Trumbauersville Times
12.11.2020
Principal's Post
Dear Trumbauersville Families,
As I did in the letter last night announcing that we would be in the building for in-person instruction on Friday, I want to extend my thanks to our entire school community for your flexibility, efforts, and support as we transitioned into a virtual learning day for all.
We realize how the necessary transition to virtual learning may have negatively impacted you and your family as we comply with state requirements and work to ensure the health and safety of the members of our school community. Be assured, I continue to believe that positive interpersonal relationships are at the core of the elementary educational experience and we want to foster those relationships with in-person instruction, to the greatest extent possible. While simultaneously ensuring we do our part to protect our community and interrupt the spread of this pandemic virus.
Thursday was our first experience with this rapid transition due to multiple cases, under the state's current requirements. As a district, and as a school, we will continue to reflect and refine our processes. Our goal is to continue to provide timely and accurate information to support our students, families, and school community. One detail that we did notice, was the importance of making sure that students’ technology devices are going home with them each night.
As we continue to reflect and enhance our students’ experience, we are interested in your feedback on the Thursday’s fully virtual learning day. Please consider completing this survey to provide us with your thoughts and perspectives.
Thank you, again, for supporting our students at home for this important day of virtual learning.
-Adam
______________________________
Adam Schmucker
Principal
Trumbauersville Elementary School
Maintaining Consistent Instructional Environments
If your child is ill and unable to be attend school in their normal instructional environment, then this would function like a "pre-COVID" absence. You would need to notify the office of the absence and then submit a written excuse note within three days of your child returning to their normal instructional environment. Given that the reason for the absence is an appropriate absence according to Pennsylvania school code, then that would be an excused absence.
The ability to work virtually does not override an absence. That is similar to if a friend brought home school work, pre-COVID. The student would be caught up on work, but the student still would have been absent from school.
If our school nurse excludes your student due to COVID symptoms (or a sibling having symptoms) your child would temporarily switch to a virtual instructional model and would be allowed to work virtually. The other way to get approved to have your child work virtually for a period of time is through direct communication with the principal.
Please remember, regardless of the reason for the absence, we first need a call or email to the school to report the absence. Then an excuse note within three days of your student's return to school. Please try to call the school office by 9:30 AM to avoid being called to see the whereabouts of your child. Excuse slips can be found on our website.
Spirit Wear orders were distributed Friday 12/4.
If you did not receive an order, please reach out to TPO at: trumtpo@gmail.com
If your student was absent on distribution day or if your child is a virtual student, orders will be in the office for pick up.
From the nurse
When your child is not feeling well and you are calling them out from school, please be prepared to convey any or all COVID symptoms that may be present (see chart below).
If your child is kept home for non-COVID symptom(s), we ask that you give details on why your child is being kept home (stomachache, earache, etc.). By stating the details of your child’s absence, it will help our nurse triage COVID vs non-COVID related student absences.
Remember to continue with daily symptom screening of your children and take their temperature before sending them to school.
If your child has a fever, or is ill, please refer to the following symptom chart:
Stay home if, you or household member:
∙ Have one or more symptoms in Group A OR
∙ Have two or more symptoms in Group B OR
∙ Are you taking any fever-reducing medication.
Note: If you are keeping one of your children home due to COVID-19 symptoms, then all children enrolled in the District that reside in the same household, should remain home until the criteria to return to school has been met.
We ask that you call 215-529-2559, or email boppenheim@qcsd.org, and leave a message for the nurse that includes your name, your child’s name, and the presenting symptom(s). Ms. Oppenheim will then contact you to review the symptoms and provide you with the Return to School Guidelines: https://www.qcsd.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_20016891/File/Community/Coronavirus/Exclusion%2 0From%20and%20Return%20to%20School%20Requirements%20092820.pdf
If your child is sick with COVID-like symptoms, you will need to obtain and present one of the following for your child to return to school. This information may be sent to school via email or FAX (215-529-2551).
1. A note from a medical provider with clearance to return to school
2. A negative COVD test and 3 days without symptoms
3. At home quarantine for 14 days.
In the event that a student tests positive for COVID-19, standard District protocol is to report the case to the Bucks County Health Department (BCHD). The BCHD will then conduct an investigation, perform contact tracing, and provide guidance to the appropriate person(s). Students that have tested positive should not return to school until a parent provides the school with the BCHD release letter. It is important to note that the Quakertown Community School District does not
participate in a modified quarantine practice, and that the date listed on a student’s release letter may be earlier that when your child may actually be allowed to physically return to school.
Updated information on COVID-19 travel restrictions can be found here: https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/Travelers.aspx
From the Redistricting Committee-
As parents of Trumbauersville students, we are reaching out to you about your concerns about redistricting. We would like your feedback and/or concerns. The committee is a group of parents and administrators from the community who have volunteered to analyze the current elementary school boundaries. We will make our recommendations to the School Board on our findings by January 31, 2021.
The Board has charged the committee with the following tasks:
- Develop options for the grade level configuration and redistricting of elementary (or K-6) students to be implemented at the start of the 2021-22 school year.
- Evaluate those options based on impact on academic program, impact on students and families, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, impact on facilities (including the future use of Quakertown Elementary and the Sixth Grade Center), requirement for construction, renovations, or modular classrooms, impact on transportation, impact on personnel savings, and other criteria as the Committee deems appropriate.
- Report its findings, decision matrix, and recommendations to the Board no later than January 31, 2021.
On this page, we will share committee meeting dates, resources, and updates on the committee's work. All committee meetings are open to the public and all are welcome to provide input into our process.
Meeting times will be 6:00 to 8:00 PM, temporarily through Zoom. Meetings are open to the public for observation. Here are the dates:
- Wednesday, December 9, 2020
- Wednesday, December 16, 2020
- Wednesday, January 6, 2021
- Wednesday, January 13, 2021
- Wednesday, January 20, 2021
We encourage everyone to send a comment or question to the Committee, utilizing the following email address: Elemredistrict@qcsd.org