May 2, 2020
Dear North Royalton City Schools’ Community,
Our work continues to provide lessons and activities to allow for student learning in the midst of this health crisis. With the Governor starting to ease restrictions in our state, we still continue to be under a stay at home order and not allowed to have mass gatherings of more than 10 people.
For schools, especially this time of year, this is tremendous hardship for us. Concerts, promotions, award ceremonies, dances and especially our traditional commencement activities need to be cancelled or altered in order to comply with the guidelines. I understand and appreciate the tremendous responsibility that the Governor has in making these orders and as we continue to make our plans we will abide by the rules and regulations set forth. Please know that there is a lot of conversation and planning going on behind the scenes in attempts to make these end of the year rights of passage as meaningful as possible within the constraints we are under. As we finalize plans, they will be communicated out to students, parents and the community.
This coming week we celebrate
Staff Appreciation Week
. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff members for "inspiring great" in our students. I know that our staff members wish nothing more than to be back in the buildings, buses, fields and on the stage with the children. I ask that during this coming week, please take a moment to reach out to your child’s teacher or bus driver or other staff member and thank them for what they do.
In addition to staff appreciation week, there are a couple of other groups of our staff I want to recognize. Friday, May 1, was
School Lunch Hero Day
! School Lunch Hero Day is an opportunity for us to showcase the hard work of our food service staff and the difference they make for every child who comes through the cafeteria.
Even now, as schools are shut down, our crew is preparing breakfast and lunches to feed our families. Every Monday and Thursday, 80 children on average are receiving enough food for breakfast and lunch to sustain them during the week.
Also, Monday, May 4, is
School Bus Driver Appreciation Day!
Our bus drivers have a tremendous responsibility to carry such precious cargo and to make sure they get the children to and from school safely. We are blessed to have a great crew of drivers, mechanics and supervisors that work together to get this important job done. Thank you to the food service workers, our bus drivers and all our staff members for all you do to make our District great!
I wanted to take a moment to update you on some items as we move forward into May and hopefully warmer weather!
Celebrating the NRHS Class of 2020:
The Ohio Department of Education, as well as Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health have outlined this week more specifically what is permitted for high school commencements. After meetings with our senior student officers, parents, teachers and administration, we all agree that we need to find a way to both recognize and celebrate our North Royalton High School Class of 2020. Although the recognition and celebration may occur at different moments in time, we are committed to do just that. Our original commencement date was set for Friday, May 29. In order to maintain as much normalcy as possible and to allow our graduates the opportunity to receive their actual diploma and commence from North Royalton High School, we have developed a plan to allow our students to commence during the week of May 26 - 30. Our graduates, dressed in their caps and gowns, will have the opportunity to participate in a structured and controlled in-person ceremony. They will be able to walk across the stage of our Performing Arts Center in the presence of their immediate family** to be recognized for their accomplishments, receive their diploma, turn their tassel with pride, and take a professional picture, all while being professionally videotaped. After all students have commenced, a first-class, professionally produced movie will be debuted in June for not only the Class of 2020 to watch, but our entire North Royalton and Broadview Heights community. More details will be communicated soon to seniors and their families about the process and signing up for a personalized commencement appointment.
**Due to Ohio Department of Health regulations, no more than 10 people will be permitted in the PAC, which also includes the administration and videographers.
Once again this year, the North Royalton Education Association and the administration will be providing each senior a yard sign celebrating their graduation. Stay tuned for more information regarding this.
In addition, as we know our students would like to celebrate as a class, when it is safe and in the best interest of the health of everyone involved, the District hopes to plan an event, hopefully in our stadium, in conjunction with our students and parents.
Elementary and Middle School Material Pick Up:
Our staff spent this past week getting materials bagged up to allow for quick pick up in the buildings. Your principal has sent out a schedule and processes to follow to make this as safe as possible. I ask that you be patient and follow the guidelines of the state by practicing social distancing and wearing masks. This is for your protection, and our staff members' protection. Additionally, we need this to go as quickly as possible to allow for people to get in and out of the buildings safely so only one parent is asked to accompany his/her child into the building. There will be no time to take pictures or to stop and look around the classrooms, which will be locked.
Parent Survey:
As we near the end of the 2019-20 school year, we want to take a moment and ask for your thoughts and input as to your child's learning activities since schools were closed in March. This data will give us valuable information as we look to not only close out this school year, but work to have plans in place for the beginning of the 2020-21 school year. I know that no matter what might come our way, the North Royalton City Schools' community will stick together and work to inspire and empower the learners in all of us.
We ask that you take a moment and complete the below survey for your child's grade by 11:59 PM, Monday, May 4, 2020. If you have children at different buildings, please complete one survey for each building your children are attending. The survey is short and should not take longer than five minutes to complete.
PK, All Day K and Athletic Fees:
With the closure of schools announced for the remainder of the year, we are in the process of providing reimbursement for some fees that were paid. Fourth quarter payments for our preschool program will not be collected. If payments were made, they will either be reimbursed or, if your check was not deposited, it will be returned to you. For those with children in our all-day, every-day kindergarten program, we will be reimbursing an amount equal to what the tuition would be from April 1 to the end of the school year. In addition, for those middle school and high school student-athletes who ONLY paid a participation fee for spring sports this year, that fee will be reimbursed. Both the kindergarten fee and the athletic fee reimbursements will be processed in the coming week and mailed directly to you. One more thing for our seniors...if you have a balance in your food service account, please email our Food Service Director Mary Ellen Feigi for reimbursement. You can reach her at
maryellen.feigi@northroyaltonsd.org
.
Food Services:
We will continue to offer bagged meals for families affected by the closure on Mondays and Thursdays through the end of May. On Monday, three meals will be provided and on Thursday two meals will be provided. This will help both our staff and families to not leave their homes as often. Parents who are interested in receiving meals should complete this
electronic form
or call 440-582-9041 for each child by 5 p.m. the day before the meal is requested. I want to once again thank our food service and custodial/maintenance staff for their efforts.
North Royalton Educational Foundation:
The North Royalton Educational Foundation (NREF) is a group of volunteers who give of their time to help make our District a better place.
The NREF was established in 1986 to enrich educational opportunities for students and teachers. The Foundation helps fund District programs that recognize academic excellence, provides Teacher of the Year, Support Staff of the Year, and Friend of Education awards, and sponsors yearly Educational Foundation college scholarships to graduating seniors. The Educational Foundation also serves as a vehicle for individuals and families to set up special memorial scholarships. Each year at this time, the NREF hosts an annual reception to honor these various groups and to raise money to provide scholarships to our seniors to help them with their college, career or military futures. With the current stay at home orders, the NREF is unable to hold their reception. However, we ask that if you are able, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to the foundation to allow us to continue to help the senior class of 2020. If you are interested in helping out,
click here
. Thank you for your consideration and assistance.
Your continued support of our School District is appreciated. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Greg Gurka
Superintendent
North Royalton City Schools
