Dear Parents,
As many of you know by now, on Friday, May 1, 2020, Governor Cuomo signed an Executive Order stating that our schools will remain closed for the remainder of the school year with remote learning continuing through that time. We know that this announcement brings great disappointment as students, staff and parents lose the opportunity to celebrate as a community and participate in the events that traditionally mark the end of the school year.
Please know that we are hard at work, reimagining what the traditional end-of-the year activities will look like at Todd School this year. Our remarkable Encore teachers are actively creating and planning a virtual: Field Day, Art Show, Todd's got Talent Day, Coding Hour, and Maker Day to take place on Wednesdays starting this week, May 13th. Please watch for an informational flyer and video message introducing the activities Wednesday mornings via email and in the Encore section of TEAMS. Although we are well aware that nothing can take the place of a live event, we hope your children will find these activities interesting, meaningful and enjoyable. In addition, we are in the process of creating a plan to celebrate our fifth graders and safely return medicine and children's belongings from school.
As remote learning continues into week eight and nine, we are hearing from families that some of our students are struggling emotionally and/or academically. Please know that Dr. Rubin (srubin@briarcliffschools.org) and Mrs. O'Connell (goconnell@briarcliffschools.org) are available to help and support you and your children. We are well aware of the stress and anxiety some folks are experiencing right now and we are doing our best to negate that with clear expectations and a manageable workload. If for any reason you feel that the workload is too much at this time, I highly recommend that you reach out to the classroom teacher for guidance. Our teachers are more than willing to reduce/modify the workload, offer support, share some strategies, meet with your child one on one or help you prioritize your child's work. We continue to try and find the "just right" sweet spot of schedules, assignments and engagement for each child and we're well aware that this can be very different child to child. As always, we continue to value the social emotional well-being of our students and parents! Please let us know if we can help in any way.
INFORMATION FROM THE TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT: All student iPADS were updated this weekend. If you are experiencing difficulties using the keyboard please follow these directions: https://vimeo.com/416420632
Finally, for all of our Briarcliff Moms: Happy Mother's Day! I hope you'll be able to make some lasting memories and enjoy some quiet family time.
Regards, Colleen O'Neill-Mangan Anne Marie Foley
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