End of August (2021) update
Is summer over already??? Not quite, but close. Sorry for the reality check.
I’ll start this superintendent’s update on an upbeat note, we hired a K-3 teacher! Jen Paul will be joining our awesome teaching faculty to start this upcoming school year. Jen wrote a brief introduction about herself which you can read below:
Hi! My name is Jennifer Paul and I am very excited to be the new K-3 teacher! This school year is going to be full of fun, laughter and a lot of adventures. I am looking forward to building new relationships with students and parents, being part of a supportive community and creating a wonderful learning environment for students. I cannot wait to see what this year has in store for us! I thought you might like to know a little about me. I married my high school sweetheart, Nick. We have been married for 17 years. We have a son (William) who is in 7th grade and a daughter (Grace) who is in 5th grade. A few things I enjoy are being with my family and friends, hiking, swimming, biking, and camping. I look forward to meeting you at the open house on Wednesday, September 1st.
New K-3 teacher Jen Paul
We also hired a Student Support Specialist. Jenny Irvine will be joining us this year one day per week doing group work following the TRAILS to wellness framework. She earned her degree in Behavioral Science with a major in social work and a minor in psychology and looks to support our students however she can. Not only that, we just signed a contract with Joven Health to provide a male counselor to our school for online telehealth therapy for anyone in the school who wants access to a licensed counselor. Parents, please read this personalized letter from co-founder Tyler McCord. This all in addition to our MARESA-based counselor Amy Baranek. I will continue to review our social-emotional offerings but I believe we are in a great place to start this school year with these three!
Now for our Covid-19 update. First, Burt Township School District is requiring masks on buses. We welcome anyone with a CDL to apply to be a substitute bus driver but as long as we only have a single individual willing and capable to pick our students up in Germfask, we will require masks on the bus. Second, we are still recommending students wear masks in school but are currently making it optional. We will discuss potential protocol changes during a Special School Board meeting on Monday, August 30th. Personally, I plan to wear a mask in school when I am unable to social distance. Lastly, the Covid-19 vaccine is still the gold standard for disease prevention so please get vaccinated if you have not already done so and can. We are hopeful that children aged 5-12 will be able to get the vaccine sometime this fall.
Oh, did I mention soccer practice started??? Kudos to our new Athletic Director Devin Lawrence for all of the hard work over the summer to get ready for this season. Please visit the school soccer page for an updated schedule and don’t forget to come out and support the team! GO BEARS!!!
The Fighting Polar Bears
And last but not least, the school bell works again! Gary McCormick and I resurrected the old rope and brought the bell back to life with a combination of real grease and some elbow grease. I already love pulling on the rope so I’m sure it’ll be used to call students back in from outside but we’ll also let the students ring it on their birthday and for other special occasions. Good times here at the Burt Township School District.
The new bell locker, ding ding
