Wednesday Weekly - July 29, 2020

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY

July 29, 2020

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 3

Deadline for K-8 Families to Submit Fall Learning Option Form

Check your email for more information!

August 12

Virtual Admissions Open House

Noon

Tell a friend!

August 21

Last Day of Summer Camp

August 24

Virtual Admissions Open House

Noon

Tell a friend!

August 24-31

All-Staff Professional Days/Classroom Set-up

No camp or child care.

September 1

First Day of School

Full Calendar

In a blink of an eye, we are past the midway point of Camp Montessori 2020. It seems impossible that we have reached that milestone, and there are only three more full weeks of summer camp remaining.

This has been a summer of learning and discovery, but not in the ways we were used to. Our staff members were called to teach and guide children in ways that require physical distance, while maintaining a connection to one another and creating a community in the classroom. As they say, it takes a village and indeed it did. From our facilities team making socially distanced marks on the floor and tirelessly cleaning, to teachers, administrators and our families coming together to provide a safe, fun and enriching experience, we are making the most of this unique summer.

Community is a very important part of Montessori learning, both in the classroom and the community in which we live. Our oldest camp group, the Meerkats, focused on essential workers and wrote letters to various businesses and organizations within our community during the second week of camp. One of our campers wrote to the Wawa store in our community, and they were so moved that we would take the time to thank them for their work that the managers came to WMS to thank our campers! The children asked questions about what it was like to run a business during a pandemic, whether they were afraid of getting sick, and how the pandemic had impacted their employment. The campers discovered that they were experiencing some of the same challenges as Wawa's staff, and there was a sense of commonality and unification.

We are stronger together, and together we will overcome.

Stay well,

Tracey Gable

Director of Montessori Enrichment

NEWS & NOTES

Back-to-School Updates

K-8 Fall Learning Options - Response Required by Monday

Families with children entering kindergarten through eighth grade this fall should have received an email yesterday regarding learning options for the first half of the school year.

Based on information from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other experts, we believe the on-campus environment to be the best option for learning this fall. In order to maintain the safest on-campus environment, we using our indoor and outdoor spaces for all ages. For school-age children, from kindergarten through eighth grade, we are offering home learning as an option. Please see your email for further information.

Early Childhood Fall Plans

Based on the information from governing bodies and health-care professionals, our youngest students are at a much lower risk from COVID-19 than school-aged children. All students in the Toddler Program and the 3- and 4-year-olds in the Primary Program will be returning to school as planned. They will spend much of their time outdoors, in spaces designed for them to enjoy learning outside . Additional details will be shared in next week's placement letters.

COVID-19 Policies

WMS's COVID-19 policies for both camp and the school year are based on guidelines from the CDC and Delaware's Office of Child Care Licensing . We are continuing to monitor those sources for information to adjust our policies and practices as needed. In addition, we are waiting for the state to share information about schools reopening in Delaware next week. Right now, our plan is to open on September 1 as shared on the school calendar .

COVID-19 Testing Resources

Delaware COVID-19 Testing Information

New Castle County COVID Testing Sites (72-hour turnaround for results)

Reminder: Please update your child's Magnus account!

Thank you to all of our returning families who have updated their annual forms in Magnus . For those who have not yet done so, please log onto Magnus Health, and update all of the annual forms.

We understand you may not be able to make appointments with your student’s physician to complete some of the health forms due to the current strain on the health-care system. However, we would like to ask that you do your best to complete all of the other electronic forms available in our school’s Magnus Health system.

We greatly appreciate you submitting all of the forms that you can complete today! With your help, we will be able to stay as close to our “normal” enrollment timeline as possible.

Please update Nurse Kathy at [email protected] with any future appointment dates so that she may be able to adjust dates and manage system alerts. As always, please don't hesitate to contact her with any questions or concerns.

UPDATE YOUR FORMS HERE

Admissions Open Houses

Throughout the summer, we are offering a series of virtual open houses to prospective families, allowing them to explore WMS from the comfort of their homes. If you have friends who are still looking for a school for their child for this fall, please let them know about these events!

Questions can be sent to Paula Sharpe, Director of Enrollment Management.

The Wednesday Weekly shares WMS news and events that are relevant to the families in our community.

Please send submissions to [email protected] by 4:30 p.m. on the Friday prior to the issue in which you wish to include your information. Content may be edited for length and style and may be held for a future issue due to space constraints.

For more information, contact Noel Dietrich , Director of Advancement & Communications.