Paw Prints – February 28

Welcoming Students in K0- Grade 3 Back to School

We are thrilled to be welcoming our youngest students back to school! While we have been open since December 14th for a subset of students we are looking forward to welcoming students in K0-Grade 3 in Cohort A on Monday, March 1st and Cohort B on Thursday March 4th. We are appreciative of your patience as we again pivot our instructional practice. We will get through this shift together by encouraging one another and sharing feedback. Thank you for your grace and flexibility during this time.

Home Health Checklist: We are asking families to daily complete the home health checklist to ensure their child is in good health to attend school that day. If your child has any of the symptoms on the list we ask that you keep them home from school.

Traveling Outside of Massachusetts: There is a travel order in our state and families are expected to follow the procedures set forth by the Governor’s travel restrictions. 

Chromebooks: All students should bring their chromebook, charger and headphones to and from school each day. 

Safety Supports: Each classroom is equipped with an air purifier, hand sanitizer and cleaner. Additional custodial staff has been hired to clean high touch spaces and all community members will be wearing masks. We also have additional PPE on site in case back up is needed during the school day.

Nurses’ Office: Please reach out to our school nurses April Pumphret apumphret@bostonpublicschools.org or Keilah Santana ksantana@bostonpublicschools.org with any health related questions.

Arrival: Students can enter at either Pershing Rd. or Centre St. for arrival starting at 8:15am. We will have staff stationed throughout the building to support students getting to class independently Grades 1-8. We will have staff assigned to walk all kindergarteners to class.

Dismissal: We will begin dismissing students at 3pm. Families must wear masks and social distance. Once you pick up your child please quickly exit the premises. We are asking families to not dismiss students early from in person learning. We want to maximize the in person learning time for all. 

Pick Up Locations (same spots as previous school years)

• K0/K1 – Exits outside K1 classrooms on Pershing Rd.
• K2 & Grade 1 – Exit by Lower School Playstructure on Pershing Rd.
• Grades 2-5 – Exit by Playingfield on Centre St.
• Grades 6-8 – Exit by Upper School Parking Lot on Pershing Rd.

Playground: The Curley playground will be closed everyday after school but students will have access during the school day.

Lunch & Recess: Students will be eating lunch in their classrooms and recess will be outside (weather permitting). The Curley serves universal free breakfast and lunch. All students will be eating in their classrooms and the lunch will be delivered to the room. Here you can find the March Breakfast & Lunch Menu. 

BPS Reopening: 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 15th (Group A) & Thursday, March 18th (Group B): Students in Grades 4 – 8

Student Art Exhibit: Curley student art projects will be  featured in the BPS Youth Art Month Exhibition which will be held March 5th-31st. The virtual opening reception will be held Friday, March 5th from 7-9pm. The virtual opening will be live streamed on www.bpsarts.org. Our virtual art exhibits will be posted on the site for families to view as well.

Puppet Workshop: On Friday night, 15 families joined Ms. Youman and Ms. Knight for a puppet workshop based on the Amazon rainforest trickster tale, Jabuti.  The presenters want to thank the Parent Art Committee for their support and help including Katrina Brink, Molly Brigham, and Riyo Hirota.  We also thank Katherine Jimenez for her support with translations, and Monica Roy for her tech assistance.  A shout out also to Ms. Santos for joining the opening of our event.  

Kids Company – For Ages 13 and Under – Enroll by MAR 1: Kids Company classes for youth ages 5 – 13 continue virtually this spring, with a mix of storytelling, movement, performance, and devising techniques to introduce theater skills and awareness of body, mind, voice, and imagination. And this spring, we introduce A.R.T. Pipsqueaks, a four-week program for young children (ages 4 and under) and their households! Enroll Now

A Message From the Third Grade Brownie Troops: Are you wondering where to buy girl scout cookies during the pandemic? Our 3rd grade Curley Brownie troop is here to help! We have been together since 1st grade and have loved selling to the  Curley community over the past two years. This year, we are offering delivery of your favorite cookies Click Here. Any cookies ordered at this link help us fund our troop projects. We have used our cookie funds to support elder care community service, provided warm clothing for kids in need in Massachusetts, and assembled school-ready backpacks to welcome refugee children to our country. Please share our link with your friends and family! We can’t wait to be together at school soon! (We will bring cookies to celebrate!) Thank you so much and stay safe! – 3rd Grade Brownies of Troop 67633 

K2 and 1st-Grade Families: Check your email for an invitation to the Savings Center from Boston Saves. When you log in to the Savings Center, you can see $50 in an account for your child’s future college or career training – and start earning more! Don’t see an email? You can email BostonSaves@boston.gov to get help registering for the Savings Center. You can also go online to www.bostonsavescsa.org to learn more about the program.

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

• 3/9/21 Zoom Link
• 4/13/21 Zoom Link
• 5/11/21 Zoom Link
• 6/8/21 Zoom Link

SPC on Wednesdays during alternating times

• 3/24/21   8-9AM Zoom Link
• 5/12/21  6-7PM Zoom Link
• 6/9/21  6-7PM Zoom Link

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.

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	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 Support	Keilah Santana ksantana@bostonpublicschools.org or April Pumphret apumphret@bostonpublicschools.org
Tech Support	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.