Carta de Directora Welch: 03 de enero de 2023 / Letter from Principal Welch: January 3, 2023

Dear Sumner families and faculty:

As we welcome 2023 and say goodbye to 2022, I hope we can recognize the amazing growth of our students and the many things we can be thankful for.
There have been challenges but we see success every single day at school.
I am so grateful to the Sumner faculty and Sumner families who make our community loving and inclusive. Each of you helps make our school special.

Our mission is to ensure each child has the social and academic skills for the next grade level, high school and beyond. We know our students can create their own options in life if they feel valued and confident. We believe our students are the future leaders of our city, country and world. What a wonderful job we have as educators and as parents!

And so, our learning journey continues when all faculty and students return to school on Wednesday, January 4, 2023 for the 76th day of school!

We face challenges ahead with the rise in Flu, RSV and COVID-19 but I feel confident in our communication, teamwork and flexibility. We will take it day by day together.

As you may already know, Superintendent Skipper recently shared protocols on safety measures to reduce the risk of respiratory viral illness transmission, which asks and expects everyone to wear masks temporarily from January 4th through January 13th. Masks will be available at our school for anyone who needs one, and no one will be disciplined or sent home if they refuse to wear one. We hope all community members support this request, which will last eight school days, to ensure students and staff can be fully present and participating in school.

Please check your child’s backpack for a Rapid COVID-19 test sent home before vacation - we recommend that you test today even if you are not experiencing symptoms.

Additionally, please see the following safety measures to promote sanitary practices at our school:

Wash your hands–Perform frequent hand washing and cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

Don’t come to school if you’re sick–use our home health checklist to monitor your symptoms.

Get vaccinated and boosted! Visit the City of Boston’s Vaccine Clinics or your medical provider.
https://www.boston.gov/government/cabinets/boston-public-health-commission/covid-19-vaccine-boston

Wear your mask indoors! Wearing your mask is always a safe bet!

Use your free Covid-19 rapid test before you go to school– Use the free rapid antigen test provided to each student. Test even if you’re not experiencing any symptoms.

Call your student’s school to report a Covid-19 positive case–If your student tests positive for Covid-19, please report it immediately.

Refrain from sharing food and/or drinks with others.

Please note that visitors are permitted in the school building but will be encouraged to use a mask. Field trips are also permitted. Grades 5 and 6 instruments and music classes are permitted to continue but will use masking and covers for wind instruments to mitigate.

We understand that these changes may not be what we envisioned for our return to school, but we are confident that these efforts will ultimately benefit our students and our school. Please see a Frequently Asked Questions document https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/Page/9200
for your reference relative to the temporary advisory.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the BPS Helpline at 617-635-8873 or via email at helpline@bostonpublicschools.org. The Helpline is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am until 5:00 pm.

We thank you in advance for your support as we work together to make 2023 a great success.

Please reach out if there is anything we can help with!

Meghan Welch
Principal