North Shore CSD

Dear North Shore Faculty, Staff, and Community Members, SNOW DAY! Due to the impending forecast for heavy amounts of snow and high winds tomorrow, the North Shore Schools will be closed on Monday, February 1, 2021. Due to the nature of the predicted length of this storm, I will monitor our snow clearing progress throughout the day tomorrow in order to make an informed decision regarding Tuesday.... Stay tuned for tomorrow's North Shore Snow Day Challenge, which I will send tomorrow morning! Please be safe, warm, and to the extent that you are able to do so, enjoy the snow!! All my best, Dr. Peter Giarrizzo Superintendent of Schools

Mark your calendars! Don’t miss this important teleconferenced initial North Shore Schools Budget Presentation and Comprehensive Overview to Support Teaching and Learning by Superintendent Dr. Giarrizzo on Thurs., February 4, at 7:45 p.m. The meeting will be videotaped and livestreamed. The livestream and log in information can be found on the school website in the BOE livestream section (at the top) at www.northshoreschools.org. The Board encourages public comment either ...in person or in advance by Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. via email to the full Board at [email protected]. It is requested that you use 150 words or less as a guideline for your comment and include your name and Town of residence in your correspondence. It may not be possible to read each e-mail at the meeting due to the volume of submissions and/or time constraints, but the board will endeavor to acknowledge those concerns raised. Over the next couple of months, Trustees will be diligently reviewing the school budget. They will navigate through the comprehensive budget process, looking over each section by line. Our Trustees remain committed to providing a quality education for students of the North Shore community. Upcoming school board meetings regarding the budget will take place on 2/25 (Budget Review), 3/11 (Budget Review), and 3/25 (Budget Adoption). All meetings will be videotaped and simultaneously livestreamed. The Budget Vote/Election of Trustees will take place on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 when our residents will have the opportunity to participate in the North Shore High School Gymnasium, from 7 a.m. -10 p.m. (unless otherwise noted). We encourage you to stay informed about the school budget for our students, schools, and our community. If you are a resident and would like to receive emails from the North Shore Schools, please subscribe at the top of the school district website at www.northshoreschools.org.

1/12/21 Dear North Shore Parents, Faculty, and Community Members, I hope you all had a good day. I am pleased to report that the Glenwood Landing School will re-open to in-person instruction tomorrow. We thank you for your patience. Please also note that we had three reported student cases at North Shore Middle School and an additional student case reported at North Shore High School. ... All five schools will follow their regular in-person or hybrid schedule tomorrow, January 13, 2020. Please enjoy a restful evening, be safe and take good care to ensure your health and wellness. Regards, Dr. Peter Giarrizzo Superintendent of Schools

Dear North Shore Parents, Faculty, and Community Members, I hope you all had a good weekend. Unfortunately, the District reported 11 new Covid-19 cases today among students and staff in the following locations: Glenwood Landing- 3 new cases... Middle School- 2 new cases High School- 6 new cases We have been able to complete contact tracing and anyone who needs to quarantine as a close contact has been contacted. Due to the combination of the newly identified cases at Glenwood Landing and an already high number of staff already in quarantine, Glenwood Landing School will pivot to a fully remote instructional program tomorrow, Tuesday, January 12, 2020. Mrs. Finder is in the process of notifying the Glenwood Landing faculty and you will hear from your child's teacher(s) about school for tomorrow. All other schools will follow their regular in-person or hybrid model tomorrow. We will continue working on the situation at Glenwood Landing and advise you of the status tomorrow. It is so important to stay vigilant, and as cases continue rising, we ask that you consider keeping your children at home if someone in the home is waiting for the results of a test. In addition, please err on the side of caution and stay home if you have any Covid related symptoms. We appreciate your diligence as we weather this new wave of cases so that we can do what we can to keep schools open to in-person instruction. Best regards, Dr. Peter Giarrizzo Superintendent of Schools

January 6, 2021 Dear North Shore Parents, Faculty, and Community Members, I write to you as both a concerned educator and parent this evening. Today, we witnessed a series of events at our nation’s Capitol that were disturbing and sad to watch. Let me be clear that this is not a political statement. It is one of concern for the children we share who will likely have questions about the images they will see in the media tonight. ... Peaceful protests are at the core of our democracy. However, I condemn violence in any form and assert that it has no place in advancing the positions that any of us hold. In these unsettling times, it is so important that we recognize that our children will likely have many questions. In almost 30 years of working with children, I have learned that they will typically ask questions that they are ready to hear answers to. You should answer them with honesty and reassurance. The American Psychological Association has published a link called, How to talk to children about difficult news and it is attached for your review and consideration: https://www.apa.org/topics/talking-children The guiding principles note that you should guide these conversations and use the following guidance: Think about what to say Find out what they know Share your feelings with your child Tell the truth Reassure Always take care of yourself as well Our counselors and mental health staff are available to support our students and staff tomorrow and we will prepare helpful resources for our teachers to utilize, if needed. We are also here to support you, so please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you need help or have questions about how to support your children at home. Our children will watch for our reactions and look to us for leadership and guidance. We live in a great nation, guided by laws and built on the promise of greatness for all and a sense of profound virtue. Today is a sad day for our nation, but I know that we can emerge stronger from this. Let us please focus on how we can use these events to not divide us further, but rather as a vehicle to bring us closer together. I will end this note as I always do. Stay healthy, be well, take good care of yourselves and notice the good. It is one of those days where it might be a little harder to see but know that there is always good to observe. With my warmest regards always, Dr. Peter Giarrizzo Superintendent of Schools