Oak Student Full-time In-person learning information

 

Dear OMS Families,

Shrewsbury School Committee voted in favor of returning students to Oak Middle School for full time learning on April 28, 2021. While we are eagerly anticipating getting back to “school as usual” for the majority of our students, we recognize that some of our families prefer to continue with remote learning through the end of the year.  We have been working hard on plans that accommodate both models of learning while abiding by the health and safety rules you have come to depend on.
 
Timeline
The timeline that follows has a * to indicate changes to the current schedule as we transition to full time in-person learning.

Week of April 5th	Rosters will be available to teachers, parents of returning students (and Teal students) notified of new team assignments
April 12th	Regular Monday Hybrid Schedule with Cohorts A and B in person.  Remote learning for Cohorts C and D.
April 13th*	Periods 1, 2, 3 All students in Cohorts A, B, C and D will be learning remotely from home with live, synchronous learning in the morning, and asynchronous learning in the afternoon. The afternoon is reserved for teacher meetings and planning.  This day will be used to move furniture from storage and reallocate desks within the building
April 14th	Periods 5, 6, 7 Regular Wednesday schedule for all Cohorts (Cohort A1 students in-person, Cohorts A2, B, C, and D remote)
April 15th*	(Periods 1,2,3,5,6,7 shortened classes) All students in Cohorts A, B, C and D will be learning remotely from home with live, synchronous learning in the morning, and asynchronous learning in the afternoon. The afternoon is reserved for teacher meetings and planning.  This day will be used to move furniture from storage and reallocate desks within the building. April 15, 2021 Class Schedule          Homeroom    8:00am - 8:12am Period 1    8:15am - 8:45am  Period 2    8:48am - 9:18am   Period 3    9:21am - 9:51am   Period 5    9:54am - 10:24am  Period 6    10:27am - 10:57am Period 7    11:00am - 11:30am
April 16th	Regular Friday Hybrid Schedule with Cohorts A and C in person.  Remote learning for Cohorts B and D.
April 26th*	Cohorts A and B and all returning cohort D students will be in-person.  Students changing teams will report to their new team. Cohort C will be remote. Cohort D remote teams begin with new students.
April 27th*	Cohort A and C and all returning cohort D students will be in person. Cohort B will be remote. Students changing teams will report to their new team. Last Day of Cycle 5
April 28th*	Full time in-person schedules begin - Cohort D continues with their remote schedules First Day of Cycle 6

Team/Teacher Changes
Please read below carefully.  Given that about 75 all-remote Cohort D students are returning to in-person learning, we will need to make some assignment changes in order to accomplish this while ensuring 3-foot distancing among students.  While the vast majority of students who are currently in Cohorts A, B, & C in the hybrid model will remain on the same team, students on the 7/8 Teal team and many students in Cohort D will experience some changes.

The 7/8 Teal team will be split into two teams: one in-person grade 7 team and one in-person grade 8 team, each with 4 core content teachers and one shared special educator. Two of the current Teal core content teachers will go to the grade 7 team and two will go to the grade 8 team, so no Teal students will have all new teachers.

The 7/8 Sapphire team will no longer be a Cohort D all-remote team.Students on the 7/8 Sapphire team who have chosen to remain remote will be reassigned to either the 8 Ruby team or the 7 Emerald team.
Most Cohort D students who have chosen to return to in-person learning will be assigned to the new in-person teams for their grade level.  Returning students from Cohort D who are taking Latin or Chinese will be assigned to one of the current in-person teams that provide classes in those languages.

Students on Teal, Sapphire, Cohort D students returning to full time, and hybrid students switching to Cohort D: Families will be notified during the week of April 5 of their child’s team assignment along with details about changeover. 

Please also note:
Students returning from Cohort D will attend school in-person on their new teams on both April 26 and April 27.
Students who remain in Cohort D or who are joining Cohort D will begin with 7 Emerald and 8 Ruby on April 26.
Students previously on 7/8 Teal will attend in-person with their new 7th or 8th grade team according to their cohort assignment (Cohorts A & B on April 26 and Cohorts A & C on April 27).

We recognize that it is hard to make these kinds of changes during the school year.  We are dedicated to supporting you and your child through this time and we will communicate more as we move closer to the return. Please reach out to any one of us with your questions or concerns.

Respectfully,
Ann M. Jones, Principal
Anne Koertge, Assistant Principal
Scott Yonker, Assistant Principal
Patricia Waterhouse, Director of Middle School Special Education Services