We will not have school tomorrow, December 12, 2017 because of the ongoing structural concerns in the roof.  We will also be closed, as already announced on December 13, 14, 15, 2017.  We will reopen on December 18th.  Students will be split between Gonic and D-Wing at RMS on the 18th.

The school concert will held as scheduled tomorrow December 12th, unless the entire school system has a snow day.  With the weather forecast that is possible.  If the concert is postponed, it will be held after the holidays.

I am sorry for this week long closing.

I wanted to make sure everyone knows that D Wing at RMS was not sitting empty.  We had seven classrooms being used.  We have moved seven teachers into traveling Unified Arts teachers, which then allows D wing classrooms to take over those classrooms.  So, RMS is in the midst of that double switch.

We have sent out the Honeywell Instant Alert for school cancellation at Gonic School for December 11, 2107.  There is still snow on the back roof.  Based on the recommendation of the structural engineers, we are worried about students in the building with any snow load on the roof.

Rochester Child Care will be available for daytime care tomorrow, if your child goes to before or after school care with them.  Drop off is at the back of the Community Center between the Head Start and Health and Human Services Staff entrance.

I will have additional updates later this evening.

The meeting at McClelland School on December 13th will be in two phases. I will begin at 5 p.m. for anyone that wants to come early and to help elementary band parents.  I will then start the same presentation at 6 p.m.  I hope this helps a little with the schedule.

 

I should have additional posts this afternoon.  I will try to put the most important information in one post.  

 

Here is the information letter that was sent home December 8, 2017.

Gonic Letter #2 12-8-17-2n2biqz

 

We have had a few questions that I thought it might be helpful to answer.

Lunch Questions:  At this time, we are planning to provide lunch delivered to Gonic School, prepared by the current Gonic staff. The week of December 18th will probably be cold lunch, with logistics completed for delivering hot meals starting January 2nd.

3 to 5 students at RMS will use the Middle School cafeteria.  They will have Middle School options, but will only be charged elementary prices.  They should be eating around 12:30 which is the same time they currently eat at Gonic School.

Breakfast will probably a bag lunch provided and eaten in the classroom at both locations.  I would remind everyone that breakfast is free for students.  Please take advantage of this option.

Bus Questions:  All students will ride their normal buses from the same pick up location.  Students in grade 3 to 5 will remain on the bus and go to the Middle School.  If your child is a walker in grades 3 to 5, we will run a bus from Gonic School leaving at 8:25 a.m. going directly to the Middle School.  Times may change after we meet with the bus company next week.  At this time, parent drop off would be at Gonic and RMS.

I met with the Rochester Child Care staff today.  We will be able to find space at Gonic School for the K to 2 students, and at the Middle School for the grade 3 to 5 students.  We will finalize locations next week, but I am certain we can accommodate before and after school care.

It was explained to me that parents will need to pick up and drop off at both locations if you have a student that is K to 2, and one that is 3 to 5.

I am also sorry to say that the Rochester Child Care doesn’t have daytime staff available to cover next week when we don’t have school.  I am sorry for that inconvenience. I was just told by Rochester Child Care that daytime care can be provided.  They have the staff, we are just finalizing the space.  Look here for information later today.  Next Wednesday through Friday, and if we have a snow day earlier, Rochester Child Care will provide care at the Community Center for their current before and after school students.   There will be someone on site from 7 a.m. on, enter at the back of the community center.  It is the former cafeteria, now called the community room.

 

Here is some information about the D wing at RMS.

 

RMSlideshow-2a5cwzg

This information will be included in a letter going home.  I will also send it out via email this evening.

If we have 3 to 6 inches of snow this weekend, we will need to access if we can have school on Monday.  I will review the roof and snow load late in the day on Sunday, and notify Gonic Parents via Honeywell.

We will have the Tuesday Holiday Concert, regardless of any school cancellation.

I should have more information about Child Care on this blog later this evening.

December 8, 2017

Dear Gonic Parents and Guardians,

I want to provide you with some information that will create changes for your students at Gonic School.  We have identified a structural issue in the roof system of the newer section of Gonic School.  Unfortunately, this means that we need to replace the roof and structure under the roof as soon as possible.  The structural engineers are concerned about snow load, and they want to start work within the next few weeks.

As a result, we need to move out of the new section of the building including the cafeteria and kitchen for the rest of this month and continuing for the Third and Fourth Quarters this school year. This will affect students in grades 3-5.  We believe at this time that the kindergarten classroom can remain in place, and grades 1-2 can move to the old section can remain in place, as the construction will not affect the old wing.

The trusses that support the roof structure are damaged beyond repair due to some buildings in the 1970s to early 1990s often used a fire retardant chemical that was later found to degrade the wood in high heat or moisture areas (like attics).  We had been reviewing this issue at the Career Tech Center and the Rochester Middle School. Those schools are not an emergency situations, but Gonic School’s supports are in an emergency state.  We are currently working on how to complete this emergency construction work, the cost of it and other logistics.  The State has an emergency fund for infrastructure that we will apply for immediately, which could offset as much as 80 percent of the cost.

We have developed a plan in the last 48 hours to move Grades 3, 4 and 5 students to classrooms at the Rochester Middle School for the remainder of the school year.  Grades K to 2 would occupy the older section of Gonic School.  We would use D wing at the Middle School, see attached diagram, and the students would be separate from the middle school students.  Please understand that this may change if we get further information from the engineers or have better options space.

Busses and parent drop off would be at the front door of D-wing.  Students will remain on the same busses they currently ride, with no changes in pickup or drop off.  We will maintain the same elementary schedule.  We will serve lunch at RMS for Gonic students, and deliver lunch to Gonic School.  The Gonic students at RMS will have access to the facilities at RMS, but kept separate from Middle School students as much as possible.

We have scheduled an information session for parents for Wednesday, December 13 at 6 p.m. at the McClelland School cafeteria.

We also need to close school for all Gonic students on Wednesday December 13, 14, and 15.  This will allow the classrooms to move into the older wing, and to RMS.  If we happen to get a heavy snow this weekend, we may need to move the closing up to Monday, for safety concerns.  That information will come via a Honeywell Alert. The engineers believe at this time, the building is not in immediate danger, but could be with any snow load.

I know this is a difficult time of year to hear this information and to try digest it.  We don’t know all of the answers yet, but we are working on questions that have come and how we can address any concerns.  We are assured that this work will be done in time for the school to re-open next fall.

 

Sincerely,

Michael L. Hopkins

Superintendent

 

Attention Michael Hopkins,

For Immediate Release:  LOCAL SCHOOL NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN 2017

For more information
About the National Title I Association: Marcus Cheeks, Deputy COO, marcus.cheeks@titlei.org, www.titlei.org

About the school: Dr. Erin Mahoney, 603-332-6486, mahoney.e@rochesterschools.com

December 6th, 2017: The National Title I Association is pleased to announce that Nancy Loud School from East Rochester, New Hampshire has been named a National Title I Distinguished School by the state education agency in New Hampshire. Nancy Loud School is one of up to 100 schools throughout the country that is being nationally recognized for exceptional student achievement in 2017.

A project of the National Title I Association, the National Title I Distinguished Schools Program publicly recognizes qualifying Title I schools for the outstanding academic achievements of their students.  It highlights the efforts of schools across the country making significant improvements for their students. The program has been in place since 1996, showcasing the success of hundreds of schools in one of three categories:

• Category 1: Exceptional student performance for two consecutive years
• Category 2: Closing the achievement gap between student groups
• Category 3: Excellence in serving special populations of students

Title I is the cornerstone of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It is the largest federally funded pre-college education program in the United States and provides funding to school districts across the country to aid in the education of economically disadvantaged students.

The National Title I Association is a membership organization made up of the Title I Directors from each of the states and territories, who are charged with managing their state Title I program to ensure compliance with federal regulations and to ensure that all children – especially those living in economically disadvantaged conditions – have the opportunity to receive a high quality education.

The National Title I Association implemented the National Title I Distinguished Schools Program to highlight selected schools that have successfully used their Title I federal funds to improve the education for economically disadvantaged students. More information about all National Title I Distinguished Schools is available on the National Title I Association website: www.titlei.org.