Principal's Notes 4/2/21

Message of the Month

Growth Mindset - (The power of "YET")

Important Dates

• April 2 – End of Quarter 3
• April 4 – Happy Easter!
• April 9 – Report Cards Released Online
• April 22 – School Spirit Day!  "Disney Day"
• April 26-30 – Spring Vacation
• May 31 – Memorial Day Observed – NO SCHOOL
• June 11 – Tentative Last Day of School

Parent Resource Documents                                       

Travel Guidance

Remote Parent Guide

Bedford Reopening Plan

Daily Health Screening for Students

COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

Testing Options

Quarantine Guidance

COVID-19 Vaccine

Anyone 16 years and older can now register for the COVID-19 vaccine.  Click HERE to register through the state of NH.

Emergency Rental Assistance Program

If you are a renter and have been impacted by Covid, click HERE for information that may help.

Memorial Students Nominated to Northern New England Invention Convention

After a fun few days of building inventions at school and at home in March, several Memorial 3rd and 4th graders were nominated to participate in the Northern New England Invention Convention. This year's competition is taking place virtually. Congratulations to 3rd graders Liam, Palmer, Victoria, Brynn, Linh, Ellie, Riley, Caleb, Cam, Louis, Adriana, Alyvia, Abigail, Elin, Jojo, Cora, and Blake, and 4th graders Miranda, Riley, and Kaitlin! 

Good luck at regionals!

Recess Changes for Fourth Quarter

On Monday, April 5th, as our students head out to recess they will have the opportunity to spread our more than usual.  We will be opening up the back field and creating more space for our students.  With the additional space our students will not have to remain only with their class cohort in a specified zone.  This will result in some mixing of cohorts and will also give our students opportunities to play with other friends that have not been with throughout the year.    

Important reminders from the Health Office:

Please continue to answer the questions on the Daily Screening Tool each day before sending your child to school. If your child exhibits any of the symptoms on the screening tool, your child should stay home and it is strongly recommended to have your child tested.  Your child may return to school once your child is feeling well, 24 hours symptom free without fever reducing medication and has a negative covid test.  Please check with the school nurse to be cleared to return to school.

Allergy season is upon us with the warmer days we have been having. If you child has seasonal allergies, please get a note from your child’s pediatrician for the nurse to keep on file for this school year.  DHHS recommends testing for any new or unexplained symptoms.   

Travel and Contract Tracing Guidance 

• Domestic travel within the US no longer requires quarantine upon return to NH (this includes domestic travel to US territories)

• Even though a person may not be required to quarantine after Domestic travel, the CDC does suggest that people seek testing 3-5 days after travel for asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection;  testing is recommended and helpful to identify positive cases- testing by  PCR is recommended. Your child may attend school while awaiting their PCR test for domestic travel if asymptomatic.

• International travel continues to require a 10 day quarantine, or a 7 day quarantine with a PCR test on day 6-7 with a negative test result.

• Travel on a cruise ship also requires a 10 day quarantine, or a 7 day quarantine with a PCR test on day 6-7 with a negative test result. 

• Everyone who chooses to travel, regardless of vaccination status or prior immunity, should wear a well fitted, multi-layer face mask, physically distance (i.e. maintain at least 6 feet from other people), avoid large groups and gatherings, frequently sanitize hands, and self monitor for symptoms.

• If  your child is symptomatic after travel your child should isolate and get tested, and parents inform the school nurse.

Wellness Newsletter

Memorial's Wellness Team helps provide the Memorial community of parents and teachers with support and tools that we're using to educate our students. The newsletter is updated every week with resources and ideas for everyone to enjoy. Please click HERE to access the Wellness blog. You'll also receive a friendly reminder over the weekend.

Mrs. Davison's Enrichment Riddle of the Week

Brainstorm as a family and have fun with this.  Mrs. Davison has added her "Riddle of the Week" to her blog and it includes a form where people can submit answers.  Check it out HERE.

VIRTUAL COLOR BLAST FUN RUN/WALK REGISTRATION IS OPEN! 

CLICK HERE to Register and Check Out Our COLOR BLAST PROMO VIDEO For More Details.

All registrations come with a Color Packet. Plus, register by April 23rd for the opportunity to purchase a Color Bucket (to make your celebrations even more colorful) and an Event T-shirt (the perfect tee to get colorful in)!  

**The first 150 registrants will be entered in a raffle for a chance to win a $50 Copper Door Gift Card, so register today (those that have already registered are automatically entered)!**

Participate in our Virtual Color Blast Fun Run/Walk any time between May 22^nd and May 31^st. You set the distance and course; get out for a run, jog, skip, walk or hop and celebrate with a COLOR PARTY in your backyard. 

Visit our COLOR BLAST webpage for more information. Share your fun on social media with #ColorBlast2021

MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS DISCUSSION SERIES: The PTG is partnering with the Bedford School District to bring this series. Mark your calendars to join us for the second session on Thursday, April 8th! Limited seating at the BHS Theater (mask required) at 7 p.m. BCTV will also be live streaming this session.

This event will be an informal presentation and will incorporate community questions and feedback. Questions can be emailed in advance to bedfordnhptg@gmail.com or submitted at the event. The panelist(s) will do their best to address as many questions/concerns as they can related to the topic.

April 8: Parents of High Schoolers: A Deeper Dive - How to Best Support Your Teens’ Wellness. During COVID and non-COVID times.

To see the first session, please click on this link:

Psychological First Aid: Parents, Kids and Mental Health Sponsored by the PTG and Bedford School District 3-18-21

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE 2021/2022 SCHOOL YEAR: The PTG is looking for volunteers on the District and School level. If you are interested or would like more information please email bedfordnhptg@gmail.com

District Gift Card Coordinator: Help the schools and local businesses! Work with the Gift card coordinators at each school, as well as the VP of Fundraising to coordinate and execute the PTG Gift Card fundraising event. Help secure and collect gift cards from local participating businesses. The Gift Card fundraiser runs mid-October until late December.

Reminders

Guest Riders on Buses
Please see this note from our Transportation Coordinator, Anne Wiggin… we are not allowing guest riders on the buses at this time. Since ridership numbers are increasing, we expect that mitigation measures and contact tracing will be more difficult if we were to include guests.

State Assessment

This coming April and May all our students in grades 3 and 4 will begin participating in the New Hampshire Statewide Assessment System (NHSAS).  For detailed information, please take a look at STATE TESTING INFORMATIONAL 2021.

BEEP Registration

Registration is now open for the 2021-2022 School Year for the Bedford Early Education Program (BEEP) at Memorial School. Class assignments are based on your child’s age as of September 30, 2021 and availability. Registration paperwork is available at Memorial School and classroom availability is on a first come first serve basis.

Please contact Katie Ryan, preschool coordinator, with any further questions about the  Program 627-1776 ext 23216.

COVID-19 Relief to families in need

Although there might be light at the end of the COVID19 pandemic tunnel there are still organizations and people in our community that continue to need assistance. Bedford Presbyterian Church will continue to offer additional resources during this difficult time.

 

If any individual is in need of assistance, please notify Katelyn LeBlanc or Christine Hodgdon  here at the school.  603-627-1776

 

Additional resources include:

A dedicated COVID19 Fund to provide assistance to community programs and individuals.

Our Helping Hands Outreach Ministry, that can provide necessary urgent home repairs

to people that are unable to afford or perform them themselves.

Bedford Presbyterian Church also houses the Bedford Community Food Pantry

which is open every Saturday from 9am-11am. (603) 867-1445