The weather is changing rapidly as we head into the colder months. With the colder weather and the return of students who were learning from home, the pick-up at the end of the day will become more congested. Please review the attached diagram to refresh your memory or become acquainted with the procedure. Please bear in mind that your signs are important and that I have to read them through foggy glasses! I am working to learn cars, however, that is not my strong suit. If I can read your sign from a distance, I can call your children out sooner.
Here are some guidelines:
1. Drive slowly; you are in a parking lot with other cars, children, and faculty.
2. Enter only through Coventry and exit through Stillman. Do not enter through Stillman. See the map at the end of the newsletter---
3. Arrive on time. I begin calling at roughly 2:20 once the busses leave. The entire process has been taking 10 minutes, ending at 2:30. If you are more than 15 minutes late and we have not heard from you, we will be sending your child to after care.
4. Do not cut in line. Take the long way through the parking lot in front of the church as shown in the diagram. We do not have enough cones to create the entire path through the parking lot.
5. Please stay alert and watch for my signal for you to pull up.
6. THANK YOU to the many parents who are already doing all of these things!
There is a faculty meeting today to finalize the list of students that we will be able to accommodate to return to in-person learning. As a rule of thumb, the classrooms on the first and second floors can hold up to twenty students and provide a five-foot distance between them. The basement classrooms can hold slightly more students because they have a higher square footage. You will be receiving notice shortly as to whether there is room for your child. Please follow the guidelines in the letter for preparation. If we did not have enough space, you can re-apply at the end of second quarter; hopefully the distance restrictions will be less. Lastly, if you did not respond to the survey, we are assuming you do not wish your child to return to the building.
Parents, I appreciate that you are keeping your children home this year, when you would have typically sent them last year, with a case of the sniffles. In a prior letter, I stated that the beauty of this system is that your child can check in from home if they are well enough to listen in on the classes. I also mentioned that they may not have their materials with them and that is okay. Please do not ask your teacher to gather workbooks and other materials unless you will be keeping your student out for the week. Between checking temperatures starting at 7:30 am, teaching, preparation, camera setup, meetings, lunch/recess duty, etc., the teachers generally do not have time to gather materials at a moment’s notice. If you inform them you will be out for the week, they will have time to collect materials over the course of the day and put them in the office to be picked up at the end of the day. I am proud of how much my teachers are able to accomplish in the day juggling the in-person and distance learning experience! Please remember, if your child is ill, they can just be absent for the day and can make up the work when they return. There are no longer awards for perfect attendance.
I know this is a long letter, but there is one more reminder. The CDC has changed what they are deeming ‘contact’ putting a much shorter time frame on exposure. As the holidays approach, I am asking that you remain cautious and follow guidelines for masks and handwashing if you are traveling or gathering with people outside your normal ‘bubble’. We can only keep the school open if all families do their part to minimize exposure. So far, we have been successful at mitigating the virus in our building – help me to continue to keep your children, the faculty, and staff healthy. Our safety precautions will continue as long as necessary to keep the faculty and students safe.
Let us continue to pray for each other and for peace in the world!
