April 3, 2020

WES Community,

Good afternoon! I hope your families are healthy and doing well. I’m writing today to provide important school-related updates.

Governor DeWine has extended Ohio’s period of remote-learning through May 1st. This means that our school buildings will remain closed and our learning journey will continue from the safety of our homes through May 1.

Before I continue, I want to be clear; our entire team at WES understands and appreciates how difficult this is for your families. We’re all doing the best we can under extraordinary circumstances and the teachers and I greatly appreciate your efforts to continue our students’ learning. My chief concern is our kids’ mental-health and complete well-being during this time. To this end, every member of the WES team has been listening, learning, collaborating and working tirelessly to create learning pathways going forward that provide even more flexibility and accessibility.

Grades K-2 Families:

Next week, your child’s teacher will share an academic choice board via email (these will also be posted on our website and paper copies made available during our food-service pickup times) for you to use to continue to facilitate learning at home. The choice boards will be updated weekly and they provide tremendous flexibility by providing valuable learning tasks and experiences that don’t solely rely on access to the Internet or a device. However, they include such resources for families that want to access learning opportunities through devices.
Each grade-level choice board is aligned to the critical and most important areas of each grade level’s state academic learning standards and seeks to build upon skills and concepts already taught/introduced.
We’re focused on student effort and engagement during this period of remote learning, not grades. You’ll find with the choice boards recommended engagement times that take into consideration your child’s developmental stage and the current circumstances we’re facing. You’ll still receive feedback from teachers, but what’s most important is that we encourage learning and do our best to meet the weekly academic engagement goals on a schedule that works for your family.

Grades 3-5 Families:

Your child’s teachers will continue to deliver the information you need for your learner through the Chromebooks (and the Google apps for education) we sent home with all of our grades 3-5 students.
Just as we’re doing in grades K-2, we’re focused on student effort and engagement during this period of remote learning, not grades. We continue to learn and refine our lessons to take into consideration your child’s developmental stage and the current circumstances we’re facing. Students will continue to receive feedback from teachers, but what’s most important is that we encourage learning and give our best effort on a schedule that works for your family. If you need help-we’re here for you, whether it be through a phone call, email or video conference. Simply reach out.

Food-Service Information:

Please contact Nutrition Services at 513-576-2290 to order any/all meals for each week prior to 9am each Monday. Nutrition services will give you a pickup time when you call (location will be the Williamsburg Middle/High School Auditeria). Leave a message if a person doesn’t answer. Be sure to provide the last names of all students in the family and the number of student meals being ordered. There will be limited delivery available for families that don’t have transportation, are quarantined, or for other reasons, are unable to pick-up the meals. Make that request when you call.

Important Information for Everyone:

Remote-learning will continue through May 1st. Reminder: there is no remote-learning or lessons this upcoming Friday, April 10th.
Ohio State Tests for the Spring of 2020 have been canceled. Third-grade parents: I’ll be in touch via email with updates to Ohio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee.
All school-sponsored events through May 1st such as our annual school carnival and mother-son bowling are postponed.
If you pre-paid for spring pictures through McIntire Photography, they’ve informed me you can simply log back into the portal you used to pay and initiate your refund. If you have trouble doing this, call McIntire Photography at 513-528-5888.
Father-daughter dance pictures will be delivered to students and families once school is back in session, whenever that may be. If you’re interested in ordering more of these pictures, you can contact McIntire Photography at 513-528-5888.
One of our goals is to create opportunities for students to “see” their teachers virtually at least once each week to help us feel connected and to combat feelings of loneliness and isolation. Our teachers are doing an amazing job with this! Continue to look for these creative opportunities to help your child feel connected to our school community.
Although our office at WES is physically closed, we’re still working for you. Don’t hesitate to call or email us and we will continue to respond promptly.
Our team attempted to contact every family/student by phone this week. If you didn’t hear from us, it might be because you changed your phone number. You can update your contact information anytime using any of the following methods:
- Log into FinalForms and update your information.
- Email Mrs. Jermer with your updated info at: jermer_t@burgschools.org
- Call 513-724-2241 and leave a message with your updated info.

I want to again thank you for all that you’re doing in every aspect of your lives to help your families and serve others. We miss you and our students immensely. When we return to traditional school, whenever that might be, it will be a time of joy, healing, and celebration. We’re in this together!

Wishes of well-being and safety,

Kevin Dunn

dunn_k@burgschools.org

www.burgschools.org

513-724-2241

Williamsburg Local Schools

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