Paw Prints – January 18
SPC Meeting and Questions Regarding Reopening: Please join us on Wednesday, January 27th at 6pm for our monthly School Parent Council meeting. At this meeting we will be joined by Principal Grassa who will address the safety precautions which have been put in place for reopening as well as questions regarding the reopening request forms recently emailed to families. This meeting will help families better understand the options available to them and how to make the choice which best meets their families needs.
BPS Reopening: Pending acceptable public health metrics, BPS is planning to welcome the remainder of our High In-Person Priority students for in-person learning starting Monday, February 1. The students returning are those who have been identified for high in-person priority, including:
- High needs/Level 4 students with disabilities
- English Learners who are EL levels 1 and 2
- Students who are in the care of of the Department of Children and Families
- Students who are experiencing homelessness
- Students with limited or interrupted formal education
- Students identified by their school’s Student Support Team (SST) as requiring additional in-person schooling
The next phase in reopening school buildings will be returning students who have opted into hybrid learning, in phases by grade levels throughout March.
The district is planning to follow this tentative schedule:
- Monday, March 1 & Thursday, March 4: Students in K0 – Grade 3 (Group A & B)
- Monday, March 15 & Thursday, March 18: Students in Grades 4 – 8 (Group A & B)
- Monday, March 29 & Thursday, April 1: Students in Grades 9 – 12 (Group A & B)
Family Yoga Night: Looking for ways to connect with the Curley community? Ms. U is running a Family Yoga Night a Free Zoom Yoga Class for all Curley students and their family members. For more information and registration details, check out the flyer.
Black Joy Activity: Black Joy is a quintessential part of Black History month. In the midst of an increasing societal awareness surrounding inequity that our Black students face daily, it is vital and revolutionary to celebrate their joy. We are asking upper elementary students and middle schools students to answer the prompt, “What does Black Joy Mean to You?” We will use the older students’ answers to create a video explanation for younger students. This flyer has the instructions. Ms. Nicolette, will edit the submissions together to create a video for the Curley Community.
Family Forum: The Inclusion Done Right BTU Committee is leading a parent forum January 26, 7:00-8:30PM. The forum is designed to help support parents of special needs children with instruction and other assistance during this pandemic. For more information check out their flyer.
Pandemic-EBT: Every BPS student is eligible to receive financial assistance for food due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds are available under the Pandemic EBT (Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer) or P-EBT program. Students already received P-EBT funds for the 2019-20 school year. Last week, BPS students began receiving additional P-EBT funds for the 2020-2021 school year. If you received P-EBT in the past, you received funds at the end of December to cover October and November school days. For the rest of the school year, funds for the preceding month will be available on the 25th of every month. Check your P-EBT or EBT card by calling the number on the back of the card. If you are new to P-EBT, look for a letter in the mail this month, or check the EBT card you already have for funds. If you no longer have your P-EBT card, please visit dtaconnect.com/pebt to request a new one. For more information on the P-EBT program and food assistance, please visit www.MAp-EBT.org or call the DTA Assistance Line at 877-382-2363.
MLK Student Activity: In honor of Martin Luther King Day, the Curley K-8 family engagement committee has put together a student activity. Now more than ever, we thought it would be important to do an activity which centers around peace and acknowledges the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He modeled for the world how to promote peace and harmony amongst one another. Students interested in participating can create a piece answering the question: What does Dr. King’s dream mean to you? All work should be submitted to the Family Engagement Subcommittee at curleyengagement@gmail.com. Possible submission formats may include but are not limited to a drawing/painting, collage, spoken word, poem, rap, dance, video, essay, or letter. The admin team will be picking one student from each grade level ban to receive prizes. The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2021. Winners will be selected the first week of February. Please reach out to Manny Hernandez with any questions at ehernandez@bostonpublicschools.org.
School Councils: Check out our School Site Council (SSC) and School Parent Council (SPC)! We have a wonderful group of new and returning council members who are all excited to meet with Curley families. SPC and SSC are great ways to get involved in school planning and have your voice be heard. Please join us on any of the following times, come to one or come to all! (Registration required)
SSC Every Second Tuesday of the month 5:30-7:00PM
SPC on Wednesdays during alternating times
EBT Card Update: P-EBT has been extended for the whole year! Here are some things you should know.
- Dates of when benefits will be provided have not been determined, but BPS will notify families once benefits have been released. Once benefits are provided students learning remotely will receive $117 each month on their card and students in hybrid learning will receive $58 per month.
- Instructions for BPS families:
- If you do not have a card (lost or never received) – please request one at DTAConnect.com/pebt or call 800-997-2555 (the website is faster)
- If you have your card, please keep it. Your child’s benefits will be updated/loaded automatically.
- Having additional benefits does not replace the meal pick-ups at our supersites. Families can continue to pick up meals.
- If you do not want the benefits, please feel free to contact a local food bank or church to ask what food donations they are willing to accept and purchase with the funds.
- For more information visit the mass.gov website!
Meal Distribution Update: Meal sites are open on Mondays and Thursday 10am-6pm. We are excited to announce that the Curley is now a distribution site again! For more information please contact project Bread’s Food Source Hotline at (800) 645-8333 or the School Food number at 617-635-9144. For a full list of distribution sites please visit the BPS free meals page.
Tutoring: Boston Partners in Education offers tutoring services to support BPS students. Families with students in grades 5-12 can receive extra support afterschool and on weekends to help with school and homework. For more information or to request a tutor please access their flyer.
School Preview: It’s that time of the year again when we begin to plan our school preview days. Current Curley families are welcomed to attend. It’s a great way to get to know more about the school if your child is moving to a new grade level. Please reach out to Manny if you have any questions. The next school preview will be on January 20, 2021 9-10am. Click here to join.
Internet Supports: Comcast Internet Essentials –We have free vouchers for families who do not have access to stable internet:
- Households are eligible for this program if they:
- Qualify for programs like the National School Lunch Program, housing assistance, Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, and others.
- Live in an area where Comcast Internet service is available
- Have not had Comcast Internet in the last 90 days
- Households who owe money to Comcast may still qualify if approved by 12/31/20
- Be sure to call the correct phone number (see below). DO NOT call the regular service line.
- English: 1-855-846-8376 or InternetEssentials.com
- Spanish: 1-855-765-6995 or es.InternetEssentials.com
- The language of the application can be changed. There is a link to change the language on the top right side of the application.
- Families should elect to get the self-install kit first. If they ask for a technician to come and install, they will be charged an installation fee. However, if they call after they’ve received the self-install kit, they will send a technician at no charge.
- If you feel as if, you may qualify for a free voucher please reach out to Manny Hernandez for further assistance.
Updated Contact Information: It is imperative that the school has your correct and up to date contact information.
- The BPS Family Guide including media release can be found at https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/familyguide
- The parent & student agreement form including media can be filled out online at BPS Emergency Contact. You can also update your emergency contact information here. Again correct contact information will be essential during this time.
Who should I contact: If you have questions and you are not sure who to contact please use the chart below to support you.
| Classroom related questions | Classroom teachers: (Contact information can be found at www.curleyk8.com) |
| K-2 Support | Dawn Durant ddurant2@bostonpublicschools.org or Cristina Silva csilva4@bostonpublicschools.org |
| Grades 3-5 Support | David Diaz ddiaz@bostonpublicschools.org or Justina Levey jlevey@bostonpublicschools.org |
| Grades 6-8 Support | Adrian Ward-Jackson Awardjackson@bostonpublicschools.org or Sugeily Santos ssantos2@bostonpublicschools.org |
| Health Questions | Keilah Santana ksantana@bostonpublicschools.orgApril Pumphret apumphret@bostonpublicschools.org |
| Curley K-8 School Parent Council & Family Liaison | Manny Hernandez ehernandez@bostonpublicschools.org spc@curleyk8.com |
| Technology Related Questions | BPS Helpline 617-635-8873 – Please have families call the BPS Family helpline Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm for questions about technology and other resources available to BPS families.Help is available in Arabic, Cape Verdean Creole, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese. |
| Urgent Priority Questions | Principal Katie Grassa kgrassa@bostonpublicschools.org |
Social Media: For up to date information about the Curley K-8 School please sign up for email alerts by joining the Mailing List. You can also follow Principal Grassa on Twitter @principalgrassa and be sure to always use the hashtag #curleycares when sharing/posting/tweeting information about our school.
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Somali
Spanish
Sudanese