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March 15, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians:

The purpose of this message is to share some educational resources with you and your children during this time of school closures.

As you know, the Canton Public Schools are closed this week, March 16 - March 20, 2020. At this time, we are scheduled to reopen on March 23, 2020.  Although there are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canton, this protective measure was put in place to best keep our staff and students safe.  We realize that the closing of schools can be difficult for many parents and students.  We, too, are concerned with the impact this disruption of instructional time will have on students.  While there is no easy replacement for the work of our teachers or the instructional time for our students in classrooms, we do want to share some guidance and resources that may be helpful for parents and students.  Today, we are sharing resources for the short term. 

Given the uncertainty of the situation, we encourage parents to build routines in this week that will be helpful in transitioning back to school.  The CDC is recommending that people practice “social distancing” to further mitigate any potential spread of the virus.  For that reason, we encourage you to support “social distancing” in regards to students’ requests for outside of school gatherings. We are all seeking to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.  

Our middle and high school students may be well poised to adjust to this unexpected change in routine.  To help families with younger children or children with special needs to successfully navigate this week, here are some additional things to consider:   

  • Set aside at least 30 minutes each day for reading and additional time for other academic practice, this can be spread out across the day
  • If homework time is part of your daily routines, do some academic work during that time each day
  • Spend some time daily outdoors
  • Be aware of and stick to your child’s usual lunch and snack routines
  • If possible and supported by you, allow your child to have virtual playdates for a little time each day, so they stay connected to friends
  • Keep your child’s bedtime routine and schedule in place
  • Take advantage of this time to slow down, take a breath, and enjoy family time together; play games like Boggle, Scrabble, and math games like Yahtzee, Farkle or card games 
  • And finally, talk with your child about COVID-19. 
  • Tips for talking with children can be found here.  
  • This video has helpful information for parents.  

We encourage the use of independent online academic practice for students to help them keep skills fresh in core subject areas.  We are sharing optional academic resources via the online links below so that students can practice and maintain skills.   If you prefer a paper copy of some work, please contact your school’s Principal.  Our goal is to make the resources as accessible as possible for all our students.  These resources are optional, they are not curriculum nor are they intended as a replacement for instruction.  

We have created a webpage for you to access our educational resources.  You can access this page here.

If you need internet access:  Please use the following links for information regarding Comcast's Internet Essential Program for any families in need of internet access.  

https://www.internetessentials.com/

https://corporate.comcast.com/covid-19

Dr. Fischer-Mueller is closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation via consultation with the local and state Departments of Public Health, guidance from the Commissioner of Education, guidance from the Governor, and discussions with other local communities, all in collaboration with the Canton School Committee.

We hope you find these resources helpful.  

Sincerely,

 

Julie Shore                                                     
Technology and Digital Learning   

Deborah Rooney
Director of Teaching and Learning   

Debra Bromfield
Director of Student Services

This site provides information using PDF, visit this link to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software.