Every year GOOD Morning Wilton publishes a Back to School guide with the typical information for the start of the academic year. But there’s nothing typical about 2020.
Families have been sent school-specific materials for their students, but we’ve tried to collect the essential information for the entire district all in one place. We’ve got phone numbers, dates, and as much information as possible that we hope you’ll keep this page bookmarked for easy reference.
We’ll continue to update this article as needed–and welcome any suggestions or additional information we may have overlooked. [Readers can always contact GMW by email.]
Wilton Public Schools Learning Plan as filed with the CSDE
Revised 2020-2021 School Year Calendar (Approved 07/23/2020)
Contacting Wilton Public School staff members: Reached any staff member by email using the following format: last name then first initial @wiltonps.org
Student Hours
Regular School Day
SCHOOL START DISMISSAL Cider Mill 7:40 a.m. 2:10 p.m. Middlebrook 8:20 a.m. 2:50 p.m. Wilton High School 8:20 a.m. 2:50 p.m. Miller-Driscoll 9:05 a.m. 3:35 p.m.
Shortened Days/Early Release
SCHOOL START DISMISSAL Cider Mill 7:40 a.m. 11:55 a.m. Middlebrook 8:20 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Wilton High School 8:20 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Miller-Driscoll 9:05 a.m. 1:15 p.m.
Delayed Opening Times
SCHOOL 1-Hour Delay 2-Hour
delay3-Hour Delay CM 8:40 a.m. 9:40 a.m. 10:40 a.m. MB 9:20 a.m. 10:20 a.m. 11:20 a.m. WHS 9:20 a.m. 10:20 a.m. 11:20 a.m. MD 10:05 am 11:05 a.m. 12:05 p.m.
Early Dismissal (unplanned, weather)
SCHOOL START DISMISSAL Cider Mill 7:40 a.m. 11:30 a.m. Middlebrook 8:20 a.m. 10:30 p.m. Wilton High School 8:20 a.m. 10:30 p.m. Miller-Driscoll 9:05 a.m. 12:30 p.m.
Calendar
Monday, Aug. 31 First Day of School, Day A
Mon-Fri, Aug 31-Sept. 4 Remote Learning, Shortened days
Monday, Sept. 7 School Closed–Labor Day
Tuesday, Sept. 8 Hybrid Learning Begins
Wednesday, Sept. 9 Middlebrook Grade 6 Open House
Thursday, Sept. 10 Board of Education Meeting
Monday, Sept. 14 Middlebrook Grade 7 Open House
Tuesday, Sept. 15 Cider Mill Open House
Wednesday, Sept. 16 Middlebrook Grade 8 Open House
Thursday, Sept. 17 Wilton High School Open House
Tuesday, Sept. 22 Miller-Driscoll Open House
Thursday, Sept. 24 Board of Education Meeting
Monday, Sept. 28 School Closed – Yom Kippur
September & October School Closures
Sept. 7 Labor Day–No School, District Offices Closed
Sept. 9 Early Release–Professional Learning
Sept. 28 Yom Kippur–No School, District Offices Closed
Oct. 12 Columbus Day–No School, District Offices Closed
Transportation
For questions about a child’s bus route email the transportation liaison or call 203.762.3381, ext. 8295.
If a child’s ridership changes at any point in the year, email transportation liaison Fran Williams. Families who initially drive their children to school but later request to have their children ride the bus may be asked to wait up to one week to make this adjustment. Emergency situations will be prioritized, and we will do our best to make changes as quickly as possible.
All buses will run according to their normal routes. Bus assignments will be viewable in each family’s PowerSchool account
Students may NOT ride buses to play dates or the homes of other children. Students may not change buses. Students will be expected to ride the same bus to school in the morning and the same bus home in the afternoon every day. Face coverings or masks should be in place prior to entering the bus. Parents are strongly encouraged to drive their children to and from school each day.
To start the school year, students will not be allowed to ride an alternate bus to a special activity after school with the exception of buses that transport to childcare facilities and religious organizations holding religious education. (For example, students WILL be allowed to ride to Comstock, the YMCA childcare program, Bright Horizons, and Create Learning. Students will NOT be allowed to ride the bus to the YMCA gymnastics program.) This model will be revisited after several weeks to determine whether transportation to other activities can be phased in.
Bus transportation information is now available via the PowerSchool Parent Portal. The Parent Portal contains information on a student’s bus route, pick-up location, and morning pick-up time.
Lunch–Chartwells
Chartwells, the Wilton district’s food service provider, says it has worked with school officials “to determine what plans will fit best with each school and the instructional activities. For Wilton Public Schools, this means classroom delivery for grades K-5 and the use of temporary kiosks/cafeteria setup in grades 6-12.” According to a letter from Brian Reynolds, the Chartwells culinary director, published on the Wilton Public Schools website, those plans include:
- Miller Driscoll & Cider Mill School: Classroom Delivery–Instead of having students visit the cafeteria, meals will be delivered directly to their classrooms.
- Middlebrook & High School: A combination of Cafeteria and Hallway/Common Area Kiosks–By setting up carts or stations in hallways and common areas, students will be able to pick up their meals safely and return to their designated areas for eating. Some students will still have the opportunity to visit the cafeteria to pick up their meals, however, they will enter and be released in appropriate waves to ensure proper social distancing.
- ALL schools will use digital ordering through Nutrislice.
- Payment options will be either through MySchoolBucks.com, mailing a check (made payable to Wilton School Lunch Program) to Middlebrook School c/o cafeteria, or cash with a student. Chartwells will not be able to make change for money received in person.
- Students will not be touching any pin pads for the beginning of the year.
How to create a Nutrislice account
How to Navigate Nutrislice and order lunch
The link to lunch menus for all four schools can be found online.
To contact Chartwells culinary director Brian Reynolds, call 203.834.4990, ext. 5221, or email.
To see balances or add money to student lunch accounts, visit My School Bucks online.
Download Chartwells’ Nutrislice app on the app store for on-the-go information about Wilton’s food service.
PTA
Join the PTA and gain access to the Mobile Directory.
UPDATE: The PTA Directory is not yet ‘live.’ The PTAs are not accepting registrations yet, and when it will be live is still TBD. When it is live, families can register online–use the code ‘wilton’–and get instant access. Register for all four schools’ PTAs at the same time. Also, download the MobileArq Ap from the App store.
SEPTA
Visit the SEPTA website or get in touch via email to find out how to get involved.
UPDATE: WEARING MASKS–POLICY
UPDATE, Sept. 7–The WPS Board of Education recently approved revisions to Policy 6114.82 Concerning Health and Safety Protocols Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic C19. In this policy/regulation there is specific language about the types of masks students and staff should wear in the school: “Current CT DPH guidance and recommendations suggest that the following (as of August 31st, 2020) face coverings are most appropriate: KN95 masks, surgical masks, and cloth masks. The CT DPH does NOT recommend for use in schools N95 respirators, neck gaiters, bandanas, or exhalation valve masks.” Students must follow these regulations and not wear N95 respirators, neck gaiters, bandanas, or exhalation valve masks. The district also recommends that students bring an extra mask to school each day as a reserve and requires that masks are not shared. In the event that a student forgets to bring a mask or needs a replacement, extra masks will be made available by school administrators or teachers.
UPDATE: WATER BOTTLE FILLING STATIONS OPEN
On Sept. 4 the Wilton Health Director approved usage of the water bottle filling stations located in schools. Students are now permitted to bring water bottles that they can refill throughout the day.
SCHOOLOGY HELP
See the Wilton Public School Schoology Presentation
Wilton Public Schools Schoology & General Tech Support webpage
Contact the Virtual Help Desk with questions or issues related to logging into Google accounts, hardware (devices), WiFi, or Zoom?
Virtual Help Desk hours: Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. through the end of September.
To get the access codes that were sent via snail mail, contact your child’s school office.
- Miller-Driscoll (203)762-8678
- Cider Mill (203) 762-3351
- Middlebrook (203) 762-8388
- Wilton High School (203) 762-0381
For additional assistance with Schoology:
- Parent Question Form
- WPS Parent Schoology Support Page
Tutorials and Instructions for Logging into a School-issued Device and Schoology:
K-8 Logging into Chromebooks (K-8 only)
Tutorial on signing into WPS Chromebooks
Tutorial on signing into school-issued Chromebooks using QR codes
Logging into Schoology
Students can log into their account by following these steps:
- In the browser, navigate to the Wilton Schoology domain
- Students will use their Google credentials (username and password) as their username/password.
- Select SSO Login to automatically log-in using your Google account.
Tutorial for First-time Login to Schoology for Students
Schoology 101 for Miller Driscoll Students
To register for and access a parent Schoology account?
Access codes were sent via snail mail. If you do not have the Access Code, call your child’s school office. Use the access code provided to register for a parent account.
Tutorial on how to register for a Parent Account
To find a student’s Pin #?
- Go to the Powerschool Parent Portal
- Click the FORMS button on the left and you will see both the username and the 6 digit number needed for your child either to log into the school-issued Chromebook or their Google Suite account/Schoology
WILTON HIGH SCHOOL
Wilton High School Blended Learning Model Plan
Main office: 203.762.0381
Attendance office: 203.834.4805
Wilton High School website
Wilton High School PTSA website
Wilton High School Parent Community on Facebook
Sample (Blank) Hybrid Schedules
Personalized Learning Day Schedule
All remote learning days end at 12:30 p.m. next week
- Monday
- Advisory: 8:20-9:50 a.m.
- 35 minute periods
- Tuesday-Friday
- 59 minute periods (with one 58 minute period)
- Friday Day A schedule makes up for the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 7; Tuesday, Sept. 8 picks up with Day D
WHS Virtual Open House: Thursday, Sept. 17
Buses/Student Drop Off: As the district anticipates increased numbers of parents choosing to drop off students in the morning, parents should drop students off in the South parking lot to allow for a longer column of cars and prevent extensive traffic overflow onto Route 7. view a drop-off diagram online.
Underclassman Student Photos
Photo day for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors is scheduled for the third week of school (Sept. 14-18). Coffee Pond Photography has provided information regarding updated COVID-19 protocols and changes to the photographer station that have been implemented to maintain safe social distancing.
Given the current hybrid model, photographers will be at the school on two separate days. The scheduled dates are:
Monday, Sept. 14: Cohort A (A-Le)
Thursday, Sept. 17: Cohort B (Li-Z)
The photographers will remain onsite both days after school hours for students who are opting for full-time remote learning. Photos for remote students will begin at 3:15 p.m. Remote learning students should attend the after school session on the same day as their alphabetic cohort.
MIDDLEBROOK
Middlebrook Blended Learning Model Plan
Attendance: 203-834-4963
Attendance Email
Middlebrook Website
Middlebrook team pages.
Middlebrook PTA website
Middlebrook School Parent Community on Facebook
Virtual Open Houses
- Wednesday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m.: 6th Grade Parents
- Monday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m.: 7th Grade Parents
- Wednesday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m.: 8th Grade Parents
Staggered Arrival and Dismissal Instructions: Out of a concern for the expected volume of cars bringing students to Middlebrook, school officials have created an alphabetically-based Staggered Parent Driver Arrival and Dismissal schedule.
- Cohort A (Monday/Tuesday)
- Arrival Times
- 7:55-8:02 a.m. A-C
- 8:02-8:09 a.m. D-G
- 8:09-8:16 a.m. H-Le
- Dismissal Times
- 2:50-2:56 p.m. A-C
- 2:56-3:02 p.m. D-G
- 3:02-3:08 p.m. H-Le
- Arrival Times
- Cohort B (Thursday/Friday)
- Arrival Times
- 7:55-8:02 a.m. Li-P
- 8:02-8:09 a.m. Q-S
- 8:09-8:16 a.m. T-Z
- Dismissal Times
- 2:50-2:56 p.m. Li- P
- 2:56-3:02 p.m. Q-S
- 3:02-3:08 p.m. T-Z
- Arrival Times
CIDER MILL
Cider Mill Blended Learning Model Plan
Main School Number: 203.762.3351
Absence Line: 203.834.4950
Cider Mill School website
Cider Mill School Parent Community on Facebook
Cider Mill PTA Website
Cider Mill Calendar
Cider Mill Virtual Open House: Tuesday, Sept. 15, 6-7 p.m.
Miller Driscoll
Main Office/Attendance Line: (203)762-8678
Miller-Driscoll School website
Miller-Driscoll School PTA website
Miller-Driscoll School Parent Community on Facebook
Miller-Driscoll School calendar
Bus Transportation: All kindergarteners must be accompanied by an adult at the bus stop in the morning and must be met by an adult in the afternoon throughout the year.
Miller Driscoll Virtual Open Houses (all 7:15-8 p.m.)
- Wednesday, Sept. 9: PreK and Kindergarten
- Tuesday, Sept. 15: Grades 1 and 2
GENESIS
Genesis Blended Learning Model Plan
Genesis Daily Time Schedule 2020
- Monday: Live instruction 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
- Tuesday: Live instruction 8 a.m.-2 pm
- Wednesday: Distance Remote Learning Half Day 8-11:30 a.m.
- Thursday: Live instruction 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
- Friday: Live instruction 8-11:30 a.m.
Editor’s note: The article was updated with information about the PTA website.