List: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xON5mXW_fP5Uk6EzffJ3OyOnUQmMhdy-ZIGFcjZCIjc/edit?usp=sharing

Please find our parent Q & A page: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yy2m3vSj53BegLM8kw6S-o97Y_CRtkIU5HdX8eKimNM/edit?usp=sharing Reminder: We will have a virtual open house on Wednesday, August 26 at 6:30p.m. Please email our office manager, Tiffani Lindsey (tlindsey@veaziecs.org) to receive your zoom meeting ID and password for this meeting. This open house is for parents only. We will go over details of our plan including pickup/dropoff and our health screening app.

Some important details for parents to know regarding Veazie Community School pick-up and drop-off procedures. We hope this helps you to prepare: *Normal drop-off times will be 7:50 - 8:15am (school day starts at 8:15) *Normal dismissal time will be 2:30pm (1:30pm for the first two weeks of school) *Early dismissal time (for parents making this selection) is 12:10pm MUCH more information will be forthcoming....thank you for your patience.

August 14, 2020 3:00PM EST COVID-19 MEMO #14 Veazie Community School 2020 - 2021 Student Handbook & Parent Open House Part 1 Dear VCS Parents and Caregivers, All counties in Maine continue to be considered ‘Green’ in the MDOE health advisory system, and the previously published Veazie Community School reopening plan remains on schedule. Here is a link to our plan: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RRLf2D2ei3rW7rG__10Eh3LSo0RthyThev-G4X9NMFI/edit?usp=sharing At this time, I am happy to share Return to School Guidelines for Students and Families : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WsVcKRItUnAELeZSy0counq6qVbbDJxvpxSvLSZXHz4/edit?usp=sharing Please read and discuss this document with your family. We are also collecting questions you may have through this google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdf2Zi5Oi4kWxdqawSclPe3KX7Pxt8BOgiOB0HXG4DPAlWX8w/viewform?usp=sf_link I will be hosting ‘Parent Open House’ on Wednesday, August 26 from 6:30 - 8:00p.m. This will be a zoom meeting designed specifically for VCS parents. Individual teachers will be hosting smaller, grade specific open house events (also virtual) closer to the first day school. Details on these meetings will be published at a later date. During the Parent Open House on August 6:30 - 8:00p.m., I will go over details of the school reopening plan related to pick-up & drop-off procedures, bus procedures, early dismissal procedures, and a tutorial on how to use our self-screening app. I will also use this time to address frequently asked questions raised on the questions form/link above. All of this work has been part of a collaborative effort involving incredible amounts of time by many—much of which has been volunteer. While every effort is being made to address many details, we are certain there will be circumstances we didn’t think of as we move forward. I have full confidence in this group’s ability to tackle any and all challenges as they arise. Your continued patience is greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a great weekend. Sincerely, Matthew D. Cyr Superintendent & Principal

Attention: Families who have not yet completed out reopening decision survey - Today is the deadline! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQd3ZfDkA5Izh1PEPywKeM1I96oC_1FP2LIg7KLqrLWBAVUg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Safe schools are our community responsibility--let's work together.

​Hello Veazie Community Staff and Families, I am pleased to share news that Northern Light Health (EMMC) will be hosting a panel of experts discussing the reopening of schools. This live webinar will be held on Thursday, July 30, at 11:00a.m. Topics being discussed include: risk mitigation in schools and childcare settings, strategies for addressing youth anxiety, and health literacy. The target audience for this webinar is parents, teachers, students, school administrators, or anyone else who wants to join in. This is a free opportunity, but you must register in advance. ​Registration can be completed through this link: https://northernlighthealth.org/Resources/Safe-Return-to-Business/Week-8​ Panel members include: Karen Hawkes, VP Northern Light Beacon Health Howard Jones, MD, Medical Director NL Work Health Chris McLaughlin, LCSW, AVP, Community and Pediatric Services at NL Acadia Kristy Townsend, PhD, UMS Science Advisory Board (and my contact about this- I have her slides to share after if they would be useful for our communication stuff) Suzanne Morsehead, RN, BSN, INfection Control Specialist, NLH Joel Farley, AVP, Facilities Managment, NLH EMMC Jim Jarvis, MD, FAAFP, Medical Director, Clinical Education, NL EMMC, COVID Response Incident Commander Have a good evening! Sincerely, Matthew D. Cyr, Veazie Community School Superintendent & Principal

July 25, 2020 3:45pm EST Dear Veazie Community School Families, Each day, we are getting closer to a recommendation regarding the return to school this fall. The Maine Department of Education (M-DOE) intends to publish a red/yellow/green health and safety advisory on July 31, 2020. This designation will correspond to the Maine Department of Education Framework for Return to Classroom Instruction https://www.maine.gov/doe/framework. The decision on whether or not to bring students back into the classroom will be guided by the three tiered system for each of Maine’s sixteen counties. The designation of RED indicates the county has a high risk of COVID-19 and that in person learning at schools should not be conducted. YELLOW indicates a suggested hybrid of virtual and in person learning. GREEN indicates in person learning would be possible with safety measures. If there is something going on that might potentially be restrictive to one area of the county that may not affect schooling in another part of the county, that information will be taken into account in discussions with the Maine DOE and Maine CDC as we work to make the right decision for VCS. If the recommendation is to bring students back, six key safety requirements come into play: Screening for symptoms, Maintaining physical distancing, Face masks for all students and staff, Hand hygiene, Wearing personal protective equipment indoors, and Staying home if you're sick. In addition to having to follow these six key safety requirements, we must consider the reality and feasibility of implementing such a plan. This is no easy task. The VCS School Reopening Advisory Committee (SRAC) consists of parents, staff, administrators, and school committee members. This group has been working hard to process new information and continue development of our possible return scenarios. It would be premature for us to finalize and report any specific plan before receipt of information regarding specifics of the Red/Yellow/Green system of monitoring the spread of the virus is received and taken into consideration. However, please know that we have been hard at work thinking through the different possible scenarios, ordering PPE, and cleaning and preparing our school. We have had a chance to reflect on the months of remote learning, as well as beginning to analyze the responses we have received from parent and staff surveys. Our planning team understands that every family situation is unique, and feelings can change over time. For that reason, we are asking all families to complete another survey for each child based on where they stand at this point in time. Please find and complete the following survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTK3tmriYnL61AMhRy2GQLalbn5OsC4mhj0PUBD5yGLQ4Emg/viewform?usp=sf_link The information you provide the SRAC helps us to think more clearly about this fall, and while we worked hard to do a good job last spring, we will improve and do an even better job of helping your students to learn and grow in any model. We stand ready to support all our students whatever their needs while implementing best practice to protect the health of our students, their families and our staff. Our goal is for the SRAC to present return to school scenarios and parent/staff survey data to the Veazie School Committee at our next meeting on Monday, August 3 at 6pm in the VCS gym. We are hopeful that by the end of that week, we will be in a position to share our school reopening plan. We remain dedicated to establishing a safe, effective model to begin the 2020-2021 school year and are hopeful that by the time we make the turn for spring and the last quarter of the year we will see things returning to normal. Until then we will continue to be patient and move with appropriate caution keeping safety, social/emotional wellness, and learning in mind. Thank you for your time, for completing this survey, and for continuing to support Veazie Community School. Sincerely, Matthew D. Cyr, Superintendent & Principal

July 16, 2020 3:00PM EST COVID-19 MEMO #12 Veazie Community School 2020 - 2021 Return to School Update Dear VCS Parents and Caregivers, I wanted to reach out with updated information on the return to school this fall. As required by the Department of Education, Veazie Community School has developed a collaborative planning team—we refer to ourselves as the VCS School Reopening Advisory Committee (SRAC). Our group is made up of 24 individuals representing multiple stakeholder groups including VCS staff, parents, the town, and experts in the medical field. SRAC members are: Matthew Cyr, VCS Superintendent & Principal Debrajean Scheibel, VCS Special Services Director Lexie Dineen, VCS School Counselor Amber Peters, Parent and VCS School Nurse Diane Smart, VCS Teacher and Veazie Education Association President Susan Logan, VCS Teacher Melissa Hileman, VCS Teacher Martha Shannon, VCS Teacher Laurie Kimball, VCS Teacher Jessica Murphy, VCS Teacher Nicole Spinney, VCS Teacher Tara Frazier, VCS Teacher Katie Saucier, VCS Ed. Tech. Nicole Richard, VCS Ed. Tech. Cassie Schissell Barber, Parent and VCS Ed. Tech. Kristen Bagley, Parent and Veazie School Committee Chair Valli Vel, Parent and Veazie School Committee Vice-Chair Bill Reed, Veazie School Committee Member Paul Dupuis, Veazie School Committee Member Alex Friess, Parent and Veazie School Committee Member Mark Leonard, Veazie Town Manager and Veazie Police Chief Caitlin Howell, Parent and Biomedical Engineering Professor @ UMaine; also serves on UMS Reopening Team Andy Brown, Parent and UMaine Public Safety Tonya Brown, Parent and Registered Nurse To focus our work, we are using the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) framework for reopening school: https://www.maine.gov/doe/covid-19/reintegrate as well as CDC guidelines for schools. The MDOE Commissioner of Education, Pender Makin, shared that the State will determine when and how schools may reopen depending on COVID-19 health and safety markers for our region. The MDOE framework requires that all schools develop plans for three potential scenarios for the fall: Full Remote (all students learning from home), Hybrid (students learning from home on some days, and in-person on others), and In-Person (all students learning in-person). The Veazie School Reopening Advisory Committee (SRAC), like all other schools in Maine, is presently developing these three plans. They will remain in draft form until more direction and safety metrics can be provided in the upcoming weeks. Our four areas of focus within each return scenario are Safety, Instruction, Non-Instruction, and Communication. We are also collaborating to ensure equitable access to opportunity for all of our students while having the ability to efficiently pivot from one learning scenario to another with minimal down time. We had a nearly 90% completion rate of our earlier parent survey. This information and all future survey information significantly assist our efforts. Thank you! Members of the VCS SRAC will be participating in a two-day MDOE workshop next week with great focus on fine-tuning our draft plans. We hope to share these draft plans with all of you in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, we strongly encourage families to begin practicing how to properly wear face masks for extended periods of time, demonstrating what 6-feet of social distancing looks like, and discussing the importance of personal hygiene including hand washing, coughing/sneezing into your elbow, and refraining from touching your face. We are also encouraging that our younger learners have time to practice personal care skills such as shoe tying, opening their own lunch box and pre-packaged lunch items. Thank you for your patience while the VCS School Reopening Advisory Committee works diligently to develop these draft plans. Sincerely, Matthew D. Cyr VCS Superintendent & Principal

Unfortunately, our Literacy and STEAM Zoom classes have had very low attendance over the past couple weeks. We understand that summertime is short, and our students are busy making many memories with family ( ... and of course, reading, right?!). Although we will no longer be meeting live this month, Mrs. Shannon has created several virtual classrooms to explore and recorded many read alouds for you to continue reading, listening, coding, experimenting and creating throughout the remainder of your summer! Simply visit: https://bit.ly/vcslibrary to begin.