It is hard to believe that a month has already passed since we’ve had to shut down school. For the faculty and staff, this has been a very busy time focused on acquiring new skills and adapting to the challenge of remote learning. I know the closure has been a new experience for everyone in the MERSD Learning Community, and I would like to hear how it is going for you and your family. Please take a moment to complete our MERSD Check-In Survey.Here are a few updates and reminders as we head into the long weekend.
- April Break: The MERSD School Committee voted to amend the 2019-2020 School Year Calendar to eliminate April Break and to allow for remote learning to continue next week. MERSD will be closed on Monday and Tuesday with remote learning resuming on Wednesday, April 22. MERSD Schedule April 20-24 Monday/Tuesday: MERSD Closed & Wednesday – Friday: Remote Learning Days
- Shutdown Length: There has been no official word yet on extending the shutdown beyond May 4th, but I am expecting an announcement by early next week. It is highly unlikely that we will return to school in May, although, I believe they are likely looking at the data to determine whether it is possible to return for a bit in June. As soon as we receive word, we will share that with families.
- At this time no decisions have been made with regard to the end of the year student activities. This is dependent on the official end of the school year.
- MIAA has set the spring athletics season to begin on May 4th pending our return to school.
- Because we have opted to eliminate April Break and to continue remote learning through that period, the DESE has advised that we can end the school year on the 181st day of school. That puts our last day of school at June 19th.
- Remote Learning: The MERSD Remote Learning Plan and related documents are available on our Remote Learning Page.
- MERSD Problem Solving Quick Guide - MERSD is committed to meeting the needs of all of our students. Proactive communication between home and school is critical to student success, and if a situation arises where a student or parent/guardian has an academic, social-emotional, or behavioral concern, I encourage you to reach out to us using our MERSD Problem Solving Quick Guide
- Food Assistance: Free Lunch is available to all who need it.
- Pick-Up sites are currently in Gloucester (click here for information on locations). Open Table is working on adding locations
- Weekly Grocery Support is available. Please click here for more information.
- End of Year Assessments
- MCAS: MCAS is canceled.
- SATs, ACTs & AP Tests: March/May SATs have been canceled; however, the June 6th SAT is still scheduled. The College Board is currently targeting administering AP tests during the make-up window, which is the last two weeks of May. Click here for up-to-date AP information from the College Board. April ACT testing date has been moved to June 13. Registered students will receive information from ACT via email
- HS 3rd Quarter: April 10 ends Quarter 3. Students wishing to have their Quarter 3 grade, calculated up to March 13th should email their teacher by April 17th. Grades or credit earned will be posted to the students' transcripts the following week. April 13th is the first day of Quarter 4
- School Buildings: All buildings and fields will remain closed per the Governor’s order.
- No access for students, staff, or the community.
- During the shutdown, buildings will be cleaned and sanitized.
- Construction at Memorial School continues under the guidelines for essential construction.
- MERSD Weekly is back! I am hoping to continue the tradition of sharing the good news and information for the district through a recurring newsletter. At this point, we are shooting for an every other week publishing schedule.
Don’t forget to complete our MERSD Check-In Survey and please remember we are all in this together
Have a wonderful long weekend.
Pam
