3/31/20

Here are evening updates for tonight, Monday, March 30, from Manchester School District:

In-person kindergarten registration dates cancelled: All in-person kindergarten registration dates set for April have been cancelled. We are working on a process for online registration for kindergarten for the 2020-21 school year. We will bring you more information as soon as we can.

Daily food distribution continues this week: We are continuing to distribute food each day using our modified bus schedules, available at www.mansd.org. If you are unable to be at one of the bus stops, you can pick up food at the YMCA of Downtown Manchester Teen Center at 42 Stark St. between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Regular evening update emails will come on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: Starting this week, we’ll be sending the evening update only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings. As time goes on that will likely be reduced further. We want to make sure you’re informed but we also understand that parents have a lot coming at them right now. We will send emergency communications as needed. You can also send questions directly to covid19@mansd.org.

Board of School Committee will meet remotely: On Wednesday, the Board of School Committee will hold a special emergency meeting to vote on two tentative contract agreements with unions that represent school district staff, including the Manchester Education Association, which represents city teachers. The meeting will be held remotely, and there will be no public comment as it is a special meeting. If you’d like to watch the meeting, you can view it live at www.manchestertv.org/22. You can also listen to the meeting by calling (978) 990-5000 and entering the access code: 761615#.

3/27/20

Our main update is the big one – on the orders of Gov. Chris Sununu, schools will be closed through at least May 4 as part of a state-wide stay-at-home order. That order closes all non-essential businesses and calls for all to stay home unless absolutely necessary.

Schools will remain closed through May 4: As part of the stay-at-home order, Manchester School District schools will remain closed through that time and in remote learning status. We will bring you more information on the impact this order will have as soon as we can.

Meal distribution continues: We will continue meal distribution daily by bus routes – you can find information on the routes at www.mansd.org. We are also dropping food at the YMCA of Downtown Manchester Teen Center at 42 Stark St. Those packaged breakfasts and lunches are available for pickup between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. along with grab-and-go dinners prepared by the YMCA.

Location change for weekend meal pickup: Our weekend meal package pickup will continue as planned with one exception – we have moved one pickup site from JFK Arena to the Police Athletic League parking lot at 409 Beech St. Packs will be available for pickup at all locations starting at 9:30 a.m. this Saturday, March 28. Here is the updated list of pickup locations:

Police Athletic League building, 409 Beech St. (replaces location at JFK Arena) - please enter from Lake Avenue and exit onto Beech Street

Crystal Lake Park, 679 Bodwell Road

Parkside Middle School, 75 Parkside St.

Smyth Road School, 245 Bruce Road

Memorial High School, 1 Crusader Way

Playgrounds closed and hard courts are closed: Playgrounds and hard courts (for example, basketball courts) are closed in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Evening updates may not be sent every night: In sending updates every evening Sunday through Friday for the last few weeks, our goal was to make sure we were providing the most up-to-date information. Going forward, we will only be sending these evening updates when we have the information that you need to know. We understand that parents are inundated with notifications regarding remote learning, and we want to make sure our most important communications get your attention. As always if you have urgent questions, please send them to covid19@mansd.org.

3/26/20

We have some big news tonight and a couple of reminders. We’re happy to announce that thanks to SNHU, we’ll be able to distribute weekend meals starting this Saturday. We want to reinforce the importance of social distancing to help slow – and hopefully stop – the spread of COVID-19. Thank you all for your patience and effort on this front, and in our remote learning efforts. On to tonight’s updates:

SNHU weekend meals: Starting Saturday, MSD families will be able to pick up weekend meal packs thanks to the generosity of our friends at Southern New Hampshire University. Here’s how it will work: meal packs will be available at five distribution sites around Manchester starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Here are the sites:

JFK Arena, 303 Beech St.

Crystal Lake Park, 679 Bodwell Road

Parkside Middle School, 75 Parkside St.

Smyth Road School, 245 Bruce Road

Memorial High School, 1 Crusader Way

We will be distributing from Manchester Transit Authority buses, and handing meal packs off the front and back of the bus. Please be sure to practice social distancing when picking up meal packs. The meal packs contain perishable items, so please make sure to store the food items appropriately.

Thank you so much to SNHU for contributing the food and preparing the meal packs; in addition, thank you to MSD volunteers, city Health Department, Fire Department, Police Department, Emergency Operations Center and Manchester Transit Authority for helping make this possible.

Sharing your #caughtlearning photos: On Tuesday night, we asked you to share your students’ #caughtlearning moments with us … and you responded in a big way. We’ll start sharing those soon, but in the meantime, keep them coming. Just send photos by email to communications@mansd.org with the subject line “Caught learning.”

Send questions to our dedicated email address: As we continue to move forward with remote learning, please send any questions related to school closures to our dedicated email address, covid19@mansd.org.

3/25/20

We have just a few updates for you tonight.

You’re doing great: This goes out to everyone in our community: parents, students, teachers, administrators, volunteers, food service workers, bus drivers … all of you. This is a stressful time, made more difficult by our effort to continue the learning process remotely. Remote learning has been successful because we’re approaching this as a community. Parents, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or the school with any questions about assignments. If you need technical support from the school district, you can call our helpdesk at 413-3420.

Get #caughtlearning and share with us: Parents: starting tonight, we’d love for you to share your #caughtlearning moments with your students. Send a photo with a brief description to communications@mansd.org with the subject line “Caught learning” any time, and we'll share on social media.

Availability of food for children: A reminder that food distribution by bus continues. You can find the route schedule at www.mansd.org. You will be able to pick up bagged breakfast and lunch from the YMCA of Downtown Manchester’s Teen Center at 42 Stark St. around midday each weekday. Watch our Facebook page for a daily update that food is available. In addition, the Teen Center is distributing grab-and-go dinners every evening from 4:30-5:30 p.m. to children 18 and younger. Curbside pickup is available, so you can stay in your car

3/24/20

We have a handful of important updates to bring you tonight:

Remote learning on Tuesday: We're receiving significant snowfall this evening, but at this time we will continue with remote learning plans for tomorrow. We DO NOT need to call for a snow day as we are in remote learning at this time.

Please be patient with new bus routes: We experienced unexpected delays Monday in our first run with new bus routes. We apologize to any families who were left waiting for food or were unable to wait for the bus. We made some small changes to the new routes – you can find information on the routes at www.mansd.org.

Impact of snow on food distribution: We are hopeful that we will be able to distribute food tomorrow as planned, but we are watching the snow carefully. We will send an update in the morning. For those going to the bus stops to pick up food, please be careful. And for those out on the roads, please continue to be extra cautious around the buses.

Additional food pick-up location: As we mentioned Sunday evening, the YMCA of Downtown Manchester will be distributing grab-and-go dinners every evening from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Families will be able to pick up breakfast and lunch from the Teen Center entrance, 42 Stark Street, beginning tomorrow. Buses will be dropping off food at the end of the route, then the Y will distribute those meals. You can get an idea of when the buses will drop food off by viewing the routes at www.mansd.org.

Clarification on learning packets: We are not distributing packets each week, so if you have already picked up a packet from the bus or your child’s school, you do not need to get another one. If you have not yet picked up a packet for your child, please contact your school to arrange a pickup.

Email for elementary school students: Parents, in order to help elementary school teachers communicate more effectively with their students, the district has turned on email for all elementary school students. This is only temporary and once normal operations resume we will revert back to our previous policy. Your student’s email address is the same login that they are currently using for Google Drive and Clever. If you have questions about your child’s login, please contact your child’s teacher directly.

As a reminder, if you have a school specific question, you’re asked to reach out to the school directly. If you have questions related to COVID-19, you can email covid19@mansd.org.

Teachers reading their favorite books

3/23/20

As we move into our second week of school closures and first full week of remote learning, we had a few important updates and reminders. Please pay particular attention to the first two – changes to bus routes and social distancing. Also, we are monitoring the weather forecast for Monday evening and we will keep you updated as to the impact potential snowfall may have on food distribution.

Bus routes changing effective Monday: As a reminder, we are adjusting our bus routes effective Monday. We understand this creates a challenge for some, however we are making this change to ensure we are providing safe conditions for those in our kitchens, those riding the buses and the families out to collect food and packets. We’ve regionalized the bus routes – North, South, East and West – so families with children at multiple schools can collect everything at one stop. You can find the new routes, sorted by school, at www.mansd.org. If you are not able to make it to a stop for your school on these new routes, please contact your child’s school.

The importance of social distancing: This is the same information we shared on Friday night, but it is essential that everyone understands. Social distancing slows down the spread of COVID-19, which ensures we have enough critical resources – things like tests, protective masks and respirators. How do you practice social distancing? First, stay away from social gatherings larger than 10 people. Second, keep a distance of six feet from other people. Third, avoid touching other people, and that includes shaking hands. Closing schools is an important part of social distancing, but we need to practice it outside of schools, as well.

Additional food resources: If you or a family you know needs help with food beyond our school breakfast and lunch distribution, here are a couple of resources to keep in mind. First, we have a list of food pantries available on our website. Also, beginning Monday The YMCA of Downtown Manchester will be providing grab-and-go dinners for children ages 18 and younger. These dinners are available for pickup weeknights from 4:30-5:30 p.m. from the Teen Center entrance, 32 Stark St., Manchester. Please remember to practice social distancing when picking up meals.

Buildings are reduced to essential staff: Our schools and district office are rapidly transitioning to remote work, which means that there is a very limited number of staff physically at our facilities. This is to comply with public health guidelines on social distancing to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Remote Learning: As we enter our first full week of remote learning we would like to remind you to stay in touch with your teachers and admin if you have any questions or need any support. We are here to help you navigate the transition to remote learning.

Policy updates related to COVID-19: On Saturday, the Board of School Committee suspended Policy - Students 101.1, which means students will not be given a NG (no grade) for five or more unexcused absences this term. In addition, teachers are being instructed to allow students to make up assignments/tests/retakes that they may have missed before remote learning was put into place.

3.19.20

Remote Learning Materials Distribution To Begin

The Manchester School District will begin the delivery of physical Remote Learning Materials on Thursday, March 19th. While some Remote Learning Materials have been delivered electronically, the core elementary materials as well as paper copies of some secondary (6-12) materials will now be available. Families can also access the elementary materials on the district website at the links below. Remote Learning materials will also be available for our Special Education Students as well as our English Learners. The District is utilizing our busses to make materials deliveries for ALL students along bus routes at the same times and locations as the existing food delivery schedule; however, for those Special Education students that use specialized transportation their materials will be delivered by their private provider (i.e. STS).

All Manchester School District students can access physical remote learning materials and food by meeting the bus at their regular stop, or the stop nearest their home if they are not a bus rider. Families have been or will be contacted by their schools or teachers to provide information and support as we initiate remote learning. This contact may be in the form of a phone call, e-mail, Google Classroom or other electronic format. In the case of a phone call you may see a blocked caller ID. Please answer blocked caller IDs in case it is your child’s teacher calling. This family contact is one way we are recording student attendance. It is important to remember school is not cancelled, these are not “snow days.”

To determine where and at what time the bus will be in your area please visit the Manchester School District Home Page. You will be directed to the list of bus routes associated with your child’s school. Select the route and stop closest to your home. Please be patient and allow for buses to be late as we expect the addition of the material delivery to extend our route stop timing.

Starting Thursday, March 19, 2020; please use this link to access the Elementary Remote Learning Materials Online.

3/18/20

Dear Parents,

Today, teachers will be working on getting their report cards done so we can mail them out this week. They will need time to do this so please do not expect them to be available for remote teaching today.

We thank you for your patience!

Mrs. Matthews

3/17/20

Dear Families,

We want to reach out to thank everyone who helped to begin our Food Delivery system today. We appreciate your patience as we work out the glitches in the process. It was great to see so many of our students’ faces and see the excitement around the upcoming Remote Learning. More information on Remote Learning will be coming soon.

We will resume our bus runs tomorrow with Food Delivery. Remember the bus stop times are posted online at https://www.mansd.org/. Please be patient and understand that buses may be running late.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you

To get students' work packets, buses will stop at places below. Thursday 3/19/20.

If your child is a walker, or you drive them to school, you will need to choose the most convenient drop off location from our established routes.

Buses will require different amounts of times depending on the stop. Be patient but be there at the listed arrival time.

The buses will also drop off food for breakfast and lunch, regardless of need.

Tomorrow, teachers will be making phone calls to each of their students' homes to touch base and see if you have received your food and instructional packets.