J.A. Leonard Middle School

LMS/RSU#34, 3/30/20 Update: (Food/Resource Center): We have staff who have been working in our Resource Center bagging up food for families who need it. Please reach out to jennifer.goodwin@rsu34.org or call her at 207-370-8564 if your family is in need of food beyond our district’s meal distribution. (Updated Online Resources): We have updated our RSU #34 website with a COVID 19 section. It can currently be found by visiting rsu34.org, clicking on Menu, and then COVID 19. Soon, there will be an easy link on the homepage as well. Don’t have our app? Go to your phone’s app store and search for RSU #34 ME and download our free app.

We’ve had many questions about food delivery. Our busses leave OTES at 10:30, and go their regular route. They will stop at regular BUS STOPS, and deliver lunches to people waiting there. We’ve been distributing to 700-750 kids daily. Thank you Stephanie Salley and all of the awesome volunteers.

Hi RSU #34 families, During this time of school closures, we are all reaching for ideas and methods to continue to educate and care for our students and our community. As the school nurse for Alton, Bradley, and Leonard Middle School, I’d like to offer “virtual clinic” hours where I will be available by email from 9am – 12:00pm Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. This is not a service for urgent medical needs. Please contact your provider or 911 in the event of a medical emergency. I am available to connect with students, their families, and any staff member who would like to check-in or chat, discuss any minor health concerns, or assist those who need help with finding resources. I am unable to provide any diagnosis for illness or conditions, but can offer guidance and nursing assessment to those in need. Please email me if you would like to connect over any health concerns or questions. Stay well! Nurse Vanessa Vanessa Koch BSN, RN vanessa.koch@rsu34.org

A reminder to LMS students who need help logging into their Google account. We will use Mr. Schlaefer as an example: e-mail: 25dannyschlaefer@ms.rsu34.k12.me.us Password: 25Ds3081 The 25 is the student's year of graduation, the Ds is the student's initials and the 3081 is the student's lunch/library number. Please contact us if you have any questions about Google Classroom.

Hello 7th grade parents! Your student’s teachers are working on developing activities to keep your child engaged in their learning while we are not able to meet in person at LMS. To begin, this information will be delivered to students on Google Classroom. We know that this delivery will not work for all students, so we are looking for some information from you. Full implementation of distance learning begins on April 6th. We need to make these activities accessible to all. Please fill out this survey to tell us about your preference communication method and your student’s internet access: https://forms.gle/ynezrnoLb9GsWx5w5 We look forward to connecting with our students! We are missing seeing their faces each day and hope that you are all doing well. Thank you, Team 7

All LMS PTA meetings and activities are cancelled for now.

If your children have some thoughts or advice on making the best of these days tucked away, please share here. Or email to gert.nesin@rsu34.org. We’re all in this together!

From Dr. Jon Doty... 3/20/2020 Re: Student Learning Update Dear RSU #34 Community, Wow, what a dynamic week it’s been at homes, businesses, and schools! This is a quick update on RSU #34’s efforts to support student learning. Please understand that all future plans are based on what we know right now, and may change as guidance changes. The most important message this week and throughout the coming weeks is SLOW THE SPREAD. Here is a direct link to the latest information from the Centers for Disease Control: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html Please help educate your kids, your family, and your community about the importance of social distancing and hygiene to SLOW THE SPREAD. Here’s our plan going forward based on what we know right now (look for updates week-by-week): *March 17th - 20th: We plan to make up the four impacted days this week as if they were snow days. Many of our staff have reached out to students one way or another to let them know we’re thinking of them! Please continue to make use of the resource packets we sent home with students on Monday to support their learning at home. *Over the weeks of March 23rd and March 30th, we plan to make up half of the impacted days as if they were snow days. That will put the last student day on Friday, June 26th, with a teacher in-service on Monday 6/29. Over those two weeks - in addition to the things sent in resource packets - our educators will be ramping up online learning experiences with students, sharing team-developed resources, and helping to address internet and device access issues family-by-family. We won’t be taking student attendance these days or collecting/assessing work, but hope to reach every child and encourage daily engagement by students. We will likely distribute more materials for home learning in coordination with our meal delivery. Our specialists such as Special Education and Chapter 104 staff will also be trying to contact each family/student to put needed supports in place for a remote learning environment. Please keep in mind that staff may be reaching out from unusual phone numbers, so callers may show up as “Private” or “Restricted” *Beginning April 6th, until we’re able to resume in person, students will be expected to participate in our full remote learning experience. We’ll share many more details in the weeks to come but will deploy this in as flexible a way as possible as we know our students may be assisting with family or neighborhood needs, caring for siblings, etc. during normal school hours. Thank you all for your efforts to support our community and our kids! We had so many volunteers to stuff packets for students on Sunday that we started turning volunteers away two minutes into the event! We have an awesome community, and together we’ll get through this. Please keep an eye out starting Monday March 23rd for school buses running each of our normal routes, delivering meals Monday through Friday. These runs will begin at 10:30 AM each day; please be patient with arrival times, especially the first few days. Anyone aged 0-18 can pick up meals. Pick up in person at Old Town High School is still an option from 10 AM to noon Monday through Friday. On Fridays at either OTHS or the bus routes we will distribute meals for the weekend. Sincerely, Dr. Jon Doty Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Jon.Doty@rsu34.org

Want food? You can pick up at the high school tomorrow, 10:30 to noon. We will provide food for tomorrow and the weekend. On Monday, we begin our daily bus run deliveries. 9 buses will leave OTHS at 10:30, and follow the regular runs. Be waiting for us when we drive by--we will stop and deliver! You can also pick up at OTHS. This food is available to anyone 18 or under.

Does your student need Internet access?

There is help available.

If you come to LMS or any RSU #34 building, this is the sign you will see on all of our doors. And although the building is closed, you'll still hear from us. We will post any new information on our website and the Facebook page. Throughout this shutdown if you have any questions or concerns, please call or email Mr. Crandall (david.crandall@rsu34.org, 827-3900x1303) or Dr. Nesin (gert.nesin @rsu34.org, 827-3900x1304). Be safe and be well.

If you would like to come clean out your child’s locker or pick up a work packet, we will be open until 3:00. After that, we will be completely closed to the public. Please email or call Mr. Crandall or Ms. Nesin if you have questions or need assistance. Be safe and be well.

If your child is in band at LMS and already has their instrument home, please leave the instrument at home. Do not bring it to school. They will not be playing their instruments today.

This is what community looks like. Thank you to everyone who put together packets for home learning. And thank you to Dr. Doty for organizing.

As you’ve been notified, tomorrow (Monday) will be the last student day until further notice. We will return when it is safe. Tomorrow will be a day for students to pick up their belongings, get information on home learning opportunities, and have a warm send off from teachers and friends. We will continue to be in contact, and share information throughout this shutdown, as it becomes available.

We're putting out a call for volunteers Sunday 3/15 at noon at OTES to help assemble take-home packets with some basic resources for students to engage with thinking if there's a school shutdown ordered. (these will be optional and ungraded - resources to help families keep kids engaged). If you're interested in helping please join us! Please sit this one out if you've been out of state or out of the country in the past several weeks, or have had lots of exposure to people who've traveled. Please also be sure you're symptom free before volunteering (fever, cough, sore throat, chest tightness, etc.). Thanks! Our community of support is incredible!

LMS Symphonic Band was an invited guest at the Concert for a Cure at the Collins Center for the Arts on March 10. They joined Brewer Community School and the University of Maine Concert Band. The concert raised $2304 for Champion the Cure.

It was just a little windy at bus duty today!

As of this morning the Maine Principals Association issued a decision on the start of spring sports. In summary, the spring sports seasons for all high school activities in Maine will begin Monday, April, 27, over the concerns related to the spread of COVID-19. Our LMS middle school programming will follow this schedule of events as well. With this decision, modified spring sports schedules will be worked on by our leagues. As more decisions are finalized, our event calendar will be updated. Of course, as the situation evolves, more updates will be provided as needed or as they come in. Thank you.