Dear Families of Groton Area School Students,
Thank you to everyone for their cooperation in receipt of materials on Wednesday, March 25. With your cooperation, we were able to safely and efficiently distribute a lot of material and supplies. As you know by now, the Groton Area School District will remain closed through May 1, 2020. This includes all extra-curricular events, practices, and meetings.
Delivery of the next week’s academic materials will take place on Monday, March 30. During this process, we want to ensure that we can be mindful of the recommendations of health officials concerning the size of group gatherings, personal hygiene for clean hands, and social distancing. Only one representative from each family will be permitted to pick up materials and will be asked to take materials for all family members. Nobody that feels ill in any way should be sent to gather materials. We must also request for questions and discussions with staff members be limited during the in-person exchanges and invite those questions via phone call or email. It is possible that not all students will have materials to pick up if all of their content is being provided online.
The following schedule of material pick-up has been established for in-town residents. If possible, we ask that you make every effort to follow the timelines provided. If families are unable to make the established times work, they will not be turned away, but access may be managed if certain times become too busy. Each building will be open for pick-up from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM. Pick-up from the elementary will be held in the Elementary Commons. Pick-up from the MS/HS will be held in the GHS Gymnasium.
| Time | Grade Level |
| 8:00 AM | PreK/JK Grade 6 |
| 8:15 AM | K and Grade 7 |
| 8:30 AM | Grade 1 and Grade 8 |
| 8:45 AM | Grade 2 and Grade 9 |
| 9:00 AM | Grade 3 and Grade 10 |
| 9:15 AM | Grade 4 and Grade 11 |
| 9:30 AM | Grade 5 and Grade 12 |
| 9:45 AM | Busses will be loaded with materials for our out-of-town students. |
Beginning at 9:45, we will be loading the school buses with materials for every student on a regular bus route whose materials haven’t been picked up. The buses will run their normal routes, stopping to drop off all of the materials for the week. We ask that families please respect the 6 foot personal boundaries for our delivery staff by not coming on to the school bus to try and retrieve materials. If you have muddy driveways or driveways that can’t otherwise be used by a bus, we are asking that you place a box or plastic tote at the end of your driveway for us to leave your materials in.
Until further notice, we will not be collecting any paper materials for return. This is part of our effort to reduce the amount of materials exchanging hands limiting potential exposure to contaminants. Similarly, materials being sent home will be ready for distribution by Friday and left un-touched until Monday to protect students and families.
In order for students to learn, it is critical that work and activities are completed as assigned. We are making a conscious effort to balance the need for continued learning relative to families’ other current needs including parent work schedules.
During the week, staff will be available via email or telephone from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM daily to answer questions, and provide support and assistance to students. There will not be any face-to-face meetings or contacts made during the closure.
There has been a link added to our website for technical support for our students in grades 6-12 who may be encountering difficulties with their computers.
School Meals – Updated for Week of March 30
The District will continue to offer free lunches to all enrolled students regardless of income eligibility. Meals will be provided to families on Mondays in conjunction with distribution of academic materials. For those families with multiple students, the meals will be distributed from the building of the youngest student. For example, a family with students in grades 3, 4, and 8 will pick up their meals from the elementary. A family with students in grades 7 and 10 would pick up their meals from the high school. Meals for the second half of the week will be served from the elementary from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM on Wednesday.
We encourage all families to take advantage of this service during this time. Even if your participation is simply a matter of personal convenience, we’d like to help. If you haven’t yet signed up for these meals and would like to begin participating, please contact us.
Sincerely,
Joe Schwan Superintendent