Child Care

Gov. Closes Schools Through the End of the School Year Due to COVID-19

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Gov. Charlie Baker, with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday afternoon that all K-12 school buildings, public and private, will remain closed through the end of the school year due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Baker made the announcement during his COVID-19 update at noon on Tuesday. He said there has been no guidance that would allow schools to safely reconvene during the Coronavirus outbreak. Baker told students that the state order does not mean that students should stop laerning.

Schools

MassBay College Offering Virtual Info Sessions for Prospective Students

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MassBay Community College Admissions Office is now offering all information sessions and events, previously held in-person, as virtual events. Recognizing the seriousness of social distancing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as the need of many to move to remote services, the College has moved to an online format to speak and interact with prospective students. A MassBay admissions counselor will contact anyone already signed up for an information session with instructions on how to join in virtually. “We were able to seamlessly shift to hosting information sessions online on March 16 to ensure students still had the opportunity to learn about all of MassBay’s programs,” said MassBay Director of Admissions, Alison McCarty. “We have found that prospective students are enjoying the online format with the ability to submit questions freely and have them answered right away. The feedback has been extremely positive as people are looking ahead to where they might be studying in the summer or fall.

Schools

See How the School Committee Voted on Whether to Keep Spring Break

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Watertown students will continue with their online learning next week after the School Committee voted Monday night to skip April Vacation. The decision will mean students will continue their remote lessons with teachers for four days next week, April 21-24. They will be off Monday for Patriot’s Day. The decision does not add more days to the school year, and now the Watertown Public Schools will end on June 16, rather than June 22, according to Superintendent Dede Galdston. The idea of cancelling spring break did not come up until Gov. Charlie Baker declared all schools in the state closed through May 4 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Galdston told the School Committee.

Around Town

Carroll Center Offers Virtual Rehabilitation for the Blind & Visually Impaired

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The following information was provided by the Carroll Center for the Blind:

To ensure that people who are blind and visually impaired receive training and support during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, MA has launched virtual program offerings for individuals of all ages and all stages of vision loss. The adjustment to vision loss does not stop given the ongoing pandemic—in fact, the need to stay connected to critical blindness rehabilitation is more important than ever. Although the nonprofit is not currently providing face-to-face instruction on its campus or in the community, the renowned blindness rehabilitation institution is providing instruction through a variety of remote methods to school-age students, adults, and seniors across the nation. The Carroll Center’s team of expert vision professionals are remotely teaching on a variety of topics, including:

·       Activities of Daily Living

·       Technology Skills and Assistive Technology

·       Braille

·       Low Vision Devices

·       Employment Readiness

·       Health Management

Recognizing that schooling and many workplace meetings are now being offered through Zoom and similar telecommunications platforms, the nonprofit is also teaching consumers how to effectively use these technologies. Additionally, the Center is providing counseling support, assistance with resources and diabetes management, as well as support to use the variety of remote methods such as Zoom.

Schools

School Officials Debate Keeping Spring Break, School Committee to Meet Monday

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With schools closed at least through May 4 due to the Coronavirus outbreak, Watertown Public Schools officials unveiled the second phase of the virtual learning for students, and are debating whether to keep spring break. The School Committee will meet Monday, April 13 to discuss spring break, the budget for the 2020-21 school year budget and hear a presentation phase II of the district’s Extended Learning Plan. (See information about watching and participating in the meeting below). In a letter to families and staff sent out earlier this month, Superintendent Dede Galdston said that students will have more interactive time with teachers, “requiring students to participate in the learning provided to the extent that is possible.” Teachers reached out to families this week with more details about the schedule and plans.

Schools

Progress Being Made on School Building Projects, But it May be Slowed by Social Distancing Orders

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Watertown School officials continue to work on the school building projects at the three elementary schools and the high school during the Coronavirus outbreak, but they may eventually hit a roadblock due to restrictions imposed during the outbreak. Town Council President Mark Sideris wrote an update to the School Building Committee about the progress of the School Building Projects. Progress could be slowed by the social distancing requirements, particularly limiting the number of people who can gather in one place. “Work on all projects is still continuing even though we are not meeting as a committee,” Sideris wrote in the letter. Work at Hosmer and Cunniff is planned to start in late June, right after the school year ends, but the School Building Committee had to postpone community meetings at both schools where they planned to update the communities on the projects.

Around Town

Minuteman Students, Superintendent Making Masks to Help Local Hospitals During COVID-19

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The following information was provided by Minuteman High School:

Allison Sanzio, a Minuteman High School senior in culinary arts from Stow, and her mom have joined an effort in their community to make face masks at home during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Several members of the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School community are doing their part to fight COVID-19 – from creating face masks to helping a local hospital expand its capacity to care for coronavirus patients. “All of us are making sacrifices right now, but no one is sacrificing more than the medical providers and first responders across the nation,” said Superintendent-Director Edward A. Bouquillon, who has sewn dozens of masks at home with his wife, Diane. “We want to help in any way we can. I’m so proud of the students and staff who are using their skills to pitch in.”

Three siblings from Arlington who all attend Minuteman – eleventh-grader Jacob Woolf (programming and web development major) and ninth-graders Leah and Mari Woolf (early education and design and visual communication majors, respectively) – are volunteering for MasksOn, an initiative launched in recent weeks to retrofit snorkel masks with medical-grade breathing equipment that can be used repeatedly by clinicians.

Around Town

Perkins Library Remains Closed, Find Out About Online Services

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The following information was provided by the Perkins School for the Blind Library:

Dear Perkins Library Patrons,

As Coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns continue to evolve, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has extended his March 23rd “Stay at Home” Executive Order requiring all non-essential businesses to close. At this time, the Executive Order will now extend until May 4, 2020. As we had previously communicated, the Perkins Library falls into this category, so no Library mail has been sent out since March 24. Additionally, we ask borrowers to hold all Library materials until you are notified that we are able to receive them by return mail. While we can’t ship physical materials, you can always download from our Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) service.