Hanover Middle School

HMS News Daily and Updates

Greetings HMS Students, Families, and Staff,

I hope that this letter finds you safe and healthy. I can’t tell you how much our staff and I miss seeing and talking with you each day.

As you are aware, on Friday of last week, the Commissioner of Education released updated guidance to schools pertaining to the extension of the school closure until, at least, May 4th. When the school closure was initially announced through April 7th, we implemented a plan using the guidance that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) issued at the time: that schools should engage students in meaningful and productive learning opportunities that focus on reinforcing skills already taught this school year and applying and deepening these skills. However, with the extension of the closure, DESE has advised that districts may move forward, where appropriate, with content and instruction to support continued learning at home. This will require thoughtful planning and communication to ensure all students have the access and support they need, to the best of our ability, during this period of home learning.

Beginning on Monday, April 6th, we are moving into a new phase. Students will be expected to engage in daily classroom activities and assignments that will both reinforce the concepts and skills learned this year, along with moving forward to introduce and instruct on the foundational skills and standards needed for the future. Our teachers will utilize their best judgment regarding the introduction of any new standards, concepts, and content. These decsions will be made in close collaboration with our special education staff to ensure equity and access for all students to the best of our ability.

At the middle and high school, student work will “count” and students will be accountable for their assignments. Teachers will be providing feedback to support students in their learning. As we have acknowledged before, a remote learning model can never replicate a school day. This situation is new to all of us, and we have learned a great deal over the last two weeks. As we look to “phase 2,” we will be putting a new structure in place for kids (for example, attendance expectations, coursework, and daily routines) that will help students to manage their school responsibilities in this new landscape.

Students and families should use the next few days to make sure they are comfortable navigating video conferencing on Google Hangouts Meet and Zoom, understand how to access Google Classroom, and have designated a student workspace that makes sense for your family. If you have any trouble at all, please let your homeroom teacher know and we will provide support. For students who did not check in with teachers last week, the next few days will be important for re-engaging in school.

The teachers at HMS have done a great job during the first phase of our closure providing meaningful experiences and guidance for our students. We have had multiple meetings over the last two weeks to prepare for this next phase. Our priorities are to create a sense of community, connectedness, and normalcy while continuing on with teaching and learning. Our team determined that it is important for our staff to focus on connection, engagement, support, and feedback. Staff will communicate daily through Google Classroom or Aspen, and many of our staff will be utilizing Zoom and Google Hangouts Meet to make a face to face connection with their students. Starting next week teachers will be planning lessons and assignments that will have students working between 30-40 minutes on average per subject/per day. A total of approximately 2.5- 3 hours a day.

The expectations for our students is that they are completing the assignments and requirements for each of their classes. Please understand that many of these assignments are not optional, but HMS staff will remain flexible under these extenuating circumstances. Each day students should check their Google Classroom or email for each of their core subjects (ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies and Foreign Language). Students will be expected to check and complete their Specialist classwork on the letter day that they would normally have class (if a child has art on A day, they would check their art teacher’s assignment on that day). It is also an expectation that our middle school students continue to read a half hour each day and login to iReady Math 2 to 3 times a week for 20 minutes. This will be communicated through the ELA and Math teacher’s plans each week.

We are pleased to announce that we are creating an updated webpage so that families can have access to all of their classrooms and on-line resources in a single place. The website also contains additional enrichment activities. This webpage is currently being updated with our latest information and will be available early next week. The HMS staff and I want you to know that we recognize what a challenging time this is for everyone. We understand that you and your family may need additional support now or in the coming weeks and this may mean that school has to be put on hold at times so that more concerning matters can be addressed. We are here to help in any way we can.

Finally, I want to assure you that as we learn more about remote learning and receive additional guidance, we will evaluate our approach and revise or change as needed to best meet the needs of our students.
Please be patient, and know that we will all become better at this imperfect process as we move forward together. I am confident in our staff and in our community, and we will get through this difficult time - together.

Sincerely,
Daniel Birolini
Principal
Hanover Middle School

Important Information

Time on Learning:
According to MA DESE, Students should expect to be engaged in school activities for half the amount of time - or roughly 3 hours - they would be doing so during a normal school day. Students are expected to participate in this remote learning process by completing all assignments as it will count toward their completion of each course.

Students can expect to receive instruction and assignments daily. Examples of teacher instruction include teacher created videos, websites or documents. Over the course of each week, students will complete approximately 100-125 minutes of schoolwork per class each week. Please note: As with assignments in the regular school environment, the amount of time one task takes to be completed will vary by student, based on their skills, motivation, and other factors.

Sample Schedule Suggestion:
Please note this is a suggestion. Your schedule and work times should be arranged to meet the needs of your family. Work times are flexible as they need to be for students and families at this time (with the exception of Zoom and Google Chat time as determined by the teacher.)

Student Expectations:
Students can expect to receive instruction and assignments daily. Examples of teacher instruction include teacher created videos, other videos, websites, writing assignments or documents. Over the course of each week, students will complete approximately 100-125 minutes of schoolwork per class each week.

Please note: As with assignments in the regular school environment, the amount of time one task takes to be completed will vary by student, based on their skills, motivation, and other factors.

• Check and complete Core Classrooms Assignments Daily
• Check and complete specialist assignments on days that they have class (Monday April 6th is an B day)
• Daily Reading 30 minute minimum
• iReady Math 20 minutes 2 or 3 times a week- until a student tests out of 8th grade level
• Attendance – Students are expected to participate daily, Students not participating will be
• referred to Administration
• School Behavior policies applies to remote learning
• Students will earn credit based on work completion

Grading:
For the remainder of the year, DESE has recommended a credit/no credit grading.
HMS will be using the following:

• Term 3 grades will be:
  • Student completed work meets expectations
  • Student completed work exceeds expectations
  • Student completed work does not meet expectations

Social Emotional:
Please know that our Guidance Staff and Administration are here to support our children and families in any way possible. Please do not hesitate to reach out for your individual concerns or your concerns for others. We have a number of resources and ways to support our families and community.

8th Grade DC Trip:
As you all know our trip to Washington D.C. has been canceled. We are still currently in discussions to improve our refund percentage for those who did not purchase insurance regarding. We have teamed up with the MSAA to aid in this fight. Once we have more information to share with you we will notify you as soon as possible.

Six Flags Band Trip:
The Six Flags band and chorus trip has been canceled.

Camp Squanto: To be determined.
The Squanto trip is still to be determined. We are currently trying to create a plan for fundraising delivery but they are currently closed because they are a non-essential business. We apologize for any inconvenience.

“The Mission of Hanover Middle School is to establish a safe learning environment that fosters respect, responsibility, perseverance, and support for all learners.”