December 11, 2020
Dear Great Falls Families,
It is hard to believe that we will be starting week 15 of on-campus learning. I continue to be so proud of our staff, students, and families for their efforts to keep school happy and safe.
Make a Mask Project: Even though this year is definitely different, kindness still counts at Great Falls! All K-5 students will be making their mark on a mask during art class. The Make a Mask Project will take the place of our annual Empty Bowl Project for this year only. It is our hope to exemplify compassion and kindness by raising money for the Gorham Food Pantry. The Gorham Food Pantry has served the needs of those impacted by food insecurity in Gorham for over 25 years. Great Falls annually makes a substantial contribution to their efforts. Families are asked to purchase their child’s mask for a donation of your choice to the Gorham Food Pantry. We set a goal to raise $1,500 for the Gorham Food Pantry. At this time, we have raised over $700. We can do it, Great Falls!
Planned Vacations Out of State: Just a reminder that if your family chooses to travel to a state not approved by Maine, your child will need to quarantine or produce a negative COVID-19 test to return to campus. Your child’s days out of school due to voluntary travel and the quarantine or the wait for test results because of travel will be considered absent from school. Please understand that it is not possible to recreate the face to face learning that will be missed in these circumstances. Teachers will do their best to send work home that the students would have been completing on their “in school” days but oftentimes students are missing the presentations and discussions and not physical work. Independent reinforcement activities will continue to be provided for “home learning days'' according to their A or B grouping.
Hydration: Because of our Covid 19 protocols, the water fountains are not available to be used this school year. Please be sure your child has a water bottle (labeled with their name) at school each day. Bottles can be filled and refilled at school. Students are allowed to remove their masks to drink water throughout the day and adults do encourage students to drink regularly.
NEW!!! Daily Health Survey: As COVID cases are increasing we want to make sure that all of our students and staff are safe. Beginning on Monday, December 14th we are going to ensure that health surveys are completed prior to students entering their designated classroom upon arrival. I want to remind you that the health survey needs to be filled out and submitted prior to 8:00 am each morning that your student is attending school. The survey opens at 5:30 am so as soon as your student is awake and you are able to check them for symptoms, please fill it out and submit. If surveys are not completed, students will be asked to wait supervised by staff in our cafeteria until the health survey is returned. Thank you for helping to keep our school safe and open.
K-12 Parent Open Forum: Heather Perry is offering a Q & A Forum around COVID 19 and our schools, our hybrid model, and what we anticipate for the winter and spring. The Q & A Forum will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 15 starting at 6:00 pm via the following zoom link. This forum will take the place of our regularly scheduled Parent Connection Meeting this month.
As always, please feel free to reach out to me at any time with questions and feedback. I am available through email at becky.fortier@gorhamschools.org and by phone at 222-1050.
Take care and be well,
Becky Fortier, Great Falls Principal
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