Lakeside Newsletter 9/27

Newsletter| September 27, 2020

Dear Lakeside Lion Families,

I am grateful for the many ways that you have been supportive of our teachers and your students during the first few weeks of school, and for the tremendous attendance we had at our first PSO meeting.

Please note, should a teacher or student who attends school on campus test positive for COVID-19, a key part of our response protocols will be to inform families. All families of students in section(s) with the positive case will be notified of the case by email on the same day (or the following day if the notification arrives after hours). Additionally, we will notify the entire Great Hearts Lakeside community by updating the "COVID Counter" on our website. The counter may be found under the "Family Resources" tab on the Great Hearts Lakeside homepage. This counter is not a running total. Rather, it states the current number of on-campus students or teachers currently in quarantine with a positive case. It will be updated by 6pm on school days, as needed. All positive cases will be quarantined until all requirements are met for their safe return.

Distance Learning families, please ensure you complete the Q2 survey distributed via email on Sunday, September 27 prior to Sunday, October 4. If you do not return this survey, we will assume you are planning to remain in distance learning for all of Quarter 2 (October 26-January 15). Remember that you will not have the option to select in-person learning again until Quarter 3.

Please review the newsletter sections below for other important announcements.

With a Large Dose of Lion Pride,

Mandi Cannon

Headmaster

Quick Links

Academic Calendar

Athenaeum

My Mealtime

Preferred Meals

Home Screening and Re-Entry Qualifications

We are doing everything we can to slow the spread of COVID-19 so that we can keep our doors open. We are asking everyone to conduct a home screening every day before they come on arrive on campus.

Please review and print out the Student Home Screen and the Re-Entry Criteria documents.

Distance Learning Updates

Please expect this week that literature discussions will now be asynchronous. We are finding that distance learners are struggling to hear the student comments during synchronous sessions, and that to maximize the learning time for those that are learning remotely, we have chosen to use asynchronous sessions from this point forward.

Also, please note that if you would like to communicate with your child’s teacher, you need to e-mail him or her directly. All e-mail addresses are available on the school website. Teachers will no longer be monitoring Google classroom for questions or comments.

Important Dates

October 12 (Staff Development Day): No School

October 19-21: Parent-Teacher Conferences

Carpool Reminders

Please follow all directions of the staff, especially when using the crosswalks in the morning or afternoon. The crosswalk guard can provide direction regarding when to safely cross, and it is imperative that it is followed for your safety, as well as the safety of the cars and students involved in the drop-off/pick-up process.

Please be sure that you have your yellow visor cards at pickup. If you do not have the cards, you will have to show your driver’s license and wait until you can be properly identified to retrieve your student.

Drop-Off

Please be sure your child has their mask on, belongings ready, and is ready to exit the car by the time they get to the drop-off zone.

Do not allow students to exit your vehicle until you have reached the fire hydrant.

Staff are not able to unbuckle your student. Please have them unbuckle as you reach the drop off zone.

When you hear the traffic captain say, “Unload”, and you are confident in your child’s ability to exit the vehicle, your child may exit the vehicle on their own.

Pick-Up

Please put your visor card clearly on your dashboard or hang it from your rear-view mirror.

A hanger on which you can clip your visor cards is helpful.

When your student has been put in the car by a staff member, please take your visor cards down or off the dashboard.

If you do not have a new visor card issued on the first day of school, you will need to park and walk in to get your student.

If you need a pickup tag, please e-mail your student’s name and grade level to info@greatheartslakeside.org.

All students will be required to bring a book for independent reading to leave in his or her backpack. This book will be read only during pickup time.

Do not get out of the car for any reason during the pickup process.

Staff cannot buckle your student into the car. If you need to buckle your student, please pull into the third lane of traffic and follow directions of the staff.

Please refrain from using your cellphone during pickup so you can focus on following the directions of staff members.

If you choose to walk in to pick up your child,

Park on Fox Stem Lane and then walk across the pickup lane in the crosswalk (staff member with Stop sign will assist you).

Please make a socially distanced line in front of the flagpole parallel with the sidewalk, and wear your face covering. The staff member there will take your pickup tags. Please wait until your student is brought to you.

Campus Visitors

As we work to maintain the safety of our campus, we are changing the way we allow parents to come to the campus. Please carefully read the policies below, which will be in effect on Monday, September 14:

Early Pick-Up

Enter the front doors and wait in the vestibule.

Only one parent at a time will be able to enter the vestibule to maintain social distancing protocols.

Sign your child out in the provided binder and be prepared to show your identification.

When you have finished completing the required fields in the binder, the receptionist will come and take your identification from you.

Please wait in the vestibule until your child and your identification is returned to you.

Late Arrival

Enter the front doors and wait in the vestibule.

Only one parent at a time will be able to enter the vestibule to maintain social distancing protocols.

Sign your scholar in the provided binder.

Your scholar will then be able to walk to his/her class.

Dropping Off Items

If your scholar forgot an item, a lunch or water bottle, for example, you may drop it off on campus and leave it on the table outside.

Please be certain it is clearly labeled your scholar’s name and grade level.

The table will be checked periodically by front office staff and items will be distributed to scholars.

If you need to enter the school for any other reason, please set up an appointment with the front office.

Breakfast and Lunch

Great Hearts Lakeside partners with Preferred Meals for our breakfast and lunch program. All meals are paid for through My Mealtime, and students purchase their meal with their assigned ID number.

If you wish to purchase a meal for your scholar, first set up an account on Mealtime.

Your scholar will be able to purchase a meal as long as there is a balance on his or account, and you do not have to notify the school ahead of time regarding what days he or she will eat lunch or breakfast.

If you do not know your lunch number, Add 00 to the 4 digits of your scholar's Google credentials.

For example, if the Google credentials were d.ogden1234, the MealTime ID number would be 001234.

If you believe that your scholar will qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch program, please use the links below to apply.

Free & Reduced Lunch Application (English)

Free & Reduced Lunch Application (Spanish)

We cannot accept cash or checks for meals. All payments must be made online. We will provide a lunch if your scholar does not have one. Please keep your account current. After your account has reached a negative balance of $10.00, we will provide a substitute meal until your account is up to date.

Distance learning families can continue to pick up food by week as we have done for the past few weeks. A Sign-Up Genius was sent out within the last week to those who to wish to participate.

This program is optional. Scholars are more than welcome to bring their own lunch from home. Refrigeration and microwaves are not available. We ask that you refrain from sending soda, however, sparkling water is acceptable.

Uniform Reminders

The updated uniform policy is here. The policy applies each and every day of school. We will begin to strictly enforce the uniform policy as of Monday, September 14. Any student who is in violation of the uniform policy as of Monday will receive an infraction. After 5 uniform infractions, an after school detention will be issued.

Please remember the following:

Shoes must be all black or all white, including the sole. High tops are not allowed.

Belts are required for all students wearing shorts or pants in first grade and above.

Please remember the pop culture policy. All lunch boxes, water bottles and backpacks must be devoid of popular culture references. Generic images of flowers, spaceships, mermaids, dinosaurs are acceptable.

Carefully review the mask policy. Masks should be plain in color or have a non-representational pattern that is repetitive.

Masks must not have any words or messages printed on them.

Masks cannot have any symbols on them, so masks with crayons, superhero logos, or American flags are not acceptable.

Medication

Should your scholar need medications to be kept and administered at school, you must bring in the medication yourself and sign a medication authorization form. Please do not send medications to school with your student, regardless of age or grade.

Prescription medications must have a doctor's orders. A faxed order will suffice. For prescription medications, the original pharmacy label and container must be sent. We cannot accept medication that has been transferred to a different container. Expired medications cannot be administered.

If you have further questions, contact Nurse Tucker at Haley.Tucker@GreatHeartsLakeside.org.

Registration for the Athenaeum After-School Program for the 2020-21 school year is open!

Athenaeum is our after-school program for grades K-5. Athenaeum is focused on the liberal arts and promotes learning by providing students dedicated homework time in addition to enriching and academically oriented activities. Scholars also have time for snack, games and recreation, and time to socialize with friends.

The Athenaeum After-School Program has resumed since in-person learning is taking place.

For more information and to register, visit our academy website and click on Academy Life

-->After School Programs.

For questions, please contact your Campus Coordinator, Kayley Walker, at Programs@GreatHeartsLakeside.org.

Family Handbook

Finally, familiarize yourself with the 2020-2021 Family Handbook. Whenever you have questions about procedures, policies, or any sentence beginning with "How would the school handle...?" the Family Handbook is the place to start.

After you have read through the handbook, please click here to acknowledge that you have read and understood the policies and procedures laid out therein.