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The Week Ahead....
Monday, August 24
Day 1 (Early Dismissal @ 12:40 PM)
Tuesday, August 25
Day 2 (Early Dismissal @ 12:40 PM)
Wednesday, August 26
Day 3 (Early Dismissal @ 12:40 PM)
Thursday, August 27
Day 4 (First Full Day)
Friday, August 28
Day 5
Face Coverings...
Please share the information below as you deem necessary...
On July 1, 2020, the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued an Order Requiring Universal Face Coverings pursuant to her authority under the Disease Prevention and Control Act. The Pennsylvania Department of Education provided guidance that confirmed the applicability of the Universal Face Coverings Order to public schools and provided a series of exceptions. Of note, PDE indicated that face coverings would not be required if a minimum of six feet of social distancing could be maintained. However, on August 17, 2020, PDE provided an additional update that reversed its guidance regarding the interaction of face coverings and social distancing. To summarize that reversal, face coverings must be worn inside school buildings at all times, even when appropriate social distancing can be maintained, except where:
Eating or drinking when spaced at least 6 feet apart;
Wearing a face covering creates an unsafe condition in which to operate equipment or execute a task; or
At least six feet apart during “face-covering breaks” to last no longer than 10 minutes.
After consultation with legal counsel, the following should provide guidance for handling issues of face-covering noncompliance.
Any student who attempts to board a school bus without a face covering will be offered one and/or will be seated at the front of the bus as isolated as possible from students wearing face coverings. For reasons of safety, no student will be excluded from boarding a bus under any circumstances.
Upon arrival at school, any student who remains in noncompliance with the face-covering order shall be intercepted by school staff and taken to an isolated location. An administrator shall remind the student of the requirement to wear a face covering and offer the student a face- covering.
If the student continues to refuse to wear a face-covering, he or she should remain isolated from other students and his or her parent/guardian should be contacted to pick up the student.
Upon arrival, the administrator should discuss the face-covering requirement with the parent/guardian in an attempt to establish the student’s compliance. If the student/parent/guardian continues to refuse to wear a face-covering, the student should be sent home. Information regarding remote learning shall be provided to the student/parent/guardian.
If the student/parent/guardian at any time requests an accommodation from the face mask requirement, medical or otherwise, do not agree to any such accommodations. Instead, please forward the request to Kate Diorio, Yvette Line-Koller, and Greg Monskie. (For transparency purposes, if you receive such a request, either by phone or email, please forward the information accordingly and copy building administration).
If the student arrives at school without a face-covering after having followed this process and has been excluded from school for at least three days, please schedule a meeting with the student and parents to discuss remote learning options in a more formal setting. Please inform Kate Diorio, Yvette Line-Koller, and Greg Monskie of any students whose refusal results in this step being taken. (This item is shared with you for transparency purposes. Building administration will be responsible for item number 6)
Buildings & Grounds...
-All classroom doors WILL remain open throughout the day and include evenings. Keep doorknobs in the locked position.
-Every room is encouraged to open windows throughout the day. If your window is caulked shut, let custodial staff know. The windows were originally caulked due to water leakage so once caulk is removed, windows will leak.
-A/C will be on 24/7 in our building. If you have A/C difficulties in your room, be patient, our custodial staff is VERY busy as we open for students. Just let them know and buildings & grounds will do their best.
-Every classroom will receive an orange cleaning cloth and disinfectant filled with Vindicator disinfectant. It appears clear, but it is a disinfectant. Store in an area off-limits to your students (reminder NO student may assist in disinfecting any area of the school). By August 27, complete the Google sheet linked
HERE to indicate where you are storing the disinfectant. Our custodial staff will check nightly to see if it needs to be refilled. Also, those that need an orange cloth replaced, place it on the floor next to your classroom entrance. This alerts the evening custodial staff to replace the cloth with a clean one and remove the used for laundering.
-Wheeled trash cans will be provided for all food waste, breakfast and lunch. Do NOT use classroom trash cans for food waste. Trash cans will be wheeled in the building both in the AM and PM and will be emptied after breakfast and lunch.
-Each night desks and high touch areas (pencil sharpeners, etc) will be disinfected and classrooms fogged. Please clear all desks, including teacher, nightly for disinfecting.
-Do NOT stack chairs. Leave them in position at desks as these too will be disinfected nightly.
-Every night all classroom desks, including the teacher, will be disinfected. Ensure ALL desks, chairs, and high-touch surface areas are cleared nightly. In addition, all classrooms will receive a disinfectant fog dispersed throughout the room. This may leave moisture on papers, do not leave out papers or paper products out as they may become moist. Once the room is scheduled to be fogged, no individuals may be present in the room and no one may re-enter until morning. Evening fog times are still to be determined.
Cafeteria...
-See
CV Cafeteria Plan. Please read as it outlines teacher and student procedures for both breakfast and lunch.
-All student grab & go breakfast should be finished and cleaned up by 9:00 AM. See buildings & grounds for food waste information (above).
-The master schedule (
considerations tab) has been updated to show the grade-level cafeteria staggering entrance times.
-Floor decals have been placed in the cafeteria to display social-distancing. Please continue to remind all students to social distance as they move through the line for lunch.
-Suggestion: For those teachers on the day staff will come in to provide you with the 30-minute duty-free lunch, have them walk the entire class to the cafeteria. Even if a packer does not need to purchase a drink it will be a time for them to move. For those days your students eat in the gym, you will be responsible for escorting them to the cafeteria.
Recess...
-No small equipment will be available until further notice.
-The big toy will also be off-limits until further notice.
-Please ensure all students use hand sanitizer when leaving AND returning from recess whether outdoor or indoor.
-Face-coverings must continue to be worn by both students and staff whether outdoor or indoor. A face-covering break of no more than 10 minutes may be provided several times throughout the day and during recess so long as social-distancing is practiced.
-One teacher may monitor per grade level during recess time.
Further Updates...
-Students do not need to go home with their "to go" bags nightly. However, computes will go home nightly for charging. A Skyward message has been set up to remind families about charging and computers until November 1. Afterward, teachers will need to remind them. Think about using the reminds in Seesaw for grades 1-2. Teachers consider the Remind app setup for your families in these coming months in order to remind them after November.
-Until further face-covering and social-distancing guidance are received, no partner reads. Earbuds are on their way. Consider students share reading through their devices, even across grade-levels (buddy readers) be creative in this new 1:1 environment.
-Bus arrivals on Monday: Masking tape will be used to identify what bus number and bus seat the student is assigned. Please collect the masking tape. Create a homeroom teacher spreadsheet noting each student, what bus they are assigned, and what seat is their assignment. Share this doc with both Heather and me. This will be the list referred to throughout the year. If a remote student returns to brick & mortar, this list will need to be updated by the teacher.
-Until the assessment calendar is finalized and distributed, no assessments are to be given in the first few weeks. No letter identification, no reading levels, no baselines. Please be creative and encouraging to our students as they begin to find the routine of our new school environment. Remember the "filling" of cortisol as they continue to learn about their environment. Be clear. Empathize that this is new to everyone and that change is the new norm. No learning can happen while the anxiety about this reality is in place for both our students and families.
-Classroom libraries cannot be used by students unless a selection plan has already been shared and approved by me. Teachers are responsible for selecting books for students and placing them in their book bins/bags. Once teachers replace these selected books, a book quarantine of 3 days will need to take place before returning the book to their shelf space.
A question was not answered? Email (keyt@rlasd.net)/Text (717-880-9345) me...
