SCRIPT - March 24, 2020

Dear Caliber Families,
​
Thank you for all the support, and partnership this week to care for and to begin to educate your students during the county-wide, and now statewide, shelter-in-place order.  When we made the decision a week ago to close our schools, we had no idea how this first week would unfold, and it has been non-stop news and new directions ever since. We appreciate your support, patience, and partnership during these times.
Here are the most important things we want our parents to know at this time.

• Distance Learning:  We hope you have been able to access the initial information and materials, representing two weeks worth of content for your students, organized by our AMAZING educators. We have read the state guidance on Distance Learning closely and now are developing a next round of curriculum which will include new content to keep us on pace for the year’s grade level expectations, which will include pre-recorded and/or live teaching from your child’s teacher.  If you are worried about this new normal for school, you are not alone. We are all in entirely uncharted waters, and all working as hard as we can, as creatively as we can, and with our students in the forefront of our approach. If you run into a barrier or a problem, please assume goodwill on the part of everyone involved, and let's solve the problem together. You may contact anyone on the leadership team to ask for support!
• Special Education:  Serving our students with disabilities is a unique challenge in a distance learning setting.  Our entire Special Education team has been working tirelessly to continue to provide services for individuals based on their IEP Goals.  If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to Kim Berry, our Special Education Program Specialist at kberry@calibercma.org.
• Front Office: Our staff will continue to remotely answer and triage phone calls accordingly to their role. Academic related questions, please direct them to your students teacher. 
  • General Inquiries = Claudia 707.563.9827 cortega@calibercma.org
  • Registration Inquiries = Laura 707.805.7038 lvargas@calibercma.org
  • Special Education Inquiries = Melissa 707.980.3714 mmendoza@calibercma.org

 

• Technology, Chromebooks and Support: At this time, we have released hundreds of Chromebooks to our families to support distance learning.  If you feel you need increased technology access in your home or support, now is the time to make that request.  Mr. Alvin is having office hours from Mon-Wed from 9-11am to support further. Additionally, you may visit our website http://www.calibercma.org/ and follow the IT prompts:
  • Tech Support Guide
  • IT Support Google Form
• Meals: Meal Team Operators will continue to distribute meals to our CMA community. There have been slight changes for meal distribution. Families will receive packaged meals to last for a couple of days. We are doing this in an effort to protect our staff and families. Pick up remains the same between 10:00 AM - 12 Noon.
• During our scheduled Spring Break, we will not be serving meals during. We are providing families with community resources to visit:
  • Food Assistance Community Resources Food Bank
  • For listing of Food Bank shelf stable breakfast and lunch distribution
  • https://www.vallejostudentnutrition.com/ 
  • Solano County School Meal Distribution https://www.solanocoe.net/
  • Solano County Nutrition Services http://www.solanocounty.com/depts/ph/nsp/about.asp
  • Meal distribution will resume on April 6th. From this moment forward, distribution will take place 2 times per week. Every Monday and Wednesday from 10:00 AM - 12 Noon. 
• Spring Break:  We want to remind our school communities that we have a scheduled break for students and staff from March 30 to April 3, and we will be observing that break.  We know the loss of travel opportunities and long standing plans creates another point of stress for everyone, and our teachers and school staff members have to face the same lost opportunities that families are experiencing.
• School Closure Timing: At this point we do not know when we will be returning to school, but as we get any specific information we will share immediately. 
• Take Care of Yourself and Your Family:  Most important during this unusual time is to understand the new levels of stress that a pandemic creates for everyone.  It’s true for everyone, equally, in this new normal. Remember that you may be on a video conference call or emailing back and forth with someone whose family member is ill, or stranded, or economically challenged right now.  Our leadership team, clinicians, and support staff are working on putting some resources together for families that focus on student wellness, and we will continue to include those in family communication. Email sbalaguru@calibercma.org if you have any specific topic requests.  We hope we can approach each other with extra empathy and understanding, and that we can all find a chance to reflect on the many wonderful aspects of living in this caring community.
  
  

5 Quick SEL Tips of the Day for Families: 
Co-Parenting while under a “shelter in place” order/social distancing:  

1. Take care of yourself because self-care is strategic parenting.  Give yourself permission to take time away to do something for yourself, even if it’s for 5 minutes.  
2. Co-Parenting communication strategies.  Set aside a meeting time to discuss logistics of social distancing & shelter-in-place mandates.  
3. Create a Family Emergency Communication Plan for when your child is with your co-parent or another caregiver. 
4. Practice self-affirmations to become a positive & patient parent: “I am grateful for my resources & for the support that I receive every day; this makes me a better parent”. 
5. ​Provide a platform for open communication with your children.  Remain present & check-in to discuss your child’s feelings. 

For more ideas on this theme click here!


With Love and Partnership,
Rachael Weingarten, TK-5 Principal
Asha Canady, 6-8 Principal