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Good Morning,
We spent much of this week gathering information on how many desks we have in each room, how many we have in the building and also determining what types of desks work best to maximize space in the classroom. Orders were placed for additional desks, chairs and plexiglass barriers to ensure all classrooms and student-used spaces are ready to support all hybrid students. Our custodial team is working extremely hard during the day, evening and on the weekend to get the building ready.
Based on the work completed this week, here are some updates. We determined by setting up a classroom, that is a common size, that most rooms will allow for desks to be spaced 5’ on center from left to right and 4’ on center from front to back. Click the following link for a better idea of what this looks like: Classroom Images for Full Hybrid Reopening.
Our goal is to place plexiglass barriers on all desks to add another mitigation measure in support of the increased density of students in the building.
I do not have a finalized plan as of yet for how the cafeteria and other lunch spaces will be arranged, however, I will know after this weekend once tables and desks are pulled out of storage so I have a better understanding of our seating options.
I do understand that there are probably many questions that you have as a parent and, therefore, I am going to hold Rippowam specific pop up webinars next week to review the reopening plan and also to answer questions that you have. Two sessions will be held - one in English and one in Spanish.
The English session will be held on Wednesday, 3/10/21 from 6:00-730 pm - the Google Meet can be accessed by clicking here.
The Spanish session will be held on Thursday, 3/11/21 from 6:00-7:30 pm - the Google Meet can be accessed by clicking here. This information will also be posted on our school website next week.
Dr. Lucero will be hosting informational sessions from the district perspective next week as well. The information for each session is posted in the news on the district website. If you are unable to attend a listening session, please first refer to our recently added FAQs on the COVID-19 Reopening page of the district website or submit any remaining questions, comments, or feedback to spsreopening@stamfordct.gov.
DTLA Update
I have received two questions most frequently from DTLA families after the announcement for hybrid learners to return to school 5 days per week was made. Please see below for these questions and their answers.
1) How will live instruction for DTLA students be adjusted, if at all, to mirror in-person instruction now that it will be offered 5 days a week?
We will be adjusting DTLA instruction to be equitable with our in-person instruction and live sessions will be held 5 days a week beginning on March 15th.
2). Will DTLA students be permitted to switch from DTLA to in-person learning?
We are not permitting learning model changes at this time as it poses too many logistical challenges to transition all hybrid learners back, while also trying to adjust roster sizes due to DTLA students switching. If you would like to return to in-person learning, you will need to stand by for now. More information will be shared in the future if we open up the possibility for DTLA students to return.
COVID-19 Vaccinations
We are so grateful to Stamford Health (Stamford Hospital) and the Stamford Department of Health for organizing the upcoming SPS school staff dedicated vaccination clinics. Registered PreK and elementary staff will receive the Johnson & Johnson single dose COVID-19 vaccination this weekend. The remaining eligible staff will be scheduled to receive a COVID-19 vaccine next weekend.
COVID Cases for the Week of March 1st - March 5th
| New Positive Cases |
Number of Rippowam Community Members Quarantined |
| 1 |
0 |
Best regards,
Matthew Laskowski
Principal
Rippowam Middle School
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