April 14, 2021 | Peter Currier peter@thewestfieldnews group.com

Powder Mill School Principal Erin Carrier and Southwick Police Officer Kyle Sanders use the silent dismissal system during student pickup. Reminder Publishing photo by Hope E. Tremblay

SOUTHWICK – Powder Mill School has completed one week of full in-person learning after most students in Kindergarten through sixth grade returned from remote or hybrid learning starting April 5. Powder Mill Principal Erin Carrier said that the week went “wonderfully” even though some last minute changes had to be made over the weekend. Four classes had to be moved to new classrooms and another classroom had to be added to accommodate all returning students while complying with school COVID-19 guidelines. “We had to change a lot over the weekend,” said Carrier. “But the kids are back, they’re having fun, and they’re learning.” The return to five-day in-person learning is a point of anxiety for many. Local school districts have been waiting for fuller classrooms for more than a year, after schools closed last March in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Carrier said that the first week went well, even with the factors that they were most concerned about coming into April 5. “I feel like things went better than expected,” said Carrier. “We were worried about drop off and pickup with the number of families and their children.” Students are now dropped off and picked up at the auditorium door, which faces Feeding Hills Road, rather than at the front door, which faces Powder Mill Road. Carrier said that after April 5, Powder Mill School received five additional requests from students to return to full time in-person learning. “We are still accommodating families. We are still changing for families and welcoming kids back,” said Carrier. April 5 was the deadline set by Gov. Charlie D. Baker’s administration for school districts to bring K-6 students back into full time in-person learning. April 26 is the deadline for districts to bring grades 7-12 back full time. At Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District (STGRSD), students up to grade four have been in-person five days per week all year, with the exception of temporary shutdowns and students who chose full time remote learning. In a letter to families from Superintendent Jennifer Willard that was posted to the STGRSD website, students in grades 5-12 were reminded to bring their school-issued devices with them to school each day.