Sep. 1-Mar. 3: Applications for the 2021-2020 School Year Available Online

Sep. 28: Kindergarten Showcase 5:30 PM

Oct. 9: No School Students/ Staff Professional Development

Oct. 12: No School

Oct. 19: Board of Trustees Meeting 6:00 PM

Wisdom    Justice    Courage     Compassion    Hope     Respect     Responsibility     Integrity

Be kind. Be safe. Be responsible.

Dear Families,

 What a great start to the year it has been! We want to remind you to please connect to Class Dojo to be sure to get classroom notifications. If you are unsure of how to do that, please reach out to your child’s teacher, and they will be able to give you the specific class code. We look forward to connecting with you!

                                                            Sincerely,

                                                            Brianne Padden, Head of School Grades K-3 and Tina DeVito, Head of School Grades 4-8

Kindergarten Showcase: On Monday, September 28, 2020 at 5:30pm, Kindergarten will be holding its first showcase highlighting Kindergarten work and important school information. Parents please join this live meeting using your child’s classrooms live meet link.

Family Support: Does your student or family need additional social emotional learning or mental health support? LFCPS is here to support all of our students and families. Caregivers can now ask for additional support for their student or family through the school website. Go to www.learningfirstcharter.org   , click “Parents”, and scroll down to “Caregiver Referral” to contact our SEL team. If you have any questions please email Lauren Reppucci at lreppucci@learningfirstcharter.org. 

SEMSAPAC: We would like to welcome all parents to not only a new year, but also a year in which remote student learning and remote teaching is new to us all. Come join us every Monday through Thursday from 6:00-7:00 pm to an open forum where you will be able to voice any concerns, ask questions, share great ideas and also receive information about community resources. Please use this link to join us. https://zoom.us/j/91794647795?pwd=U2JlVFUySzVnb1kzUm5LbEVEWVZKdz09 Meeting ID: 917 9464 7795
Passcode: 9Wg0SM   ~Mrs. Bryan & Ms. Rosario

Guidance: Mrs. B again! I just wanted to let you all know that my weekly office hours have changed. The links are still the same but the DAY and TIME have changed for each set of grade levels. Monday from 12:00pm-1:00pm will now be for Kindergarten through 2nd Grade (the link https://meet.google.com/rjd-rugo-ixs). Thursday from 12:00pm-1:00pm will now be for 3rd Grade through 5th Grade (the link https://meet.google.com/izn-ujuq-yhj). I apologize if this creates any confusion and look forward to seeing more of you all next week! Also just a reminder all students now, Kindergarten through 5th Grade, have a lesson to complete from me in their Specials Google Classroom under ‘Guidance’ so be sure to complete that at your earliest convenience.

JA Guidance News from Mrs Moore: Hello Junior Academy Families! We are all spending so much more time on devices and in front of screens now, I am sure you are concerned about the effects of this increased screen time for our kids. All of our screen time has increased during the pandemic. It has been unavoidable. It is hard to determine how much is too much, and exactly what is harmful. 

However, there is some good news that may alleviate some of your fears about how much time your child is spending on their laptops right now and some strategies to make the most out of that screen time. 

The good news is: not all screen time is created equal; spending an hour scrolling on social media is not the same as spending an hour in a class meeting, video chatting with a loved one, doing research on a project, or typing a paper. Your child’s screen time patterns are important to note. 

Developing healthy habits and routines now will be helpful for weaning off screen time later and creating some balance. If your child has to be on screen for 4-6 hours during the day, then for the next X many hours, try scheduling some family time, outdoor time, board game time, family dinners, craft activities, socialization activities, etc.

Check in on your child’s wellness; are they eating enough, sleeping ok, getting some form of exercise each day, getting some form of socialization each day, keeping up with schoolwork?

Monitor your child’s screen usage, when they are not “in school”. Consider parental controls and filters that set limits on the amount of time your child can spend online and which sites they can visit. Social media sites that your child uses (tik tok, snapchat, instagram, etc.) have parental controls that you can set to limit the amount of time your child can spend using the app. They also have privacy filters that you should set, as well as content filters to limit their exposure to extremely inappropriate material. 

Make it known to your child that the expectation after this pandemic is over that everyone in the house will be using screens less and less. Have the family plan as a whole, and each individual make a plan, of what they want to do when things get back to “normal”. Start those conversations now and plan some weekend days that you practice shortening screen time, where everyone’s phones/tablets/devices go away for extended periods of time! 

Watch your own screen usage around them. Modeling healthy habits is our children’s best teacher. If you are mindlessly scrolling social media, are you doing it in front of them? Maybe save it for another time, and ask them to do something fun with you. 

The following links are helpful for parents in learning about, monitoring, and setting up parental controls for your child’s social media. If your child has a cell phone, tablet, or laptop…please check their social media accounts.. all of them, repeatedly. Because they will set up additional hidden accounts (disguised as other apps), fake accounts, and accounts with birthdates that make them older to get around your parental controls. 

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-tiktok

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-snapchat

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-instagram

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-parental-controls

Too much screen time has been linked to an increase in depression and anxiety. When checking in on their wellness, if you notice changes and negative behavior patterns. Reach out! We are here to help! 

Important Reminders: Student Applications for the 2021-2022 school yearare now available! If you have a child whose sibling is turning five or older by August 31, 2021, please complete an application and return it to the main office or you can go online to https://learningfirstcharter.org/admission/. All applications require a birth certificate and two proofs of address to be complete. Completed applications should be submitted before March 3, 2021. The lottery will be held on March 5, 2021. A new application must be completed for each child, every school year. Please contact the Main Office for more information.

Learning First Charter Public School Food Service Department serves free meals (both breakfast & lunch) to all students. Meals will be available for pick up on Eastern Avenue for all Learning First Charter students. Meals will be “grab and go” style and will have 5 breakfast and 5 lunches for the week. There will also be the weekly supply of Fresh Fruit & Vegetables for the FFVP for snack.

Food pickup is available during the following days: Monday 10:00 am – 1:00 pm; Tuesday 10:00 am-1:00 pm; Wednesday 10:00 am- 1:00 pm or 3:30pm-6:00pm; Thursday 10:00 am-1:00 pm. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact Tasha Griffin, Food Service Director, at 508-799-7500 ext. 1114 or email at tgriffin@learningfirstcharter.org. 

The Department of Public Health has added a new influenza vaccine requirement for all grades of school from Kindergarten through Grade 12. This requirement was put in place to reduce influenza-related morbidity and to reduce the overall impact of respiratory illness in a population still facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Students will be expected to have received an influenza vaccine for the current influenza season (July-June) by December 31 unless they have a medical or religious exemption.

               All Kindergarten students must have their five year physical and immunizations on file. Please fax to the school at (508) 753-9679 or email Sarah Chysna, School Nurse, at schysna@learningfirstcharter.org.

If your child will be absent, the main office must be made aware by calling the school and leaving a message on the absence/tardy line (ext 4001) as well as messaging the classroom teacher. Please fax doctor notes to (508)753-9679 or take a picture of it and email it to jburgos@learniningfirstcharter.org

To mimic a typical school day, students will be required to wear a school uniform shirt while attending all live lessons. The shirt does not need a school logo, but must be light blue.

Community Connections: ArtReach is offering a creative arts and remote learning program. They still have a few spots open for students to come and log-in to their classes, receive tutoring support if needed, and create beautiful artwork, take music lessons, be a part of our fashion series, STEAM learning, work with our visiting artists, and participate in Art based experiences. ArtReach is open from 8:00am-6:00pm. The fee for this program is $49 for 1 day, and increases on a sliding scale of #20 per day- 1 day is $49, 2 days is $69, 3 days is $89, 4 days is $109 and 5 days is $129. School supplies, art supplies, art instruction, and tutoring help are all included. Just 1 day a week of creative art learning can make all the difference is how a child learns, and thinks, and processes thoughts and ideas, problem solve, communicates, and connects with others. ArtReach is located at 322 West Bolyston St. Worcester. For more information call (774)262-3953.

The Worcester Public Library is offering live online tutoring from expert tutors 7 days a week: 2:00 pm-11:00 am for families that have Worcester Public Library cards. Brainfuse HelpNow eLearning is an easy, intuitive and engaging resource for all ages and levels. HelpNow offers Academic assistance in core subjects (math, reading, writing, science); Live homework help; 24/7 Writing Lab; Academic content and practice tests for skills-building (including SAT preparation); Spanish language tutoring; Make your own flashcards and Much more! Click here to login with your Worcester Public Library card.

St. Peter’s Church located at 935 Main Street in Worcester has a free food pantry every Wednesday morning from 7-11am. The food pantry can be found around the back of the Church at the gymnasium. Anyone can access the pantry and there is fresh produce, dairy and meat available for those who go! St. Peter’s Church also has a free Medical Program for general medical conditions and physicals – no Coronavirus patients. Please call 508-523-6500 to schedule an appointment.