Goodwater Coronavirus Updates
Goodwater Montessori School facilities will be closed to students through the end of the year
to comply with the state order to remain at home to help stop the spread of Covid-19.
(But learning is happening at home!)
Our last newsletter offered some supportive information and resources that touched on emotions that you may be experiencing during this ongoing pandemic. We hope that this information was helpful to individuals and families.
Above is a link to a video from one of our newest employees, Alma Lahmon. She is new to our team. She was hired as the School Programs Coordinator just before the start of the Coronavirus health crisis. With a vast amount of experience in crisis and trauma work, Ms. Lahmon hopes to offer support and reassurance for us all. The video is an introduction to this new staff member and her perspective on the emotions that we are all experiencing during this world crisis.
Goodwater Montessori hopes to reassure our school community by continuing to reach out to parents and staff with messages of hope, resiliency and support.
PUBLIC HEALTH MESSAGE
Though we are apart right now for our health and safety, we at Goodwater continue to support each other as a community, and right now we must work together to fight COVID-19. In order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, DISTRICT will be reaching over the next two weeks to share vitally important guidance.
This guidance is based on what scientists know about how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and it is our hope that you will do what you can to follow these practices and share them with your friends and family.
Thank you for all you are doing to educate your children at home and all the efforts you’re making to keep your family healthy and safe. We know this is a difficult time. If we stand apart as a community during this stretch and continue following the public health practices we will be sharing over the coming days, we will be back together soon.
Stay well!
http://www.tea.texas.gov/staywell
SCHOOL MEALS
Goodwater will not be providing meals for our students due to availability from our vendor and logistics; however, all families may pick up meals from a local school distribution center. Students must be in the car at pick up. You can find that information here:
For those who have ordered meals for the 2 weeks that we are currently closed, we will begin issuing credits on Monday, March 23rd. If the school closure extends to the end of the year, you may request a refund.
WIFI ACCESS
For those families who do not have Wifi Access, please see the following link for resources for free wifi services:
FREE WIFI AVAILABILITY FROM TEXAS PROVIDERS
ASEP MONTHLY FEE
We will be crediting your March ASEP tuition to future ASEP payments. ACH deductions and payments for April are on hold until a return date is determined. If the school closure extends to the end of the year, you may request a refund. A large portion of ASEP tuition goes to pay the ASEP staff.
SPECIAL EDUCATION, 504, AND RELATED SERVICES
Special Education, 504, and related services will continue to the maximum extent possible. Please be aware that this looks different depending on each individual child’s plan and needs. You will be contacted directly next week about the structure and amount of services for your child. ARD’s and 504 meetings will continue via phone or Zoom, depending on your preference. Again, you will be contacted directly for coordination of these meetings. If there are any further questions, please direct them to Cheniese Armstrong.
ACADEMIC WORK UPDATE
On Monday, March 23rd, we will be emailing all families information about preliminary work that students can start working on at home. This will be similar to the material and work sent out to those who were part of the Chickenpox school exclusion. The work will be less structured than the work that will follow.
On Monday, March 30th, we will begin our distance learning program. The week will consist of getting familiar with the new systems. Guides will be supporting families and students with set-up. The school will communicate with families about this next week. The work will be more traditional for ease of implementation at home. Academic work will also mostly be a review of concepts they have already come in contact with during the year. There will be opportunities for connection, enrichment, fine arts, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). We will not require that families be responsible for grading.
Other Academic Information
- The academic delivery plan outline above is in line with what other districts and charters are doing around the state.
- Please note that STAAR testing has been waived for the 2019-2020 school year.
- Please be advised that our two Weather Days, April 10th and 13th will now be school days.
If you have questions please feel free to email christi.cowden@goodwatermontessori.org. We will get you an answer, or refer you where to get an answer, or tell you we don’t know yet.
SCHOOL MEALS FINDER:
TO RECEIVE TEXT MESSSAGE UPDATES
If you have not already, please be sure to sign up for messaging via Remind. please text @goodwat to 81010 (for text messages) or download the Remind App and use the @goodwat tag (to join the app messaging from Goodwater.)
KEY INFORMATION AND RESOURCES:
We have put together a few resources that are USABLE, informative and worth your time to learn more about COVID-19 and how to prepare your families and identify the illness.
Symptoms:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
Texas Coronavirus Information:
https://www.dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/
CDC Family Readiness Checklist: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/checklist-household-ready.html