Noah Ventola, Center School

Join  Zoom Meeting on August 19, 2020    Meeting 4:00 p.m.
Meeting ID: 836 6865 5540

---

Kelly Enoch, Principal of Mile Creek School

Join ZOOM Meeting on August 19, 2020  Meeting 5:00 p.m.
Meeting ID: 884 4139 0565  

---

James Cavalieri, Principal of Lyme Consolidated School

Join ZOOM Meeting on April 19, 2020    Meeting 5:00 p.m.
Meeting ID: 814 5430 1065

---

Mark Ambruso, Principal of Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School

Join ZOOM Meeting on August 19, 2020   Meeting 6:00 p.m.
Meeting ID: 821 0483 8775

---

James Wygonik, Principal of Lyme-Old Lyme High School

Join ZOOM Meeting on August 19, 2020   Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Meeting ID: 825 1515 4570 

---

 

Recording of July 29, 2020 Community Conversation with Lyme-Old Lyme Administrative Team

Password: $Bf1+LGb

Dear Parent/ Guardian,

As noted in my last communication, on June 29, 2020, the Connecticut State Department of Education released their reopening plan, Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut’s Plan to Learn and Grow Together. Since then, the Lyme-Old Lyme Schools have developed district level guidance based on that state document and recommendations. The Lyme-Old Lyme Plan can be found here.  Please review our plan with the following in mind.             

This is a district level document and provides guidance to our schools to develop specific protocols for our reopening.  Schools will release their individual protocols and policies on August 17, 2020. In addition, a FAQ document will be developed for release at that time based on your survey responses.                 

This plan is, and needs to remain, fluid based on current and future health data. Please be prepared for possible changes prior to or during our reopening.                   

Our goal in developing this guidance is to provide a safe, in person learning environment for our students and staff.        

After reviewing the entire plan, we are requiring all families to complete a brief four question survey found here.  This should take less than five minutes to complete. Your participation is imperative as it will allow us to determine how many students we should expect to participate. Please complete this survey by midnight on Monday, July 27, 2020.

As a follow-up to our release of these plans, we are providing opportunities for conversations with our administrative team.  The first of these will take place next week on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 following the schedule noted below. We will also hold follow-up conversations on August 19, 2020 following the same schedule. Links to these virtual events will be posted on this webpage.

• Mile Creek, Lyme, and Center Schools 5:00- 5:45 p.m.
• Middle School 6:00- 6:45 p.m.
• High School 7:00- 7:45 p.m.

We look forward to a safe return to school and hope that your families remain healthy.

Sincerely,
Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

On June 29, 2020 the Connecticut State Department of Education released their reopening plan, Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut’s Plan to Learn and Grow Together. Since that release, our reopening committees have been working with this document to formulate plans for the reopening of the Lyme-Old Lyme Schools. We intend to share completed plans with you in early August. Upon receipt and review of those plans, we ask that you answer a very short survey, the results of which will help solidify our reopening procedures. In looking ahead, and for your planning purposes, please note the following:

• The publication from the CSDE is a document with guidelines that may change prior to school reopening in the fall.
• Our plans will be based on the best information we have at the time. We are prepared to adapt to new information and ask that everyone remain patient as we navigate this “new normal.”
• Our school calendar has been adjusted to allow for additional requirements for staff training prior to the first day of school. The new school calendar can be found here.
• As a part of our plan, families will be encouraged to transport their children to and from school and will be discouraged, but not disallowed, from using our bus service. Smaller ridership will provide us more ability to support physical distancing measures on buses.
• As a part of our plan, families will be encouraged to send their child to school with a bag lunch and will be discouraged, but not disallowed, from purchasing lunch in our cafeterias. Shorter lunch lines will also support our ability to physically distance during lunch periods.
• Face coverings will be required of all persons in all five of our school buildings. Exceptions may only be considered for verified medical reasons.

Beginning Thursday, July 16, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. lunches will be available to any family, “whose children are on free/reduced lunch, receive SNAP, or have been negatively impacted financially by COVID19.” The pick-up location will be behind LYSB in the Lyme -Old Lyme Middle School driveway. This program is organized by LYSB in collaboration with the Social Services Departments of both Lyme and Old Lyme and is funded through private donations. For more information, click here: Summer Meals LOL LYSB.pdf. 

We look forward to seeing everyone again as we return to school this fall. Please enjoy the remainder of your summer.
|Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Parents / Guardians,

This is my final weekly update for the 2019-2020 school year. Thank you to our students who persevered through the unusual circumstances this spring, to our staff who adapted quickly and effectively to an ever-changing educational landscape, to our board of education and community members who have supported us for many years to make sure we were prepared to adapt to any situation, and, of course, to our students’ parents who worked closely with our staff for the last few months to provide some educational continuity for their children. These last few months truly demonstrated how important it is for all of us to work as a team to support our students. I am proud to say I am part of such a special place. I hope everyone has a safe, relaxing, and healthy summer. As soon as I have specific information regarding the reopening of schools, I will share it. 

A Message from the CT State Department of Education

All Connecticut school districts received the following message on Friday:  

We appreciate the sense of urgency around planning for school next year and understand the challenge it has been to wait for Fall Reopen guidance. We are at the point in the process where the draft is receiving input from our health partners and the Office of the Governor. We are looking to have it shared as soon as possible, likely next week. Thank you for your patience.

School Access During the Summer

All school offices will reopen to the public on July 1, 2020. If you need to come in to conduct business on or after that date, we ask that you please wear a mask and follow all social distancing guidelines to ensure the health and safety of our staff.  Please contact the school for specific hours of operation during the summer.

Return of Materials

Each school has completed their plan for the return of materials and equipment loaned to students. Unfortunately, some materials were not returned as planned. Please make sure to return everything to avoid fees and possible participation restrictions in future years. Contact your child’s principal if you have any questions about the school’s process for returning these items. 

Food Distribution

The federal grant supporting our food distribution will expire on June 30, 2020. Therefore, food distribution at LOLHS will end on that date. We are still awaiting a list of regional locations from the CSDE where food distribution will continue over the summer and will post that to our website upon receipt.

For the remainder of June, food distribution will continue on the regular schedule of Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:30- 9:30 a.m. in front of LOLHS.

Social Media

Please share your fun summer photos and videos by sending them to socialmedia1@region18.org for publication on our various social media sites.

Happy Father’s Day,

Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Parents / Guardians,

We had a great day on June 12 celebrating each of our LOLHS graduates. The weather cooperated and families had the opportunity to enjoy a special moment while their child was honored on stage. The energy and enthusiasm of all involved was reflective of how much we will miss these young men and women and look forward to hearing of their future success.  Thank you to all of the parents and staff members who helped make this such a special day. Hopefully, you were able to view this event through our live stream link. Once we complete the video of the ceremony, which will include speeches and music, we will post it on our website for all to view.  

A Message from our Health Department Regarding Facility Use

Community transmission of COVID-19 is currently minimal across Ledge Light Health District. Our current understanding of transmission of COVID-19 is that outdoor activities are safer than indoor activities, and children are generally at lower risk for severe COVID-19 disease. 

As of June 17, Ledge Light Health District is no longer recommending that playgrounds be closed to the public. Though the risk of transmission of the virus is not zero in any setting where people may come into close contact with one another, the relatively low risk right now must be balanced against the need for youth in our communities to engage in both physical and social activities for their health and well being. Parents and caregivers must continue to use good judgement in determining whether to allow their children to engage in activities where there is potential for close contact to occur. Though transmission of COVID-19 from contaminated surfaces is less likely than from close contact with an infected person, frequently touched objects like playground equipment can result in transmission of COVID-19.

Therefore, we are reopening our playgrounds and tennis courts to the public on June 17 with the following stipulations from our health department. Please remember that our tracks at LOLHS and Lyme School remain open for use with the expectation that all users adhere to social distancing guidelines.  

• Maintain a 6-foot distance from others as much as possible. Playground capacity limits will be posted based on square footage of the play area so that children can safely maintain a 6-foot distance between other children. 
• Wear masks when 6-foot distance cannot be maintained, unless wearing the mask would create a health hazard to the wearer. 
• Do not use the playgrounds or tennis courts if you are sick, or in the past 10 days have tested positive for COVID-19 or were told by a health care provider that you have COVID-19, or have been living with someone who has been sick with COVID-19 in the past two weeks.
• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after using the playgrounds or tennis courts or use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• Users of playground equipment should be aware that the equipment is not cleaned or disinfected regularly and that use of the equipment is at their own risk. 

Next School Year

While no one knows exactly what the reopening of school will look like, we have convened two committees to address this topic and create plans for a safe reopening. One is focused on the curricular aspect of reopening and the other on operational management. Those committees will work with CDC guidelines, CSDE guidelines, and lessons learned from international schools that have already reopened to determine the safest method for the return of our students and staff in August. As more specifics become available, we will share them with you.

Return of Materials

Each school has developed a plan for the return of materials and equipment loaned to students. Please make sure to return everything to avoid fees and possible participation restrictions in future years. Contact your child’s principal if you have any questions about the school’s process for returning these items. 

Food Distribution

The federal grant supporting our food distribution will expire on June 30, 2020. Therefore, food distribution at LOLHS will end on that date. We are still awaiting a list of regional locations from the CSDE where food distribution will continue over the summer and will provide that upon receipt.

For the remainder of June, food distribution will continue on the regular schedule of Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:30- 9:30 a.m. in front of LOLHS.

Technology

Our technology staff is available to support parents, students, and teachers during this time. Their contact information can be found here.  

Social Media

Please continue to share distance learning photos and videos by sending them to socialmedia1@region18.org for publication on our various social media sites.

Sincerely,

Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Parents / Guardians,

This has been an emotional week for our entire nation as we struggle to ensure equality for all of our citizens, especially those that have historically been marginalized. It's vitally important that we as educators do everything in our power to teach our students that discrimination and harassment of any type are not acceptable in our schools or our society. This is vitally important in places like our community where there is little racial diversity within our population. People often fear what they don’t know. Through education, we can change the future. I have included a document from the CSDE that provides a number of good resources for families to use to make sure our upcoming generations better understand and address these long-standing issues. That document can be found here.

Mask Distribution

LYSB has organized a mask distribution event sponsored by the Old Lyme Visiting Nurse Association with support from the Ledge Light Health District and the Lyme and Old Lyme Emergency Management Departments. If you are in need of a mask, please click here for more information.

Graduation

We are excited to honor our seniors and look forward to the special graduation ceremony we have planned for June 12. A video of this event will be available on our website a few days after the ceremony. For those who would like to help celebrate this special group from home, we are exploring the possibility of providing a live stream of the ceremony on that day. Should this come to fruition, details on how to access this will be posted to our website.

Return of Materials

Each school has developed a plan for the return of materials and equipment loaned to students. Please make sure to return everything to avoid fees and possible participation restrictions in future years. Contact your child’s principal if you have any questions about the school’s process for returning these items. 

Food Distribution

The federal grant supporting our food distribution will expire on June 30, 2020. Therefore, food distribution at LOLHS will end on that date. We are compiling a list of regional locations that food distribution will continue over the summer and will provide that in future communications.

Although we normally distribute meals on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the week of graduation, June 8-12, 2020, we will instead hold our meal distribution on Monday, June 8, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Monday and Tuesday), Wednesday, June 10, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Wednesday) and Thursday, June 11, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Thursday and Friday). 

Technology

Our technology staff is available to support parents, students, and teachers during this time. Their contact information can be found here.  

Social Media

Please continue to share distance learning photos and videos by sending them to socialmedia1@region18.org for publication on our various social media sites.

Sincerely,

Mr. Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Dear Parent/ Guardian,

It is hard to believe June is upon us. Yet, we are at that point where we traditionally participate in end of the school year activities. This year will obviously be different. Your child’s principal will share with you information on those activities that we are still able to host either virtually or with limited concurrent participation. Continue to check your email for that information.

Return of Materials

Each school has developed a plan for the return of materials and equipment loaned to students. Please make sure to return everything to avoid fees and possible participation restrictions in future years. Contact your child’s principal if you have any questions about the school’s process for returning items. 

Graduation

All senior parents and students received instructions from Mr. Wygonik regarding the “drive thru” graduation ceremony we have planned. We are excited to honor our seniors and look forward to this special day on June 12. A video of this event will be available on our website a few days after the ceremony.  

Food Distribution

The federal grant supporting our food distribution program will expire on June 30, 2020. Therefore, food distribution at LOLHS will end on that date. We are compiling a list of regional locations that food distribution will continue over the summer and will provide that in future communications.

Although we normally distribute meals on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the week of graduation (June 8-12, 2020), we will instead hold our meal distribution on Monday, June 8, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Monday and Tuesday), Wednesday, June 10, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Wednesday) and Thursday, June 11, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Thursday and Friday). 

A Message from the CIAC

As Governor Lamont’s Reopen CT committee plans for our state’s next phase, sports are scheduled to return. The time is right, and CT sports will indeed play again. In the coming weeks, the CIAC will release our “CAS-CIAC Resocialization to Interscholastic Athletics and Activities Programs Guidelines.”  

Technology

Our technology staff is available to support parents, students, and teachers. Their contact information can be found here. 

Social Media

Please continue to share distance learning photos and videos by sending them to socialmedia1@region18.org for publication on our various social media sites.

Stay well,

Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Dear Parents / Guardians,

As we enter this Memorial Day weekend, I hope you will join us in honoring those brave men and women who died while serving our country. Although the current restrictions prevent us from providing in school recognition of their sacrifices, we hope that you as a family will honor all that they have done to ensure the freedoms we have today.

Surveys

Thank you for completing the surveys sent out last week. Your responses will help guide us for the remaining four weeks of school and provide information to help develop plans for opening again in August. 

Graduation

Thank you to the over 75 parents who participated in our Zoom call regarding graduation. We have a tentative plan of doing a “drive-thru” ceremony, details of which will be available the first week in June. As a community, I believe we have developed a concept that will provide our seniors with the recognition they deserve working within the confines of our current circumstances.

Food Distribution

Looking ahead to next week, remember that Memorial Day is Monday, May 25, 2020. Although we normally distribute meals on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, next week we will instead hold our meal distribution on Tuesday, May 26, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Tuesday and Wednesday) and Thursday, May 28, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Thursday and Friday). 

K-5 Grading and Report Cards

Similar to our upper grades, assessments during distance learning have been formative in nature to inform teacher planning and feedback. Elementary school report cards are standards-based. Recognizing assessment of mastery during distance learning has challenges, our reports to parents (and to help inform next year’s teachers) will focus on concepts introduced during this time. Report cards will use the following terms relative to academic sections of the report.

• Reinforced = Concept was introduced prior to March 13, 2020 and reinforced through distance learning 
• Introduced = Concept was introduced through distance learning 
• Not introduced = Concept was not introduced through distance learning 

Report cards will not include the behavior/work habits section for the third-trimester as these require consistent and direct classroom observation. End of year comments from classroom teachers will primarily focus on student progress from the beginning of school through March 13, 2020. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the start of school next fall, and our diligence around classroom placement, teacher/class assignments will not be shared with families until August. 

A Message from the CSDE

The RESC Alliance, acting on behalf of the Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education, is conducting an outreach to Connecticut middle and high school aged students so their voices can be heard as educators plan for the re-opening of school in the fall of 2020. To collect that information, the Alliance and the CSDE will once again be using Thoughtexchange. While the focus of the exchange is for students from grades 5-12, if there are students younger than that who also want to participate (please use discretion here, parents should not be filling it out for their children), they can do so by selecting “Other” in the participant group category.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Connecticut Student,

We know that current events related to Covid-19 have caused major disruption in the lives of students. The sudden move to distance learning has been a challenge for all of us. As this school year comes to an end, we would like to hear ideas from students like you on how to improve distance learning should we need it again for some part of next school year. The feedback gathered here will be shared with the Commissioner of Education, the State Board of Education, and other leaders across the state as they consider decisions on reopening.

Thoughtexchange keeps confidential who shared each thought and who assigned what ratings. You can rate as many thoughts as you'd like before moving on to discover where you can see all the thoughts sorted by the average star rating.  The entire process is described in the introduction. Thank you for participating in this important conversation.

Notes about this process: 

1.     It could take you as little as 5-10 minutes to participate.

2.     You can complete questions at your own pace and come back to review your answers at any time.

3.     There are three ways you can access the Thoughtexchange.

• Please click HERE https://my.thoughtexchange.com/542224813  to participate.
• Go to www.thoughtexchange.com and click on the “Join” button and enter the code  542-224-813.
• Download the Thoughtexchange app (IOS only), click on the “Join” button and enter the code 542-224-813

Technology

Our technology staff is available to support parents, students and teachers during this time. Their contact information can be found here. They will respond to emails as they are received. If you are not getting responses in a timely fashion, please contact your child’s principal.

Social Media

Please continue to share distance learning photos and videos by sending them to socialmedia1@region18.org for publication on our various social media sites.

Stay well,

Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Parents / Guardians,

In an effort to best meet the learning needs of our students during this unusual period, we are again asking for your input specific to the current distance learning program. Please see below for more information.

Surveys
As a follow-up to our early April surveys, we request that all students in grades 4-12 and all parents with students in grades PK-12, complete new surveys which can be found at the following links. Your updated feedback will be used to continue to improve upon our process. Please complete these by Wednesday, May 20, 2020 before 5:00 p.m.

Parent Survey (Parents with children in multiple grade levels are only required to complete one survey.)

Student Survey (can only be accessed using a region18.org account)

Graduation
By now, all senior parents and all seniors should have received another invitation for a virtual meeting from Mr. Wygonik to discuss graduation plans. If you have not yet received those invitations, please contact him at wygonikj@region18.org or at 619-607-3082. At those meetings, we will discuss potential options for graduation this year based on recently published guidelines from the CSDE which can be found here.

Food Distribution
Looking ahead to the end of this month, please be aware that Memorial Day is Monday, May 25, 2020. Although we normally distribute meals on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, that week we will instead hold our meal distribution on Tuesday, May 26, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Tuesday and Wednesday) and Thursday, May 28, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Thursday and Friday). 

Technology
Our technology staff is available to support parents, students and teachers during this time. Their contact information can be found here. They will respond to emails as they are received. If you are not getting responses in a timely fashion, please contact your child’s principal.

Social Media
Please continue to share distance learning photos and videos by sending them to socialmedia1@region18.org for publication on our various social media sites. 

Stay well,

Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Parents / Guardians

Despite the winter-like weather, I hope everyone is enjoying this weekend. I have included some new information below for your review. Please let us know if you have any questions.

To all of the mothers reading this, Happy Mother's Day! We wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for you. Thank you. I hope you enjoy your day tomorrow.

Educator Appreciation Week
As we end Educator Appreciation Week, please join me in thanking all of our employees for everything that they do to support our students. We are so proud of their dedication, effort, flexibility, care, and willingness to go above and beyond both during this crisis and long before. If you haven’t done so already, they would certainly appreciate a note of thanks in recognition of their work. Our staff directory can be found here.

Schedule
By now you have heard that Governor Lamont has closed schools for the remainder of this academic year. As we receive more guidance from the state and our local health department, we will let you know about possible summer school options as well as a vision for what reopening school will look like in the fall.

Budget
On Wednesday night the Board of Education unanimously passed a $34,711,631 budget for next year. This budget is a decrease of $373,127 from the current year’s budget and represents a decrease of 1.06%. This is the only time in our 47 year history that we have had a decrease in our budget of this size.

Awards
Annually, we recognize two outstanding employees, one from the teaching staff and one from the support staff. Despite the closure, this year will be no different. If you would like to nominate an employee for either the Teacher of the Year or the Employee of the Year, the link to the forms can be found here:
https://www.region18.org/staff.

Food Distribution
Looking ahead to the end of this month, please be aware that Memorial Day is Monday, May 25, 2020. Although we normally distribute meals on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, for that week only we will hold our meal distribution on Tuesday, May 26, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Tuesday and Wednesday) and Thursday, May 28, 2020 (meals distributed will cover Thursday and Friday).

A message from the CIAC regarding spring sports
“The CIAC’s consideration for any spring sport experience has always been contingent on the re-opening of schools for in-person instruction. Governor Lamont has ordered the cancellation of in-school classes for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year. Therefore, there will not be a 2020 CIAC spring sports season. The CIAC empathizes with our school communities and the experiences lost due to COVID-19. Our focus is now on completing guidelines for summer contact and resocialization of CIAC sports in the fall.”

Technology
Our technology staff is available to support parents, students, and teachers during this time. Their contact information can be found at https://www.region18.org/staff/it-help-desk. They will respond to emails as they are received. If you are not getting responses in a timely fashion, please contact your child’s principal.

Stay well,

Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Parents/Guardians,

I hope this finds you and your family healthy and enjoying this beautiful spring weather. I have included below some new information that may be of use to you.

Internet Safety

With so much time online these days, it is important to ensure our students are safe. Scott Driscoll, from Internet Safety Concepts, is offering a free Zoom presentation for parents to help protect your child during this pandemic. Scott has presented to our students and parents before and has very helpful tips to share. Information on his presentation can be found at this link: COVID Parent Awareness May 4th_.pdf 

Reopening Input

LEARN, our Regional Education Service Center, has asked that I share the following with you.

The CT Commissioner of Education has enlisted the help of the six Regional Education Service Centers (RESC’s) to form teams of education stakeholders for the purpose of gathering, analyzing, and sharing issues, concerns, and ideas related to the process of reopening schools. An online tool will be used to gather feedback efficiently and to reflect all the different regions and constituent groups across the state. The tool, "ThoughtExchange," is entirely confidential and anonymous to use. Your participation and feedback are essential to the process and necessary for our state leaders to consider as they make decisions about reopening our schools. Please use the link below to share your thoughts and help evaluate the critical issues related to this topic.  
https://my.thoughtexchange.com/493894984

Electricity Usage

Have you seen a spike in your home’s electricity bill since stay at home orders began?  Eversource has helpful information that may allow you to save some money on electricity. Please click on this link for more information:
https://www.eversource.com/content/ema-c/residential/save-money-energy/energy-efficiency-tips/seasonal-energy-saving-tips

A Message from the Department of Children and Families (DCF)

DCF is asking for your help spreading the word about the state’s new “Talk It Out Line,” which is a DCF initiative created to provide support and services to help parents and caretakers with the stress and increased needs resulting from caring for their children during the COVID-19 crisis. Parents and caregivers are invited to call 833-258-5011 and/or visit www.talkitoutct.com to speak with trained professionals (in both English and Spanish) who will listen and discuss their concerns and, if additional help is needed, refer them to responsive services. The "Talk It Out Line" is available Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on weekends from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 

Masks

The response to our request for mask donations has been tremendous. Thank you for supporting that need. We currently have enough masks and will let you know if and when we might need more.

Meals

As a reminder, meal distribution occurs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (even on the Fridays we have off from school) from 8:30-9:30 a.m. in front of LOLHS. If you are in need of meals and are unable to come by or have someone else pick up on your behalf, please contact Holly McCalla at 860-434-7238 ext. 3607 or mccallah@region18.org.  

Social Media

Please continue to share distance learning photos and videos by sending them to socialmedia1@region18.org for publication on our various social media sites. 

Graduation

By now, all senior parents (and next week all seniors) should have received another invitation for a virtual meeting from Mr. Wygonik to discuss graduation plans. If you do not receive those invitations, please contact Mr. Wygonik at wygonikj@region18.org or at 619-607-3082.

Sincerely,

Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Parents/Guardians,

We are continually making adjustments to our distance learning program to ensure that we respond to parent, student, and teacher feedback, while balancing academics, family responsibilities, brain breaks, and everyone’s sanity during quarantine. Our program is based on engaging students in their studies, exposing them to new concepts and skills, checking for understanding to inform instruction, and providing feedback for learning. As such, we are making the following adaptations noted below.

Grades 6-12

Effective immediately in grades 6-12, we are adjusting our grading practices to align with the aforementioned distance learning goals. For the remainder of the year, students will be provided the option of receiving their grade in a course (which will be the default option unless a student/parent requests a change through their counselor) or electing a Pass/Fail model for the fourth marking period. The emphasis with both of these methods of evaluation will be on engagement and feedback for learning. All grading will be formative in nature to help identify for students and teachers areas of mastery and areas in need of improvement.  

Prior to adoption of this plan, we received guidance from the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE), spoke to colleges and universities across the country, and spoke to other secondary institutions to ensure our students would be on equal or better footing in preparation for their college admissions no matter their year in school. Some samples of the many responses/positions of colleges and universities we surveyed to determine the appropriateness of this decision can be found here.  

In an effort to balance the high expectations of our district, the validity of grading practices, and the current distance learning model, this plan addresses the following: 

·       Equity of access to distance learning
·       Validity of submitted work
·       Student learning styles/teacher delivery models in a virtual environment
·       Alignment with college/university expectations for future applications for admission

The specifics of each school's grading practices based on this change can be found in the attachments below.

High School.pdf 
Middle School.pdf 

Grades K-5

Elementary school report cards are standards based and not grade based. We will provide information about any change in practice at the K-5 level as we move forward in this process. 

K- 5 Supports

Starting on Friday, May 1, 2020, Fridays that are regularly scheduled school days will be dedicated to focused support for students in grades K-5.  These will still be full school days but the emphasis will be on:

·       Providing students extra time or extra help to get caught up on work
·       Allowing teachers time to provide feedback for learning to students
·       Providing small group instruction/tutorials
·       Providing families more flexibility in managing household/work responsibilities  

Project Paws 

Our therapy animal partners, Project Paws, were kind enough to put together a slideshow of our staff working at home with their furry friends. That video can be found here. 

Masks

The limited number of employees who remain at work on our campuses are required to wear masks while at work. If you are interested in donating cloth face covering type masks to support this requirement, or sewing prepackaged mask kits, please contact Ron Turner at turnerr@region18.org or 860-434-7238 x3605. Donated masks should not be N-95 type masks as those should be donated to health care workers. We are only looking for cloth face covering type masks.

Meals

Meal distribution occurs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (even on the Fridays we have off from school) from 8:30- 9:30 a.m. in front of LOLHS. If you are in need of meals and are unable to come by or have someone else pick up on your behalf, please contact Holly McCalla at 860-434-7238 ext. 3607 or mccallah@region18.org.  

Social Media

Please continue to share distance learning photos and videos by sending them to socialmedia1@region18.org for publication on our various social media sites. 

Graduation

We are moving forward with conceptual plans for alternative graduation options based on the feedback received from seniors and their parents. If you have further input, please contact Mr. Wygonik at wygonikj@region18.org or at 619-607-3082.

Sincerely,

Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Parents/Guardians,

This week I am writing mainly with reminders as there is little “new” information to report. Please continue to stay well and let us know if there is anything we can do to help support your student during this time.

Technology

For those students who have Windows laptops (LOLHS is the only school that issues those devices), we have seen some minor issues that have easily corrected themselves through a simple update. Please click here for directions for this resolution.

Meals

Meal distribution occurs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (even on the Fridays we have off from school) from 8:30- 9:30 a.m. in front of LOLHS. If you are in need of meals and are unable to come by or have someone else pick up on your behalf, please contact Holly McCalla at 860-434-7238 ext. 3607 or mccallah@region18.org.  

Calendar

Governor Lamont has closed schools until May 20, 2020 with the possibility of extending that further based on the status of the pandemic at that time. You can view our adjusted calendar here.

Grading

As promised last week, we anticipate providing you with our plan for grading during virtual learning by the end of this coming week.

Social Media

Please continue to share distance learning photos and videos by sending them to socialmedia1@region18.org for publication on our various social media sites. 

Graduation

We are moving forward with conceptual plans for alternative graduation options based on the feedback received during the virtual meetings with seniors and their parents earlier this week. More detail will be provided as we get closer to June 12, 2020. If you have further input, please contact Mr. Wygonik at wygonikj@region18.org or at 619-607-3082.

Enjoy the remainder of the weekend and stay well.

Sincerely,

Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Parents/Guardians,

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Thank you for completing our first distance learning survey and providing additional feedback during our “check in” phone calls to families. We are evaluating the data from the survey and using that to help guide our progression of online instruction. More specific information will come from your child’s principal as we further develop plans to address needs moving forward.

Meals

As a reminder, meal distribution will return to the regular schedule this coming week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30-9:30 a.m. in front of LOLHS). If you are in need of meals and are unable to come by or have someone else pick up on your behalf, please contact Holly McCalla at 860-434-7238 ext. 3607 or mccallah@region18.org. As the economic crisis grows resulting from this pandemic, we recognize that more families may be in need of support for meals. Therefore, you are encouraged to stop by to pick up meals for your children.  

Calendar

As you may have heard, Governor Lamont has now closed schools until May 20, 2020 with the possibility of extending that further based on the status of the pandemic at that time. As such, we will continue to expand our virtual learning experiences while delving into new areas of learning for your student.

Grading

We have received some guidance from the Connecticut State Department of Education and colleges throughout the country on grading practices during this time of online instruction. As we evaluate this guidance, we will provide you with detailed information on how we will assess your child moving forward. Please keep an eye out for that in the next week or two.

Social Media

We are all enjoying your fun distance learning photos and videos. Please continue to share those by sending them to socialmedia1@region18.org for publication on our various social media sites. If you have not done so already, don't forget to follow us on social media using the links at the end of this email.

Graduation

Parents and guardians of our high school seniors (the class of 2020) are invited to join me and the high school administration to discuss alternative graduation ideas should we need to cancel our traditional graduation ceremony planned for June. If you have not yet received the Zoom invitation for this meeting from Mr. Wygonik, please contact him at wygonikj@region18.org or at 619-607-3082.

Enjoy the remainder of the weekend and stay well.

Thank you,

Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

COVID-19 Five Questions and Answers on the Virus by Ledge Light Health District

Dear Parent / Guardian, 

During this pandemic, we are limiting our district wide communications to one per week only on Saturdays. This is in an effort to avoid overwhelming you with too many emails. Please review the information below and let us know if you have any questions.

Surveys

As we conclude the second week of our distance learning program, we are looking for your feedback. This feedback will be used to improve upon our process. We are asking that students in grades 4-12 and all parents complete surveys which can be found at the following links. Please complete these by Monday, April 6, 2020 before 5:00 p.m. as we would like to start making any necessary adjustments based on the data we receive.

Parent Survey PK-12 ​​​​​​​

(If link is disabled, copy and paste this address in to your web browser:
https://forms.gle/QXd9DoJTBphErTkt9)

Student Survey Grades 4-12 only

​​​​​​​(If link is disabled, copy and paste this address in to your web browser:
https://forms.gle/1PjyZopgpkKcVsXP6)

Students should only complete the student survey and parents should only complete the parent survey. Parents with children in multiple grade levels are only required to complete one survey.

Food Distribution

For the week of April 6, 2020, food distribution will take place on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday as opposed to Monday, Wednesday and Friday as Friday, April 10, 2020, is a school holiday. The times and location will remain the same. This will only be for the week of April 6, 2020, and we will return to our regular schedule for future weeks.

Phone Calls

By now, you should have received, or soon will receive, a “check in” phone call from one of our staff members. We want to be sure that our students and their families are adjusting to this new method of instruction and appreciate the feedback you have provided during these calls. Please note that some of these calls may be coming from blocked numbers to protect our staff’s privacy.

I hope everybody remains well.

Sincerely,

Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools
 

 

March 28, 2020 - Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

March 23, 2020 - Changes to Meal Distribution, Contacting Staff)

March 21, 2020 - Thanks, Meals, Staff Working Remotely

March 19, 2020 - Distance Learning Parent Letter

Distance Learning.....more information on this program

Mobile Device Distribution Schedule

Parent Survey - Distance Learning and Meal Opportunities