Hello MLL Families,

What a great start we've had to the 2020-2021 school year!

Grades 1-4 are back at school, and the Kindergarten students will join us on Monday, September 28.

Students and staff in all buildings continue to practice social distancing and wearing their masks throughout the school day.  

Students in grades k-12 are following their school's schedule based on in person learning or distance learning.  If you are having any difficulty with the schedules, please feel free to contact me.  

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at bmelillo@westerly.k12.ri.us or 401 348 2309.

Have a great weekend!-Ms. Melillo

Hello Families,

There is a  survey on the WPS main page. It is the WPS Declaration of Intent SY 2020-2021.   Please complete it by Friday, August 7, 2020 if you haven't had the opportunity.

 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 401 258 3804 or bmelillo@westerly.k12.ri.us.

Best, 

Ms. melillo

June 17

Dear ELL Families,

You have been sent a survey by the technology department about distance learning.  Please take a moment to fill it out.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 401 258 3804 or bmelillo@westerly.k12.ri.us

Have a wonderful summer!-Ms. Melillo

June 4

Hello ELL Family,

Friday, June 5, is a virtual Fun Day at Springbrook Elementary School.  The activities will be posted in the Google Classroom of your child.   Students are asked to attend their teachers' morning meetings and lunch meets.   Have fun!

 Fourth Grade Promotion information

Fourth Grade Promotion

Spanish Translation for Fourth Grade Promotion information

Spanish Translation for Fourth Grade Promotion

 Please feel free to contact me at 401 258 3804 or bmelillo@westerly.k12.ri.us.

Have a great week!

Ms. Melillo

May 28

Hello ELL Families,

I wanted to share with you that Monday, June 2, is a professional day for teachers.  Students have the day off.  Also, Thursday, June 4, is an early release day.

Thank you,

Ms. Melillo

May 26-29

Dear ELL Families,

I hope you had a restful three day weekend!

Wednesday, May 27, is the Battle of the Books for fourth grade students who qualified.  The students will engage in a series of activities involving the books that they've read.

In addition, last Friday, students at WMS had the opportunity to make up work with their teachers.  Hopefully, they will continue to staty on top of their schoolwork.

Individual ACCESS reports were mailed home about a week agao.  Please feel free to contact me with questions.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have at 401 258 3804 or bmelillo@westerly.k12.ri.us.

Have a great week!

Ms. Melillo

May 14-21

Hello ELL Families,

Tomorrow is a vacation day, May 15.  There is no school.  Next Wednesday, May 20, teachers have a professional day, and students have the day off.

Individual Student ACCESS reports were mailed home yesterday, May 13.  If you have any questions about them, please feel free to contact me.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at bmelillo@westerly.k12.ri.us or                401 258 3804.

Be safe! Be well!

Ms. Melillo

May 3-8

Dear ELL Families,

ACCESS scores were received on Friday, May1, online.  I hope to send them home soon.

Wednesday, May 6, is a day off for students.  Teachers have a professional day.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 401 258-3804.

Best,

Beth

April 24-May 1

Hello ELL Families,

Distance Learning is going to continue until the end of this school year.  Governor Raimondo announced this yesterday, April 23.    

A calendar has been released by RIDE, Rhode Island Department of Education, indicating the days students will have off in the month of May.  Students have May 6, 15, 20, and 25 off.

Please continue to check our website for information.

If you have any questions or concerns, I can be reached at 401 258 3804 or bmelillo@westerly.k12.ri.us

Have a great weekend!

Ms. Melillo

Hello ELL Families,

Happy Easter!  Happy Passover!  I hope you're all well!

I'd like to share some resources with you.  

Here are some links to the basics of the Google Classroom.

Some Basics about the Google Classroom in English

Some Basics about the Google Classroom in Spanish

Some Basics about the Google Classroom in Chinese

Also, here is an extension you can add for Google Meets.

Google Grid Extension

In addition, I'd like to share our Google Classrooom at Springbrook.

Springbrook ELL Classroom

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at bmelillo@westerly.k12.ri.us or bmelillo@westerly.k12.ri.us.

Best,

Ms. Melillo

尊敬的Westerly 公立学校家庭们，

您可能已经听说过，省长今天下午宣布，所有公立学校将在4月份关闭。但是，我和她都想提醒一下，这并不意味着“学校放假了”。

当我们进入远程学习的第二周时，我们大家再次对老师，支持人员和校长的努力支持的感谢。在过去的几周中，我们所有人都比我们想象的（或可能）学到了更多有关远程学习的知识。

作为总监，（虽然我永远都不会建议一切都进展顺利），但我不能为我们的专业人士，学生，家庭和社区感到自豪。在如此短的时间内完成的工作非同寻常。

请知道，您所在地区的专业人员认识并非常赞赏您在家庭中扮演的关键角色。我们都希望我们的学生成功。我们都希望斗牛犬国家发光。我们都希望（也需要）保持健康。很多，我们明白是很多。除非有理由提出其他意见，否则我们将始终采取这样的立场，即在面对当前情况的情况下，每个人都将尽其所能。

在整个星期中会有更多信息发送给您，但是我们希望在当晚为您提供两个感兴趣的领域，包括学校日历和网上远距离学习有问题的家庭提供的帮助。

教育部要求（我们打算遵守）全州各地区采用统一的4月学校日历。省长和专员对我们的父母，我们的老师和许多也是父母的老师所面临的挑战。他们和我们也非常意识到这个全新的世界远程学习正在向我们所有人提出的挑战。

有鉴于此，我们将在4月3日和4月17日战略性地暂停教学，以便给您的老师重新分组和计划，同时让我们的学生和父母一个深呼吸。预计学生不会在这些日期参加活动，并且会为老师提供他们为未来几天计划所需的时间和帮助。

这是原定于本星期四在（Westerly）时间表提前放学的一天。通常，我们每个月有一次这些日子，以便进行专业培训和教师计划。这个星期四我们仍然有提前放学的一天。但是区别在于省长每天下午1:00举行她的简报会，以及她将有目的地向全省学生介绍周四的简报会，我们将在下午12:55停止所有教学。我们衷心希望所有Westerly公立学校学生能够观看州长的通报，听到她给他们的信息，并听到他们所提出的问题。省长邀请学生提问，明天我们将分享更多有关如何将其提交给她的办公室的信息。

除了上面提到的两个日期（4/3和4/17）之外，专员和省长（再次意识到给我们所有人的压力）建议我们在4月的星期四和星期五关闭4月9日和10日。十号星期五是耶稣受难日，我们将在这一天关闭，但由于认识到四月假期的到来，我们给所有人一个呼吸的机会，我们创造了一个四天的复活节周末。这些天将不需要弥补。

这些是对4月日历的更改。同样，本周是对学生提早放学的星期四，星期五的学生不用上学。此外，4/17的学生不上学，4/9和4/10的任何人都学生不用上学。

关于上网问题，今天，我们很高兴地宣布，为了帮助所有人能上网，所有拥有具有WiFi热点功能的智能电话以及来自美国四大主要提供商中的任何一家的手机服务的所有家庭Verizon，AT＆T，T-Mobile和Sprint等州将能够免费激活该热点功能。无需任何激活费，使用费和超额费用。您可以打开该功能并免费使用它，而无需关闭它。该台将至少持续到5月13日。

.请注意，我们将要求目前在家中拥有WiFi的家庭不要使用热点功能。如果全州范围内的每个人都将手机转换为热点，我们将遇到互联网访问速度大大降低的情况，并可能给运营商带来超额负担。同样重要的是要注意，尽管将不收取激活费，但每个手机服务提供商都有不同的激活热点功能的方式。您将需要与您的提供商联系以获得更多帮助。

再次，很多。我们正在努力以我们认为可以吸收的所有速度来获取所有信息。关于州长的周四简报会和她希望在全州范围内开展的拟议的长达四月的阅读计划，将会有更多的内容。

还请放心，您的校长和老师一直保持联系，并且我们都将继续在Westerly收集有关我们实施远程教学的信息。

我们将在前进的过程中以及在持续的实施，评估和适应周期中考虑所有这些因素。

谢谢，

Mark Garceau

Dear WPS Families,

As you have likely heard, the Governor has announced this afternoon that all public school buildings will remain closed through the month of April. Both she and I would like to remind, however, that this hardly means that ”school is out”.

As we enter our second week of distance learning, we again thank you all for supporting the efforts of our teachers, support staff and principals. All of us have learned more about distance learning over the course of the last few weeks than we ever imagined we would (or could).

As Superintendent, (and while I would never suggest that everything has gone perfectly), I could not be prouder of our professionals, our students, our families and our community. What has been accomplished in so short a time has been nothing short of remarkable.

Please know that your district professionals recognize and greatly appreciate the critical role that you are playing at home. We all want our students to succeed. We all want Bulldog Nation to shine. We all want (and need) to stay healthy. It’s a lot and we get that. And until given reason to think otherwise, we will always take the position that everyone is doing the very best they can, given the circumstances before them.

There will be more information coming your way throughout the week, but two areas of interest that we wanted to advise you of this evening involve the school calendar and assistance being made available to families who have struggled with distance learning due to the lack of internet access.

The Department of Education is requesting (and we intend to comply) that districts throughout the state adopt a uniform April school calendar. The Governor and the Commissioner are both cognizant and empathetic of the challenges facing our parents, our teachers and our many teachers who also happen to be parents. They and we are also very much aware of the challenges that this whole new world of distance learning is presenting to all of us.

In light of this, instruction will be strategically paused on both April 3rd and April 17th so as to allow your teachers to regroup and plan, and for our students and parents to take a well- deserved breath. Students will not be expected to engage on these dates and teachers will be provided the time and support they need to plan for the coming days.

This is in addition to what had been an early-release day here in Westerly scheduled for this Thursday. We typically have these days once per month to allow for professional development and teacher planning. We will still have ours this Thursday. The difference will be, however, that as the Governor will be holding her daily 1:00 p.m. briefing on that day, and as she will be purposefully presenting Thursday’s briefing for the State’s students, we will cease all instruction at 12:55 p.m. It is our sincere hope that all WPS students will watch or stream the Governor’s briefing, will hear her messages to them and will hear their questions addressed. The Governor is inviting student questions and tomorrow we will share more about how they can be submitted to her office.

In addition to the two dates referenced above (4/3 & 4/17), the Commissioner and the Governor (again, recognizing the strain being placed on all of us), are suggesting that we close “school” on both Thursday, April 9th and Friday, April 10th. Friday the 10th is Good Friday and we were to be closed on that day, but in recognition of the loss of April vacation and again, to give us all a chance to breathe, we are creating a four-day long Easter weekend. These days will not need to be made up.

Those are the changes to the April calendar. Again, this week is an early release day for students on Thursday and no school for students on Friday. Also, no school for students on 4/17 and no school for anyone on 4/9 and 4/10.

With regards to intent access, today, we are pleased be able to announce that in order to support access for all, all households that have a Smart Phone with the WiFi hot spot feature and cell phone service from any of the four most major providers in the state –Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint – will be able to activate that hot spot feature for free. There will be no activation fee, no usage fee and no overage fee. You can turn on that feature and use it without charge and without it being turned off. This accommodation will be in place until at least May 13th.

Please note, we will be asking families that currently do have WiFi in their home not to use the hot spot feature. If everyone state-wide were to convert their cell phones to hot spots, we would experience much slower internet access and potentially over tax the carriers. It is also important to note that while there will be no activation fee, each of the cell phone service providers has a different way to activate the hot spot feature. You will need to contact your provider for additional assistance.

Again, it’s a lot. We are trying to get all information out as we can and at a rate that we think we can all absorb. More will follow regarding the Governor’s Thursday briefing and a proposed April-long reading initiative that she hopes to see carried out statewide.

Please also be assured that your principals and teachers are in constant contact and that we all continue to gather information regarding our implementation of distance teaching and learning here in Westerly.

We will take all of this into consideration as we move forward and as we engage in an ongoing cycle of implementation, assessment and adaptation.

Thank you,

Mark Garceau

Estimadas Familias de WPS:

Como probablemente hayan escuchado, la Gobernadora ha anunciado esta tarde que todos los edificios de las escuelas públicas permanecerán cerrados hasta el mes de Abril. Sin embargo, tanto a ella como a mí nos gustaría recordar que esto no significa que "la escuela haya terminado".

Al comenzar nuestra segunda semana de aprendizaje a distancia, nuevamente les agradecemos a todos por apoyar los esfuerzos de nuestros maestros, personal de apoyo y directores. Todos nosotros hemos aprendido más sobre el aprendizaje a distancia en el transcurso de las últimas semanas de lo que imaginabamos que podríamos.

Como Superintendente, (y aunque nunca sugeriría que todo ha ido perfectamente), no podría estar más orgulloso de nuestros profesionales, nuestros estudiantes, nuestras familias y nuestra comunidad. Lo que se ha logrado en tan poco tiempo ha sido notable.

Tenga en cuenta que los profesionales de su distrito reconocen y aprecian enormemente el papel fundamental que desempeña en su hogar. Todos queremos que nuestros estudiantes tengan éxito. Todos queremos que Bulldog Nation brille. Todos queremos (y necesitamos) mantenernos saludables. Es mucho y lo entendemos. Y hasta que se dé una razón para pensar lo contrario, siempre tomaremos la posición de que todos están haciendo lo mejor que pueden, dadas las circunstancias ante ellos.

Habrá más información a lo largo de la semana, pero dos áreas de interés que queríamos aconsejarles esta noche incluyen el calendario escolar y la asistencia disponible para las familias que han tenido dificultades con el aprendizaje a distancia debido a la falta de acceso a Internet. .

El Departamento de Educación está solicitando (y tenemos la intención de cumplir) que los distritos de todo el estado adopten un calendario escolar uniforme de Abril. La Gobernadora y el Comisionado son conscientes y empáticos de los desafíos que enfrentan nuestros padres, nuestros maestros y nuestros muchos maestros que también son padres. Ellos y nosotros también somos muy conscientes de los desafíos que este nuevo mundo de aprendizaje a distancia nos presenta a todos.

A la luz de esto, la instrucción se pausará estratégicamente tanto el 3 de Abril como el 17 de Abril para permitir que sus maestros se reagrupen y planifiquen, y para que nuestros estudiantes y padres respiren un descanso bien merecido. No se espera que los estudiantes participen en estas fechas y se les proporcionará a los maestros el tiempo y el apoyo que necesitan para planificar los próximos días.

Esto es adicional a lo que había sido un día de salida temprana aquí en Westerly programado para este Jueves. Normalmente tenemos estos días una vez al mes para permitir el desarrollo profesional y la planificación docente. Todavía lo tendremos este jueves. Sin embargo, la diferencia será que a medida que la Gobernadora celebre su sesión informativa diaria de la 1:00 p.m. de ese día, y que ella presente deliberadamente la sesión informativa del jueves para los estudiantes del Estado, cesaremos toda instrucción a las 12:55 p.m. Esperamos sinceramente que todos los estudiantes de WPS vean o transmitan la sesión informativa de la gobernadora, escuchen sus mensajes y escuchen sus preguntas. La Gobernadora está invitando preguntas de los estudiantes y mañana compartiremos más sobre cómo se pueden enviar a su oficina.

Además de las dos fechas mencionadas anteriormente (4/3 y 4/17), el Comisionado y la Gobernadora (una vez más, reconociendo la tensión que se nos impone a todos), sugieren que cerremos la “escuela” ambos Jueves, Abril. 9 y Viernes 10 de Abril. El Viernes 10 es Viernes Santo e íbamos a cerrar ese día, pero en reconocimiento de la pérdida de las vacaciones de Abril y nuevamente, para darnos la oportunidad de respirar, estamos creando un fin de semana de Pascua de cuatro días. Estos días no necesitarán recuperarse.

Esos son los cambios en el calendario de Abril. Nuevamente, esta semana es un día de salida temprana para los estudiantes el Jueves y no hay clases para los estudiantes el Viernes. Además, no hay escuela para estudiantes el 4/17 y no hay escuela para nadie el 4/9 y 4/10.

Con respecto al acceso tecnoligico, hoy nos complace poder anunciar que para apoyar el acceso de todos, todos los hogares que tienen un teléfono inteligente con la función de punto de acceso WiFi y servicio de teléfono celular de cualquiera de los cuatro proveedores más importantes en el estado –Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile y Sprint - podrá activar esa función de hot spots de forma gratuita. No habrá tarifa de activación, tarifa de uso ni tarifa de excedente. Puede activar esa función y usarla sin cargo y sin que se apague. Este alojamiento estará en vigor hasta al menos el 13 de Mayo.

Tenga en cuenta que les pediremos a las familias que actualmente tienen WiFi en sus hogares que no usen la función de hot spots. Si todos en todo el estado convirtieran sus teléfonos celulares en hot spots, experimentaríamos un acceso a Internet mucho más lento y potencialmente sobrecargaríamos a los operadores. También es importante tener en cuenta que si bien no habrá una tarifa de activación, cada uno de los proveedores de servicios de telefonía celular tiene una forma diferente de activar la función de hot spots. Deberá comunicarse con su proveedor para obtener asistencia adicional.

De nuevo, es mucho. Estamos tratando de obtener toda la información posible y a un ritmo que creemos que todos podemos absorber. Seguirán más sobre la sesión informativa del jueves del gobernador y una iniciativa de lectura propuesta de abril que espera ver llevada a cabo en todo el estado.

También tenga por seguro que sus directores y maestros están en contacto constante y que todos continuamos recopilando información sobre nuestra implementación de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje a distancia aquí en Westerly.

Tomaremos todo esto en consideración a medida que avancemos y participemos en un ciclo continuo de implementación, evaluación y adaptación.

Gracias

Mark Garceau.