October 6th
Fall is in the air! We have enjoyed a wonderful first month of school and have been very busy settling back into routines and building community with our students. Wishing you all a great month!
Thoreau Bike-to-School Day: Friday, October 15 Rain or shine
Save the date! This voluntary event is supported by the Concord Police Department, the Concord Public Schools and SRTS (Safe Routes to School). More detailed information regarding logistics will be forthcoming next week.
Fall COVID Updates:
We are thrilled to resume pooled testing this week and adding our Test and Stay program to our protocol for students in positive pools. As we enter into the colder months, and with these testing protocols in place, we wanted to share an update regarding certain situations where we may be mixing students across classes.
We are eager to return to implementing some of our best practices with regards to student support and are pleased to be resuming lunch bunch and small group Response to Intervention instruction in reading and math. Last year these structures were impacted by the need to cohort students by homeroom and the need to reassign curriculum specialists to support our remote learners and we are confident that our efforts to closely monitor student exposure through pooled testing will allow us to resume these interventions across homerooms.
With the colder weather approaching, and an increased likelihood of inclement weather, there may be days when eating lunch in the tent is not feasible. Beginning on November 1, 2021, we will begin utilizing the cafeteria for lunch when it is not possible to go outside for lunch. When we must use the cafeteria students will sit with classmates from their homeroom.
As always, thank you for your support and we seek to gradually return to normalcy.
CMS Coats for Kids:
The Concord Middle School Coats for Kids Club needs your help! Their annual Anton’s Cleaners Coats for Kids drive gets underway October 4th! Our goal this year is to collect 300 coats!! Please consider donating any gently-used coats in good condition by sending them to school with your child. The drop off box is by the office. We accept any size coat, from infant snowsuits to oversized adult, but please do not donate clothing other than winter coats – no sweatshirts, raincoats, vests, scarves, hats, gloves, mittens or snow pants. The drive runs until January 8th, 2022. If you get a new coat for the winter, consider donating your old coat to Coats for Kids. Thank you very much for your generosity!
Changes to Dismissal Plans:
Please send in a note to your child’s teacher if you need to change his/her dismissal plans for that day. If you need to change your child’s dismissal plan unexpectedly, please notify the office by 11:30 AM as an email to the teacher may not be seen until after the last period of the day.
Stargazing for Grade 2:
Calling all 2nd grade astronomers and dreamers! In conjunction with the Concord Free Public Library, the Concord Festival of Authors, and the Aldrich Astronomical Society — we are presenting a series of events to educate and inspire Concord students and their families. Teachers and/or librarians will share a wonderful new book with students, written by a local author and physicist that students will meet (via zoom!). Also, families are invited to come to the Thoreau school (near the parking lot side of the building) at 5pm on Oct 13 to learn from a real astronomer as the sun goes down and the stars come out!
Please see the attached flyer and consider joining the fun!
A few notes: parents must accompany their children to the evening event, the building will not be accessible, and all current district covid protocols will be observed. In the event of poor weather, the event will be cancelled.
