Dear Parents,
I am sure you have some questions and concerns. I will answer what I can. If you have additional questions, you can call or email. I will do my best to find answers.
Please know that our staff understands that there are real reasons to be concerned.
Public schools are unique settings for a variety of reasons:
- Most confirmed cases of novel coronavirus have occurred in adults, and serious illness has been uncommon in children.
- Closing schools impacts the workforce, and could hinder the ability of our first responders and health care workers to respond to novel coronavirus if they have to stay home to care for young children.
- If schools are closed, many working parents may have to attempt to arrange for costly child care — resulting in children still gathering in large settings — or leave their children alone for long periods of time. Experience with past pandemics has shown that when children aren’t in school, they often still gather in community settings, such as, parks or entertainment venues.
- Many of our students rely on schools for free and reduced lunch, and other vital services and resources.
- Teaching young children requires more hands-on supervision and guidance than instructing college students. While we’ve been encouraged to explore online learning options, it becomes an equity issue when we cannot guarantee that every student — including those requiring special education services or behavioral supports or who are still learning English — has access to appropriate instruction tailored to their unique needs. We also know that between 10-15 percent of our students don’t have access to a computing device or the Internet at home, and large families with multiple children have limited access.
That being said, we at BMS understand and support the rights of parents and guardians to make decisions that are in the best interest of their children and families. If your child is absent, teachers are working to put things in place for the end of quarter grades. We understand there are quite a few absences this week and likely next. We will do our best to support our students and their learning. As this is a unique situation due to the numbers of students who are absent, please be patient with our teachers and know that we can work through anything—even changing a grade after the quarter ends.
This is a rapidly changing situation. We are following updates and listening to guidance from the district who is in contact with the County Health Department.
So, what are we currently doing at BMS?
BMS—What we are doing to help our community
1)Reminding students of good hygiene
- Washing hands often
- Using anti-bacterial hand foam/gel
- Avoid touching eyes, nose, mouth
- Cough into elbow or tissue
- Social Distance
- Bruin Time Today—we are showing the following videos to help students understand more about the reasons for paying attention to hygiene.
3)Canceling (Due to numbers close to or over 100)
- Fieldtrips
- Assemblies
- After school basketball
4)Looking at for next week
Developing a schedule to allow for
- i.More lunches—with fewer students in a lunch
- ii.Staggering the end of the school day
- Closing School—this is a district decision that is made in connection with information from the County Health Department
Thank you for your support and understanding as we work through this time. Again, if you have additional questions, please email or call. We will do our best to provide answers or to find them.
Thank you,
Ms. Paula Logan
