Dear HPS Parents and Guardians,
This is Mr. Wacha, the Principal of the Haledon Public School. As I am sure you have heard, we will be closing our building for students starting on Monday, March 16th until further notice.
This is undoubtedly sad news, however it is believed that this decision is ultimately in the best interest of the safety of our students and their families. With that said, we are certainly empathetic to the child care impact that this will have on all of our HPS families. There are a few important points that I need to bring to your attention regarding our contingency protocols during this time.
It is important to know that students may enter the small gym from 9:00-10:00 A.M. to receive breakfast and from 12:00-1:00 P.M. to receive lunch. The students will enter the small gym across from the main entrance, will receive their meal, and will exit the small gym near the playground exit. Based on surveys provided by parents we have made 225 meals available to those students that indicated that they needed food. If the break extends and more students need to be added to the list they can simply e-mail Mr. Wacha and I will see to it that the student is included for future meals.
This evening we will open a Contingency Lesson Plan section on our website. Students will be able to access three days’ worth of online lessons for all subjects and grade levels. During normal school hours on Monday-Friday our staff will be adding content and lesson materials onto this section of our website so that your child will receive satellite instruction for as long as our hiatus lasts. Our teachers have been instructed to be available via e-mail between 8:00 A.M.- 3:00 P.M. to respond to questions and comments from students and parents. HPS staff will likely be receiving inquiries from several students, however we will make every effort to reply to your requests between normal school hours in a reasonable time. If you need to identify the e-mail address of a staff member this can be easily located under the Faculty Directory tab on our website.
We are aware that not all students are able to access online materials. We have distributed three days’ worth of printed lesson material to all students that indicated that they did not possess a computer or internet access. If a student was not able to receive that today, we will have a section in our small gym that hosts extra copies of all content for every grade. Students may come between 9-10 A.M. or between 12-1 P.M. during the week to procure those documents. Additionally, we will continue to print out copies of materials for students that need it as the break prolongs.
There are many different activities and events that were scheduled at HPS that are set to take place within the next few weeks. All activities will be canceled for the remainder of the month. We will continue to monitor the situation to see if April, May, or June activities will need to be canceled or postponed.
Our building will be partially open for certain staff members during this hiatus. Beginning on Tuesday we will be operating with a skeleton crew of administrators, secretaries, custodians, and technology specialists. The only part of the building that will be accessible to students and parents will be the small gym. This area will only be accessible from 9:00-10:00 A.M.
It is very important that communication lines be utilized effectively during this unique time. We encourage you to e-mail teachers and administrators should you need to receive specific information. We ask that you also periodically check our website and our Facebook page for information. Additionally, we will be utilizing our robo-call service to communicate important messages.
Lastly, we are aware that many parents have already made prepayments for after-care services. Mr. Territo is currently addressing this and will be reaching out to parents that have made prepayments next week to discuss the options we have available.
Again, we understand that this is a very new experience for everyone. It will be very strange to see the hallways and classrooms empty. We are hopeful that this hiatus ends soon and we will miss spending time with your sons and daughters.
Go Wildcats
Christopher A. Wacha
Principal
Haledon Public School
91 Henry Street
Haledon, NJ 07508
973.790.9000
www.facebook.com/HaledonPublic