Email update shared with all District families April 22.
Find Kindergarten Registration Forms, Checklists and more information here.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and it has become increasingly more important to focus on our overall health and wellbeing during this time. Now more than ever, we need to be compassionate to ourselves and others, patient as we learn a new way of life, and kind to those struggling to overcome any physical, emotional, or financial hurdle. McLean Hospital just released a fantastic resource to support families facing additional stressors at home during this pandemic, such as overcoming "parental burnout," supporting the mental health of college-bound students, reducing child anxiety, and self-care approaches for families. Check it out!
Grade 7 English is currently in a poetry unit and the teachers have asked students to write poems about our current situation. Click above to visit the New DMS Student Work webpage to read the creative submissions that came from this project!
As our remote learning continues, our teachers and technology team continue to provide support to families and students. In general, please email your child’s teacher if you have a question about access to student resources including usernames and passwords. Additionally, the link above will bring you to a new Remote Learning Families Digital Support Page which provides instruction on how to access the digital tools used at Dedham Public Schools.
As a community, we are in the midst of an incredibly stressful time, full of changes, uncertainty, and strong emotions. In the best of times, parenting can be difficult, but parenting during a pandemic presents a whole new set of challenges. With this in mind, Boston University's CARD program has put together a webinar to provide parents and other caregivers useful tools to help support child emotional health and well-being during this period of COVID-19 related social distancing and beyond. Click the link above to learn strategies for reducing child (and parent!) anxiety.
As anticipated, this afternoon Governor Baker announced that he was extending the closure of all Massachusetts public and private school buildings for the rest of the 2019/2020 school year. Students, educators and staff will continue forward with remote learning efforts through our last scheduled school day - Friday, June 19th.
April is Autism Awareness Month, a time to bring attention to and raise awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder and support children, adolescents, adults, and their families. COVID-19 has undoubtedly impacted our daily schedules and typical experiences. Youth with autism may be particularly prone to distress in response to these unprecedented changes in routine. Ongoing care, compassion, and patience is essential. The Child Mind Institute has developed resources to help parents and caregivers support children and adolescents with autism during this time. Click the link above to check it out!
Lexia CORE5, a literacy focused tool, that will be added to the weekly learning plans starting the week of April 13th in grades K-3 and the week of April 20th in grades 4 and 5. This is a tool that many of our elementary teachers already use in the classroom. As such, your family may already be familiar with and use this tool. If this is new to you we have prepared resources that you can use to get started. Learn More: Read the full email from Dedham Elementary School principals by clicking the link above.
