September 8, 2020
Dear P.A.W.S. Families,
Happy New Year! That is the New School Year 2020-2021! Even though this school year is beginning in a most unique way, we are so excited to start this new school year with you and your child! The teachers, specialists, assistants, and administrative staff have been working to prepare a phenomenal year for our students both in school, hybrid and via the Remote Learning School. And, exciting news: if you have not been by P.A.W.S. lately, when you come by you will see we have a spectacular new playground! We can’t wait for the children to get to explore our amazing new and expanded outdoor play space!
Please read through all of the important Back to School information listed below and reach out with any questions:
Parent Portal in PowerSchool and iPad Pick-up
Today, September 8th at 12:00 pm the Parent Portal in PowerSchool will be open for you and will remain open until September 18th at midnight. The Back To School Letter from the District was sent to each family on Friday, September 4th with the details about how to login to the parent portal. Each family must login to their account to update all information for each child registered in the Wellesley Public School system. After you complete all of the parent portal forms, including your emergency contact information, you will learn who your child’s teacher will be and you will be on the pick-up list, eligible to pick-up an iPad for your preschooler to use for this school year! We are very excited to be able to provide an iPad for each preschooler’s use for the year, and the pick-up day is September 11th! The iPad pick-up day schedule and protocol will be sent in a separate email.
Parent Orientation and Listening Conferences
September 14 and 15, the PTO and I will host orientation meetings for the P.A.W.S. parents/guardians. Also, each classroom teacher will reach out to you to schedule a one-on-one meeting called a Listening Conference, to start to build the very important home and school relationship. As each family’s experience during the school closure and throughout the pandemic has been unique, each child is coming to school with a wide range of needs, too. The more we can connect with you and your family, and understand your story, and the needs of your child, the better able we will be to support your child’s academic success and social and emotional needs. Your child’s classroom teacher will reach out to you to schedule your Zoom meeting.
First Day of School – Remote for All to Start
September 16th or 17th, the children will begin school remotely, via Zoom depending upon their school schedules. Your child’s teacher will provide you with more information about their start day. We are looking forward to helping the children begin to forge relationships with their teachers and classmates prior to the start of in person school and can’t wait to see everyone there!
First Day of In Person School
In person at school on October 1st and 2nd.
Thursday, October 1st – First day in-person for: PK1.2 – Cohort B, PK2 – Cohort B, PK3 – Cohort B, PK4.3 -Cohort B, PK6 – Cohort B, PK7 – Cohort A, PK8 – Cohort A
Friday, October 2nd – First day in-person for: PK1.3 – Cohort B, PK4.2 – Cohort B, PK6 – Cohort A, PK7 – Cohort B, PK8 – Cohort B
P.A.W.S. Class Schedules
Each of the P.A.W.S. class schedules can be found on the P.A.W.S. Reopening Forum Slides. Please review these slides to find your child’s schedule and reach out if you have any questions. The schedules in some classrooms are on a rotating 2 week-cycle which were developed to provide equity to the Cohort A and Cohort B students attending a program that meets on a Wednesday. Additional information about the school year can be found at the Wellesley Public School Reopening Plan, as well.
School Supply List
As you get ready for school to begin and you start to do your back to school shopping, please take a few minutes to review the suggestions in the P.A.W.S. Back to School Suggested Supplies – List for Families. The information with links are included only to illustrate the types of items being suggested and do not indicate or necessitate the need to purchase everything on the list. Reach out to your child’s teacher with any questions.
P.A.W.S. Cares Team
If you are a family in need assistance with purchasing items for your child for back to school, please reach out to the Director, Rebecca Zieminski or to our School Nurse, Zinta Gulens, and we will confidentially work to support you. If you are a family purchasing items for your child and would be able to purchase some additional items for a child in need at P.A.W.S, please contact the Director, Rebecca Zieminski or our our School Nurse, Zinta Gulens, and we will let you know what supplies are needed.
Important Opening dates:
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Tuesday, September 8th – Parent Portal opens at 12:00pm
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Friday, September 11th– iPad pick-up for all families who have completed the parent portal forms
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Wednesday, September 16th/17th – First Day of School – Remote Learning for All Students
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Thursday, October 1st – First Day of School In-person for:
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PK1.2 – Cohort B
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PK2 – Cohort B
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PK3 – Cohort B
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PK4.3 -Cohort B
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PK6 – Cohort B
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PK7 – Cohort A
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PK8 – Cohort A
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Friday, October 2nd – First Day of School In-Person for:
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PK1.3 – Cohort B
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PK4.2 – Cohort B
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PK6 – Cohort A
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PK7 – Cohort B
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PK8 – Cohort B
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I read a cute quote the other day and it said, “Have and Give Grace not Grief” and I thought that those were good words for all of us to hold onto this year. We will continue to try to have and to give more Grace to each other as we work together to bring the best preschool experiences to our children that we can!
We know this year is not typical and yet we are excited to welcome the children back to school either via zoom or in person. So, get into that portal today so we can see you on Friday at the iPad pick-up day! We can’t wait to see you and to have an awesome year together! Reach out at any time if you have questions or concerns.
Be well,
‘Becca Zieminski
School Office: 781-446-6222