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(It’s a big one, but really important to read carefully.) |
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Dear Bel Aire Families,
We are preparing to transition to Phase 2 of RUSD's 5 Phase School Re-Entry Plan on October 5. This is exciting, as it means we can slowly begin to welcome students back onto our campus!
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Phase 2 is our most complicated phase with regard to schedules and safety protocols. It is also temporary.
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It is natural to feel frustrated by the inconveniences that will certainly accompany our new protocols, but I am asking the community to understand that a commitment to following our new practices is necessary in order to re-introduce in-person learning.
I understand that there is an overwhelming amount of information here, but I can't overstate the importance of taking some time to carefully review all the content below prior to your child(ren) returning to campus.
Our success, and our ability to keep schools open, requires a shared commitment to:
- understand that the protocols are required
- take some time to learn the new systems
- help our children understand that in-person school will look and feel very different - at least initially in Phase 2 - as we slowly build to a full return in Phase 5
- prepare ourselves for some temporary inconvenience,
- adhere to the new systems to the best of our ability,
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remember this is temporary, necessary, and intended to protect our health and safety
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Below are some broad, but important, preparatory tasks for families.
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Prepare for Temporary Inconvenience
I believe in being candid and prepared. In order to keep our community safe, and keep our classrooms open, we will be sharing many new practices and protocols that will probably feel complicated and cumbersome. Family cooperation in understanding, and agreeing to follow, these new requirements is critical. There are many practices that will feel inconvenient, but they are necessary and they are temporary.
We understand individual families may have reasonable and compelling reasons for requesting exceptions, but we will not be able to accommodate such requests. As circumstances allow, and we move through the 5 Phases, we will begin to lift inconvenient practices, and gradually return to a more "normal" school experience.
Stay Safe
In order to return to in-person learning as soon as possible, we need families to continue to practice social distancing and take other protective measures like frequent hand washing and wearing a face covering. As difficult as it is, we also ask families to limit social engagements that result in prolonged exposure with others. Family commitments to these recommended safety measures are imperative, as we build toward a full return to school and avoid a need to return to distance learning.
Prepare Your Child(ren)
Most children will be excited when they hear that they can return to school! We don't want to quell that enthusiasm, but we also don't want students arriving on campus without understanding some of what will be different. Please take time to educate yourself and your family about the many changes.
Educate Yourselves about the Changes
This will take some time, but it is critical that all families understand our new protocols and practices. I have updated the Phase 1 & 2 Parent Summary document that I've previously shared, and I recommend reviewing the contents as you prepare to send your child(ren) to campus. Because there are so many details, I will do my best to highlight items that are particularly timely and critical.
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Below are some of the more detailed preparatory tasks for families.
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★ TASK | REVIEW RUSD FAMILY HANDBOOK FOR COVID-19 HEALTH & SAFETY
You should have received a message from Actionaly this morning at 7:00 am with a copy of the the RUSD Family Handbook for COVID-19 Health & Safety. After reviewing the handbook, families are required to select a 'yes' or 'no' to indicate their understanding of, and agreement to follow the health and safety practices included.
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Students cannot come on campus until their parents have
submitted their agreement on Actionaly.
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★ TASK | DAILY PARENT MONITORING OF STUDENT HEALTH
Students must stay home if they have any symptoms of illness such as
- fever,
- chills,
- body/muscle aches,
- sore throat,
- runny nose,
- congestion (not related to allergies or air quality),
- unusual headache,
- loss of taste or smell,
- nausea,
- vomiting,
- diarrhea, and/or
- exposure to anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 14 days
★ TASK | DAILY PARENT VERIFICATION OF STUDENT HEALTH
Parents must complete a brief online Daily Health Check questionnaire (emailed via Actionaly) every morning, prior to bringing your child(ren) to school. Staff will conduct additional health screenings on campus, but students will not be allowed to enter a classroom until parents have submitted their daily health screening.
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Students cannot enter a classroom without parent submission of their daily health screening.
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★ TASK | UPDATE STUDENT HEALTH INFORMATION IN ALMA
Be sure that health information in Alma is current, and note any changes. If your child will require medication(s) at school, you must contact Nurse Farasati (sfarasati@reedschools.org) as soon as possible to make necessary arrangements.
★ TASK | UPDATE EMERGENCY CONTACT INFO
Families are required to provide at least three (3) emergency contacts of people available to pick up their child(ren) within 30 minutes.
★ SPLIT COHORTS
Each classroom cohort will be split in half, and teachers will be sharing this information with families on Monday, September 28. One half will attend a modified school day on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The other half will attend on Thursdays and Fridays. Students will participate in Distance Learning on Mondays and on their alternate at-home days. We have tried to coordinate in-person days for families with students across all three schools in the district.
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We cannot honor parent requests for split cohort placements.
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We understand families need to coordinate special circumstances like appointments, extra-curricular activities, professional commitments, learning pods, carpools, etc., but respectfully ask that you do not send emails requesting special cohort assignments, as they cannot be considered.
★ COHORT GROUPS
Each teacher has been assigned to one of three 'Cohort Groups' (named: SAFE, KIND, and FAIR). Each Cohort Group has a designated start, recess, and end time. We have tried very hard to align these times for families so that they only need to manage a single drop-off and pick-up times for siblings at the same school (and we have coordinated with Reed to make sure families with siblings across the two schools have different start and end times). Teachers will run a * 15 minute dismissal process to allow safe travel to the exit locations for students
Cohort Groups
★ SAFE • start: 8:00 | *end: 11:55 - 12:05
★ KIND • start: 8:30 | *end: 12:25 - 12:40
★ FAIR • start: 9:00 | *end: 12:55 - 1:10
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Teachers will communicate Cohort Group assignments on
Monday, September 28.
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★ STUDENT DROP-OFF & PICK-UP LOCATIONS
This is going to be a little extra complicated. Teachers will be communicating classroom-specific details soon, but please prepare to send your child(ren) to the school entry point designated for your child's grade level and classroom (Bel Aire Entry & Exit Map). We understand this will mean that families with more than one Bel Aire student may need to use more than one entry/exit location to get onto campus. We acknowledge this inconvenience, and appreciate your understanding.
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Parents cannot be in classrooms or escort their child on or off campus.
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This will be the case even on our first day of in-person learning. Please prepare yourselves and your child for this.
Entry/Exit Assignments
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3rd Grade & SDC | Bottom of the driveway on Karen Way
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4th Grade | Corte San Fernando Cul-de-sac
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5th Grade | Corte Palos Verde Cul-de-sac
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Once students arrive on campus, they will report to a designated screening area
where their teacher will be waiting.
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★ LIMIT VEHICLE TRAFFIC AT ENTRY/EXIT LOCATIONS
Please designate a location a block or two away from the entry/exit points to help with traffic and keep kids safe. Two of the entry/exit locations are in neighborhood cul-de-sacs that can't really accommodate car traffic.
We also want to encourage students to keep moving after leaving campus and not wait or gather in groups at the entry/exit points
★ LATE ARRIVALS
It is more critical than ever that families prepare for timely school arrivals and departures.
- Students will not be allowed on campus prior to their designated start time.
- Students who miss their designated arrival time in the morning will have to wait until 10:00am and report directly to the front office.
- Students will not be able to stay on campus after their designated end time.
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★ MASKS ARE REQUIRED
All staff and students are required to wear a face covering while on campus. Temporary removal for eating or drinking is permitted, but face coverings are required at all other times. Families may wish to provide their own face coverings, but we have a supply of reusable masks for all students.
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★ ISOLATION AREA
Students who do not pass the teacher-delivered Health Screening upon their entrance to campus, will be escorted to the Isolation Area.
If a student becomes ill at school, the nurse or designated Health Staff will be contacted and will meet the student outside the classroom and will escort the student to the Isolation Area.
Parents, or an Emergency Contact designee, will be contacted immediately, and are expected to pick up the student as soon as possible, but within 30 minutes.
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Families are required to provide at least three (3) emergency contacts of people available to pick up their child(ren) within 30 minutes.
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★ RESTRICTED PARENT ACCESS TO CAMPUS
As a reminder, parents cannot be in classrooms or escort their child on or off campus.
We encourage parents to conduct school-related business virtually as much as possible.
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For business that requires a parent to be on campus, we ask parents to restrict office visits to 10:30 AM to11:30 AM.
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★ STUDENT SNACKS & LUNCH
Students will have an opportunity to eat a snack during their in-person days at school.
Students will eat lunch at home, however parents may still order a lunch to-go from Choice Lunch. Choice Lunch entrees will be individually packaged with selected side items and delivered to the classrooms for students to carry home.
★ 9/28 TEACHER COMMUNICATION
Teachers are preparing a list of details to share with families on Monday, September 28. You can expect to receive the following details, specific to your child:
- Cohort Assignment Group ( w/ assigned start & end times)
- Split Cohort Assignments (w/ assigned in-person days)
- Assigned campus Entry/Exit Location
- Assigned location on campus for your child to report immediately upon entering campus
- Items to send with your child to school each day
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I know that was A LOT of information. I hope you can appreciate that these cumbersome complexities are intended to keep our campus safe and open. Our success relies on a shared understanding of the details and a commitment to do our best to adhere to them.
As we have come to learn, this is a dynamic situation, and we are prepared for both gradual shifts and swift pivots, in order to maintain a safe and healthy campus.
We appreciate your continued flexibility, understanding, and cooperation.
In partnership,
Lexie Cala
Principal
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ADDITIONAL UPDATES & REMINDERS |
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5TH GRADE BAND HAS STARTED!
Please contact Mr. Gist (jgist@reedschools.org), if you have a 5th grader interested in joining band this year.
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PARENT EVENT: GOOGLE CLASSROOM TRAINING FROM MCOE
MCOE is continuing to offer parent training events for Google Classroom. There are two new dates:
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TODAY: Wednesday, September 23 | 6:30PM
- TOMORROW: Thursday, September 24 | 5:00 & 6:30PM
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ADDITIONAL PARENT TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT
Below, are links to two great resources for parents.
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The PTA is a membership-based organization that combines the efforts of parents, teachers and administrators to enhance the school experience for our children. The PTA coordinates parent volunteers, supports student and community events, sells spirit wear, hosts staff appreciation coffees, and puts together the yearbook. This year, some of our events will look different, but we are committed to being creative and giving our best effort to support our Bel Aire Community. Membership is $30. This year, more than ever, we ask our parent community to support the PTA both as members and volunteers!
Bel Aire Parent Volunteer Opportunities:
Are you interested in being a Room Parent for your child’s classroom?
The Room Parent is a parent volunteer that serves as a link between the PTA, classroom parents, the teacher and the Foundation. Room Parents act as a liaison for the classroom with PTA and Foundation, assist with communications as needed, support other parents as a key contact and help recruit additional parent volunteers as needed over the course of the year. Please contact Allison Hart, PTA Site Chair by the end of the day on Friday, September 25, 2020.
Parent Volunteers for monitoring student morning entry to school - Once school resumes in hybrid, we will be looking for parent volunteers for 1/2 hour slots to monitor student line-ups in the morning. Come see the kids back on campus! If you'd be interested in learning more and receiving the sign-up for this volunteer opportunity, please email Laura Smith, PTA Volunteer Coordinator.
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Bel Aire Spirit Wear - Show your school spirit! Bel Aire sweatshirts, sweatpants and PJs are available to be ordered online.
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IN YOUR MAILBOX THIS WEEK!
Important information from the Foundation
Included… An FRS 20/21 CAR DECAL
We hope you will join the Foundation community
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