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Platt Weekly Howler Newsletter Now Available

Stay up to date with what's happening at our school. View the latest communications on the Platt Weekly Howler News Website.

August 8, 2020

Dear Platt and CHOICE Families,

Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year!  I am excited to have you and your family in our Platt community!  I hope you have been enjoying the summer as much as could be possible during this time. I know we are all under a great deal of stress, a lot of it in anticipation with how schools will open in a few weeks. Information has been changing at such a fast pace that I haven’t sent an update until now, to avoid providing misinformation.

Yesterday, the BVSD Superintendent, Dr. Anderson, presented to the Board the plan to open schools on August 26 in Phase 1: Home Learning only. I understand that home learning was difficult for many of our families last year, but we will make several improvements and have more time to prepare to create a better home learning experience for all.

Now that we have this plan to move forward, you can expect to hear from me regularly about what this will look like for our Platt and CHOICE students. I will be working with our teachers on expectations and schedules.  We ask for your patience as we finalize our plans and get our systems and structures in place.  

Although this year will feel different and look different than years past, we are committed to grounding our work in our Mission, Vision, and Guiding Principles.  We believe this foundation reflects who we are as a community, what we believe about teaching and learning and what we want our students to embody as they enter high school. 

Platt Middle School and the CHOICE Program

Mission
Empower students to contribute positively to the world by providing diverse learning experiences, personal discovery and strong relationships.

Vision
Students believe in themselves, think critically and problem solve. With a sense of social justice, inclusion and advocacy, students value hard work, kindness and finding balance and joy in their lives.

Guiding Principles 
We believe in...

Respect:  When people feel safe, they thrive, so we will…

• honor the voices, boundaries and identities of all individuals. 
• foster an environment that is emotionally and physically safe for all individuals.

Relationships:  When people feel safe, they thrive, so we will…

• create collaborative relationships between students, staff, parents and the community.
• speak and listen with transparency, honesty and empathy. 

Relevance:  When people discover their purpose, they thrive, so we will…

• provide authentic, data driven, inquiry based learning that supports tenacity, academic growth and social emotional development.

While I am disappointed that I won’t be able to see your kids' faces in-person on the first day of school, I am committed to making this experience as best as possible for them and for you.  I am grateful for the opportunity to work in such an amazing community.  We will navigate through this together.

I hope that you enjoy the last three weeks of this summer and that you all stay safe and healthy.  I will send updates as soon as our plan is in place, please continue to check your email.

Please reach out to me with any questions and I will provide more information for you as soon as I can.

Respectfully,

Brooke Daerr
She/Her/Hers
Principal

Platt Middle School
6096 Baseline Road | Boulder, CO  80303
720-561-5536
brooke.daerr@bvsd.org | npm.bvsd.org

August 10, 2020

Dear Platt and CHOICE Families,

We know that many of our students and families are eagerly awaiting word regarding who will be their teachers this fall. We appreciate this excitement and are working to provide student schedules by Friday, August 21. 

While we are starting the school year on Wednesday, August 26 in Phase 1 – Home Learning, it was still important for us to sort students into cohorts (student groups) so that we are ready whenever we are able to transition to higher phases, hopefully beginning with Phase 2+ - Limited In-Person Learning some time this fall. Under our Back Together BVSD reintroduction plan and the latest guidance from the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, cohorts are required to ensure that we are able to quickly contact trace and quarantine students following a possible exposure to someone who has a probable or confirmed case of COVID-19.

Students will be assigned to Group A or Group B.  Siblings and students who live in the same household will be in the same cohort, plus there was accounting based on whether students were planning to attend in-person learning or had opted for remote learning through their home school. These cohorts will not impact students’ schedules while in Phase 1 of our Reintroduction Plan, lasting through at least September 22.

Now we, at the school level, are working to make class assignments using this information. Again, we will have this to everyone by August 21, 2020.

Additionally, we are continuing to work on our daily schedule.  I know you are eager to know what your students' day will look like in terms of time spent in each class and with teachers.  This information will also be provided by August 21, 2020.  

As always, please let us know if you have any questions. Again, we thank you for your patience and understanding.

Brooke Daerr
She/Her/Hers
Principal

Platt Middle School
6096 Baseline Road | Boulder, CO  80303
720-561-5536
brooke.daerr@bvsd.org | npm.bvsd.org