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Republic School District Families,
In response to the employee and patron surveys that were distributed at the end of July, the Republic School District will enter the 2020-21 school year in phase 1 of the RepMO Return to Learn plan. There were 2790 total responses and 70% of parents indicated a desire to start school in phase 1 along with 50% of our employees.
With the implemented health protocols outlined in the RepMO Return to Learn Phases Handbook, our goal is to remain in phase 1 as much as possible throughout the school year. However, it is possible that we will need to move to phase 2 or 3 depending on community spread, district absences and guidance from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department. There are various scenarios in which we could see phase movement. For example, it is possible that phases could vary among partial classrooms, full classrooms, single buildings or the entire district.
We will do our best to inform families as far in advance as possible of an upcoming phase change. However, we high recommend families come up with a back up childcare plan that can be quickly implemented.
On July 20 we distributed a draft of our RepMO Return to Learn plan. Phase 1 of that plan has now been finalized and we continue to add information about phase 2 and 3 as it is available. For phase 1 the only large change made is the addition of 4th and 5th grade students to our mask wearing requirements, and the alphabet cuts for phase 2 have also been determined (details below). THIS HANDBOOK will be a "one stop shop" for our families to access details about this plan. However, it is important to note that this is a "living document" and will be updated as needed. As a reminder, this plan consists of three phases. PLAN UPDATES:
MASKING: Our district policy now requires anyone in 4th grade or older to wear a mask when social distancing is not possible. This includes during the school day, for extra-curricular and athletic events and for essential visitors. Although not required, we HIGHLY ENCOURAGE students younger than 4th grade to wear masks as well.
The district is currently exploring the best options for our kindergarten through 3rd grade students to provide a strong level of protection while not inhibiting reading and phonics instruction done at those grade levels. Also, ALL students must wear a mask when riding a school bus.
PHASE 2 ALPHABET CUTS: Per the graphic below, alphabet cuts have been determined for phase 2, should it need to be implemented. This is for student last names, and siblings would be grouped together regardless of differing last names. More on phase 2 can be found in the RepMO Return to Learn Phases Handbook.
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RepMO Return to Learn FAQs
Although the Phases Handbook includes this information, we thought it might be helpful to pull out these FAQs and provide answers.
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 Online Back to School Registration Deadline 8/12If you haven't yet completed your online back to school registration, please do so ASAP. This process needs to be done for ALL students by August 12.
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UPDATE! Back to School Event Changes
In an effort to reduce the number of people together inside our school buildings, the district has decided to implement fully virtual open houses for the upcoming school year for students in 1st grade and older. While we are disappointed, we feel this is the best option at this time. That said, we will continue our plans to host in-person, socially distanced open houses for our EC students, kindergarten orientations, Tiger Up for 6th grade students and Freshmen Orientation. The only change will be that the Freshmen Orientation will be for students only and the parent meetings will be replaced by a video that will be distributed before school begins. Individual buildings will be sharing details about these events soon, and details can be found at https://www.republicschools.org/backtoschool
Virtual Open Houses:
Your student's 1st grade through 12th grade teacher(s) will be sending an e-newsletter on the date listed below for your school. That e-newsletter will include a link to a video to help families get to know the overall school building and also a video from the classroom teacher. In addition, elementary families are invited to virtually pop into their classrooms on the dates and times listed below for their school through Google Meets. Teachers will send directions on how to participate in the e-newsletter previously mentioned.
Date of Virtual Open House and Communication:
Lyon & McCulloch: Teacher communication will be sent August 17th by 4 p.m. The Virtual Open House will be August 18th at 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Schofield, Price & Sweeny: Teacher communication will be sent August 18th by 4 p.m. The Virtual Open House will be August 19th at 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
RMS: Teacher communication will be sent by August 17th at 4 p.m.
RHS: Teacher communication will be sent by August 18 at 4 p.m.
Also, students new to the district are welcome to contact the school office to set-up a time to do an in-person individual tour.
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 Apply for Free and Reduced Meals Applications are now available for free and reduced meal. Please consider completing the application, even if you do not plan to use the benefit. A new application must be completed each year. Click HERE for the form. |
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Daily Wellness Check
Each day we are asking families to do a wellness check of all students before they come to school. Employees will be doing this as well. Following these guidelines will help everyone stay healthy!
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 Student Medications If your student needs to take medication during the school day, please call your child's school to set-up a time to meet with your school nurse starting the week of August 17. This will allow you to drop off medications and provide directions to the nurse. Please ensure the medication is not or will not expire during the distribution period. CLICK HERE for contact information for our nurses.
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District and Community Announcements
Here's a great opportunity to get those required vaccinations taken care of before school starts! A list of those can be found HERE and registration forms for the immunization clinic can be found HERE. #repmoproud
Below are the signs you will see on the entrances of our facilities. Keep in mind, only essential visitors will be allowed and must follow these protocols.
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Upcoming Dates
All Back to School Dates can be found HERE.
August 24: First Day of School!
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For questions or comments please contact Republic School District by calling 417-732-3605.
Sincerely,
Josey McPhail
Director of Communications
Republic School District
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