Dear GMS Community,
Lots of good things happening on campus this week -- sunshine, additional outdoor spaces, and best of all, students! It has been a joy to spend time with many of our sixth graders and to wave to our at-home learners on the large classroom screens. Look for photos of the week in tomorrow’s Scoop. We look forward to incorporating the lessons we’re learning from this new model to our upcoming seventh and eighth-grade weeks.
In other good news, both Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties have started offering COVID vaccines to educators, and many of our faculty and staff have been able to schedule their first appointments!
Friday Teacher Work Day
Please note that there is no school next Friday, March 5. This is a Teacher Work Day that has been on the calendar all year, but I want to make sure that 7th grade students and families, especially, are aware of the day off. I know it is hard to miss one of the in-person days. When we planned for the spring we made sure that our days off are spread out, so that each grade will experience just one day off in their in-person weeks.
Seventh grade has a special week all around with Entre Night on Sunday followed by in-person learning on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. We traditionally take the Monday after Entre Night off, since students spend so much time engaged over the weekend -- for this year we have moved that day off to Wednesday so they can come in person on Monday. There are no classes or Advisory for 7th grade on Wednesday, and it is optional for them to participate in Community Connection.
COVID Testing
Our second week of testing ran smoothly; many thanks to parents for arriving on time and to students for making COVID testing look easy! Seventh-grade families should look for Marjorie’s email with the next steps, and reminders for 8th-grade families will be emailed on Monday.
It is helpful if appointments are scheduled at least one week in advance, and we encourage you to schedule appointments for the rest of the school year. Many families have already done so - thank you! If you have scheduling questions, please reach out to Marjorie.
Reminders
Carpooling
If you are carpooling to school, please follow these guidelines:
- Wear a face covering, a medical-grade mask, or we recommend wearing a double-mask.
- Seat students as far apart as possible in the vehicle.
- Only the driver’s child should use the front passenger seat.
- Keep windows open to maximize outdoor air circulation.
- Ensure the carpool driver or students have screenshots of their Magnus Mobile “Go” message on their phone before arrival on campus.
Drop Off, Pick Up, & Attendance
Students should be dropped off between 8:00 am and 8:20 am. We will not be assigning drop-off times as we did in November. Other drop-off procedures remain the same. Whether arriving by car, bike, or on foot, students need to show their green “Go” message from Magnus Health to come on campus each day.
If you are dropping your child off late or picking them up early, please notify the GMS Front Desk (650-968-8338 x100 or frontdesk@girlsms.org) to coordinate.
If your child is sick or will otherwise not be attending classes, remember to call the Front Desk or email attendance@girlsms.org.
The school day finishes at 3:20 pm, and students not participating in after-school activities should be picked up between 3:20 and 3:35 pm. Students participating in GMS after-school activities should be picked up between 4:45 and 5:00 pm. Please put your yellow name placard on your dashboard to facilitate pickup.
Extracurricular Activities
We will kick off the after-school physical activity program for seventh graders next week. Parents will receive a TeamSnap invitation by Monday; TeamSnap is an online platform for sports teams, serving as a communication tool to you and providing the coaching staff with your contact information in case it is needed.
Eighth-grade families can still sign up for after-school physical activities here; please sign-up by Sunday, February 28th.
What to Wear
Next week’s forecast is typical California spring weather, with chilly mornings, clear skies, and some blustery wind. There is a chance of rain by the end of the week. Students will be outdoors for all recess and lunch periods and some classes and should come to campus in warm layers and dressed to learn outdoors comfortably. A reminder that students are expected to follow regular dress code expectations while learning on campus.
What to Bring
Seventh-grade families and students will receive an email from the 7th-grade team about the specific school supplies that students need to bring next week. More generally, students should always bring:
- one mask and an extra mask in a ziplock bag
- a clean ziplock or Tupperware to hold the mask while eating or drinking
- GMS laptop, charge cable, and headphones
- snack and lunch (microwaves will not be available)
- water bottle (foot-operated water coolers are available for refills)
- asthma inhaler or EpiPen (if prescribed)
If you have any questions, please reach out to our team (reopening@girlsms.org).
In partnership,
Laura and the COVID Response Team
