Dear Rondout Families, Faculty and Friends,
As we welcome December, I would like to thank our parents for their parent participation in this year’s fall/winter Parent Teacher conferences. On behalf of the staff, I would also like to express our sincere appreciation for your partnership, support and your involvement in your child’s educational life. We had nearly 100% participation in this valuable exchange of information between home and school. While this is our last formally scheduled conference at the school level, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher(s) at any time throughout the school year to provide updates, ask questions or seek support.
There are many ways to stay connected and be able to keep up with what is happening on a day to day basis whether it is by reviewing student’s assignment notebooks, checking on what is in students take home folders/backpacks, reading weekly newsletters or the Falcon Flyer, or checking the grade books in the Upper School through Power School. Research has shown that high levels of parent engagement/involvement positively impact student learning and growth. We are so fortunate at Rondout to have such an involved and invested parent community.
We have a little less than three weeks before we adjourn for winter break. We plan to capitalize on students’ enthusiasm and energy as we prepare for instruction during these last few weeks. We have built in some special activities and projects to enhance the curriculum which the students will enjoy.
Just a reminder that while we have had a great track record as far as maintaining COVID safety protocols, there are increasing levels of transmission in not only our community but across the country. Please help us keep your children and your family safe by following the precautions suggested by the CDC, planning your travel by monitoring developments in the transmission data and following your medical providers recommendations regarding vaccinations. At this point in time everyone that is school age is eligible to be vaccinated. While we acknowledge that this is a personal decision, at the same time vaccinations have been encouraged as another effective mitigation strategy. Please note that if you need a resource for testing or vaccinations, our health office can provide you with information about options.
As we look ahead to the winter months, this would be a good time to start to think about alternatives should we be required to have an emergency day such as closing school due to a weather or other building related emergency. Should such a situation occur, we would contact you via our email, text and voicemail notification system by 5:30 a.m. of the closure day. Some situations might provide us with an opportunity to inform you the night before however with rapidly changing weather conditions that might not always be possible.
Looking forward to a productive and enjoyable few weeks before our winter break. Take care… Be safe…
Until next time,
Dr. Jenny Wojcik
Superintendent
