Learning First Charter Public School
Newsletter January 14, 2022
Important Weather Advisory Information: In the event of a delay or cancelation due to weather, Learning First will follow the Worcester Public School’s Snow Policy. We will not be posting on the television news station sites. You must look for Worcester Public School on the local television news station sites. You can also check out the Worcester Public Schools Facebook page.
Learning First will send out an autodial to families. You can also go to our schools website or sign-up for the family email.
School Website/ PowerSchool: Use your child’s login to www.learningfirstcharter.org
Family E-mail Mailing List: Sign up at www. learningfirstcharter.org/wq;
Lottery Applications for the 2022-2023 School Year are available! If you have a child or sibling that will turn five years old by August 31, 2022, please complete an application available in our main office or online at https://learningfirstcharter.org/admission/ . The application deadline is March 2, 2022. All applications require a birth certificate and two proofs of address. Reminder, a new application must be completed for any child that is on the current waitlist. Please contact Sally Ustaitis at (508)799-7500 x1031 or email sustaitis@learningfirstcharter.org if you have any questions.
Reminders from the School Nurse: This week we have had 32 cases of Covid-19 in our school. If your student was a close contact then you were notified by the school nurse. It is not required for your child to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, however if your child has had it and you are willing to let us know it would be appreciated and helpful in cases when we need to do contact tracing.
Stay healthy! ~Nurse Sarah and Sammi
Updated Covid-19 Guidelines:
-If a student is a close contact to someone who lives outside of the house they can come to school if negative.
-if a student is a close contact to someone who lives in the same house and they are NOT vaccinated they must stay home and can return on day 6 if they have no symptoms. If they ARE VACCINATED they can come to school as long as they have NO symptoms.
-if a student has Covid-19 (regardless of vaccination status) and after 5 days has no more symptoms (fever, cough, body aches, etc.) they can return on day 6.
-If a student has Covid-19 and still has symptoms after day 5 they should stay home until they are symptom free for 24 hours.
ACCESS Testing: Both state and federal laws require schools to assess the English proficiency of all English Language Learners (ELL’s) during each school year. To comply with these laws, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) require schools to administer the ACCESS for ELL’s 2.0 Assessment to students in grades K-12.
At Learning First Charter Public School, the ACCESS for ELL’s 2.0, which evaluates students’ skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, will be administered January – February, 2022 to EL students in grades K-8. EL Teachers will oversee the administration of this assessment.
This test will provide important information to you about your child’s English proficiency level and progress. In addition, we will use the results of the test to make curricular improvements and further promote the acquisition and development of students’ English skills. Thank you for your cooperation with the testing period.
What’s Happening in JA Guidance (grades 6-8):7th and 8th grade families: Students have been granted the opportunity to attend a field trip to Worcester Technical High School on Tuesday, January 25th. Students should have taken home a permission slip this week in order to attend the trip. If they have not, please ask them for it, it needs to be signed and returned by January 20th in order for them to attend.
Extracurricular Activities: The Girls Basketball will play this Sunday January 16, 2022 at 4:00 PM.
The Boys Basketball team does not have a game tonight.
All basketball games will be held at Venerini Academy located at 27 Edwards St. Entry fees are as follows: $5 per Adult and $1 per student (players are free)
Girls’ practices are on Monday and Wednesday from 4:00-6:00 PM.
Boys’ practices are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00-6:00 PM.
Parent pick up is on Gage Street at 6:00 PM sharp. Please encourage your student athlete to bring an extra water bottle to practice.
Stomp practice is on Fridays from 12:45-3:30 PM sharp. Parent pick-up is on Eastern Ave. Please remember your $2.00 dues.
The MLK Breakfast will be held virtual and the date has changed to January 22nd. Stomp will NOT be performing.
Community Connections: Ice skating on the Worcester Common Oval is back! The Oval is located at 455 Main St. behind City Hall on the common and has music, skate rentals, concessions, holiday lights and more. The regular hours of operation are Fridays 5:00-9:00 PM and Saturdays and Sundays from 1:00-6:00 PM. The hours during school vacation week are from 1:00-6:00 PM and Friday from 1:00-9:00 PM. Additionally the Oval will be open on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 17th, from 1:00-6:00 PM. Admission for public skating is $10.00 including skate rental (children 5 and under skate free). Skaters that do not require skate rentals pay just $5.00 to enter onto the ice. Skate rentals require a $25.00 refundable deposit per skate rental.
Worcester Team United Spring 2022 registration and tryouts will be held on January 26th and February 2nd at The Arc located at 570 Lincoln St. Worcester, MA. Grades 3-4 5:30-6:30 PM, grades 5-6 6:30-7:30 PM, and grades 7-9 7:30-8:30 PM. Grades 10-12 registration and tryout will be February 17th and 24th 6:30-8:00 PM. All players and staff must wear a mask. Players will be assessed during drill stations and scrimmages and should bring their own basketballs. Players may only remain in the gym during their tryout session. There is a $25.00 non-refundable fee due at the time of tryouts. You may pay in cash, check or money order made payable to Worcester Team United. You may also pay online using our Paypal service. A $25.00 charge will be applicable for all returned checks. Please go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeIlq0hQ943UEnO4F2d0VjAtVQASNGCUxCBZo6zsplBdR0vJw/viewform to complete an online registration form.
Jan. 17: No School
Jan. 24: Board of Trustees Meeting 6:00 PM
Feb. 21-25 No School
Feb. 28: Board of Trustees Meeting 6:00 PM