White Mountains Regional

WMRSD Leaders and Learners – Your Community Connection
White Mountains Regional School District

Whitefield, NH:

At Whitefield Elementary School

Remote instruction and the 2019-2020 school year comes to a close on Friday the 5th. I doubt anyone could have predicted the sequence of events that led to this point and I hope we never revisit it again. Along the way, some valued events and traditions have had to be adapted and sacrificed. There have been no shortage of tears and frustrations. As is typical of this community however, people stepped up. Throughout, parents, educators, and community members worked together to meet the needs of students and keep them safe as best they could. District Food Service and support staff prepared and delivered meals. Food bags were prepared and delivered by community organizations. Folks checked in on the physical and emotional wellness of students and families. WMRSD IT, a small local ISP, and community civic organizations worked to get all students and families reliably connected. Town and school officials supported efforts with manpower and guidance when it was needed. School staff and families worked together to connect students to remote morning meetings and advisories, work on assignments, laugh, and cry when things went sideways. It took many, many hands, creative minds, patience, communication, and flexibility to keep the ball rolling. It hasn't been easy and it is far from perfect, but this a community can be proud of their efforts.  Whitefield School thanks families and community members for their unwavering support of students and staff. Stay healthy and WES hopes to see everyone soon. 

Pirate Proud, Pirate Strong.

At Lancaster Elementary School

This week at Lancaster School, they wanted to take a moment and highlight the WMRSD commitment to feeding students through this global pandemic. Every school day since March 23rd, the WMRSD Food Service team has been busy starting early in the morning preparing nutritious and hearty breakfasts and lunches for over 400 students on a daily basis. The excellent food service team works efficiently and has a focus on providing quality and quantity. After the food is prepared, sacked in individual bags, and loaded into coolers, WMRSD has a number of staff members that support loading the buses and delivering food to families throughout the district. LES also wants to say thank you to all of the bus drivers who provide safe and effective delivery of the food sacks to all of the families. Thank you to all of the employees who are part of this food program!

At White Mountains Regional High School

Remote Learning has presented a plethora of challenges for students and instructors, but it also provided a space for some opportunities, which under traditional learning, might have not been explored.

Students respond well to practices established within their classroom settings, feeling safe and in control. Those taking Spanish 2 classes this year have been introduced to daily “warm-up” routines, such as Leer Lunes (Reading Mondays), or Musica Miercoles (Musical Wednesdays), used to stimulate and activate students’ brain cells to get ready for practicing language skills, as well as enhancing their overall cultural learning experience.

The Friday warm-up routine has always been Bailar Viernes (Dancing Friday) in Profe Macakova’s Spanish classes, providing students with the opportunity to experience Hispanic culture first hand by learning to dance the bachata and merengue. In an effort to make the transition from traditional to remote learning as smooth as possible, Profe created remote challenges around the daily routines, one of which was the “Stay Home Dance Challenge”, based on a song written in support of practicing social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. For an extra credit assignment, students came up with their own dance routine to this song and made a short video clip of themselves dancing. The Spanish 2 class video is available on WMRHS YouTube channel for those who are interested.

These types of activities helped students feel connected within their virtual classroom, as well as foster empathy and solidarity towards those who are in a similar situation during covid-19 pandemic.

May 28, 2020

Good Afternoon, WMRSD Families!

I am reaching out to families that are receiving meals through our school meals program.  Now that the weather has turned quite warm; we are concerned about meals that are not picked up promptly at the drop off locations. 

Please either pick up your meals when the bus arrives, or leave a cooler (with ice or ice packs) at the site with your name on it!  This reduces the risk of food poisoning or other illnesses. 

The meals will continue to be delivered through June 19th.  We will send out logistics for our Summer Feed Program at a later date!

The last day for remote instruction is June 5th.  Teachers have been reaching out to families regarding remote summer instruction. If you are interested and have not yet talked with your child's teacher, please reach out!  Summer sessions will begin July 7th. 

FYI - The principals will be sending out information about the 12th and 8th grade graduation logistics soon!

Please let me know if you have any questions! 

Be well! 

Marion