Hoover Elementary Family Newsletter
September 7, 2020
Start of School Year:
Greetings Families,
I hope that you have all had a relaxing weekend! We are eager to connect with each of you this week at conferences and welcome your child back to school this fall! Whether your child is distance learning or in the safe learning plan, we can't wait for our Huskies to get this year started!
Below are a few important updates for you all...
School Entrance and Dismissal Procedures:
General Information:
- View THIS MAP to Show drop off and pick up points, entrances for walkers/bikers, as well as bus drop off. Please note, we will have one line for pick up.
- All families will be given a family number at conferences. This number will be needed if you plan to pick up your child. It will help us maintain efficiency and safety. Two copies of the number will go home with the eldest child on day one of school. If you plan to pick up your child on day 1, please write your family number on a piece of paper and have it displayed in the passenger side window.
- ALL Students must be wearing a mask to enter the building. Please coach your students to put them on upon exiting the car, bus, or approaching the building.
- Our goal is to provide a staggered entrance into the building in order to keep the hallways inside the school under capacity while students make their way to their classrooms.
- Once students enter the building, they will follow the one-way paths around the building until they arrive at their classroom. CLICK HERE for One Way Map
- Students with younger siblings are encouraged to stay with their younger siblings until that sibling is in their homeroom.
- All students will have tags attached to their backpacks that indicate if they are going to ACES, getting Picked-up, riding the bus, or walking/riding bike. Please leave these tags on their backpacks.
Bus Riders:
- Bus Riders Arrive at 7:35, are greeted by staff and enter through the doors on the west side of the building. We will be dismissing two buses, one seat at a time and students will enter the building.
- At the end of the day, bus riders will be lined up, socially distanced in the front of the building until buses arrive. Then, staff will walk them to their buses.
Drop-off/Pick-up
- 7:40 Students are greeted by staff at their vehicle and enter the school through door number 1 of the building. Please stay in your cars until greeted by a staff member. We will be exiting 3 cars at a time to afford for social distancing.
- At the end of the day, please have family numbers displayed in the passenger window. We will load three cars at a time. Once those three cars are loaded, three more pull forward and repeat.
- Please enter Marie LN from the East. Students will not be allowed to cross the street for parent pick up. Parents are not able to park and come get their child out of their classroom lines.
Walkers/Bikers
- 7:45 doors number 2 and 11 will be opened for students who walk or ride bikes to school. Students who arrive earlier are asked to remain socially distanced on the front grass until staff welcomes them into the building.
- At the end of the day, walkers/bikers will remain in line with their class until dismissed at 1:40.
ACES
- In the morning, ACES will be dismissed to their rooms at 7:35 from the gym and media center. These rooms will be cleaned before other students and staff use them.
- In the afternoon, ACES students will remain in line with their class until dismissed at 1:40.
Requests to Transfer Between the Safe Learning Plan and the Distance Learning Option
- We appreciate the thoughtfulness your family has put into making the best decision for your student to start the school year. While we would like families to stay committed to their decision, we understand that based on a number of reasons that influence your decision, you may need to change your student's delivery model.
- If you would like to be considered for a transfer from the Safe Learning Plan to the Distance Learning Option, please contact the Hoover office by 3:00 on Thursday each week.
- If you would like to be considered for a transfer from the Distance Learning Option to the Safe Learning Plan, please contact both the Hoover office and Jody Ritmiller by 3:00 Thursday each week.
- The elementary administrative team will review requests on a weekly basis every Friday.
- After your transfer request is received in the school office, you may be contacted by the front office to talk through the reason for the request if it was not provided.
- Depending on the capacity at both the school and distance learning class, staffing could be impacted. Approval to change options may come as early as the following week, but could also take weeks.
- Once your request can be approved, you will be notified of the change to begin the following week.
Employment Opportunities:
- PLAYGROUND SUPERVISORS NEEDED at Hoover. Times are 10:35-12:35. To Apply CLICK HERE
- ACES is hiring part time Child Care Assistants to join their team. Interested candidates can apply online or contact Sam Schirmers at sschir1@isd77.org for more information. Interviews will happen on a rolling basis until all positions are filled. Child Care Assistant Job Posting
Essential Volunteer Opportunities:
As you know, due to MDH Guidance, we are not able to have parents and community members volunteer as they would during a typical school year. That said, Hoover is in need of some essential volunteers who are able to provide support outside the classrooms delivering breakfast and lunch to classrooms. We are looking for volunteers Monday-Friday from 7:35-8:00 as well as 10:30-1:00. If you are interested please call or email Kelsey French in the front office kfrenc1@isd77.org. Volunteers will need to pay for and pass a background check
Health Office Update
Quick Note:
You may send sunscreen to school with your child. It does not require a medical note. Your child will need to apply their own sunscreen and will not be able to to share sunscreen with others.
Parent Information regarding Covid-19 and Health Services
As we start the 2020-2021 school year amidst Covid-19 pandemic, please be aware that we will need to follow established guidelines in order to promote the health and safety of all staff and students. These guidelines are developed with an abundance of caution in order to prevent transmission of the Covid-19 virus. The protocols we will follow are in alignment with guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health. In order for schools to be open for in-person learning, it is essential to do all that we can to prevent and/or slow the spread of the virus.
Here are the things you need to know:
Please check your student for signs or symptoms of illness every morning before they come to school. If they are ill or have a fever (100.4 F or more) they need to stay home. Please do not give them tylenol, advil, or any other fever reducing medication, before school as this may mask a fever and possible illness. Students who develop a fever at school will be sent home. If they have a new onset cough OR shortness of breath, keep them home. These may be signs of Covid-19.
If your student has at least two of any of these symptoms or one symptom and a fever, they should stay home as these also may be a sign of Covid-19:Chills, Muscle pain, Sore Throat, Fatigue, Nasal or chest congestion, Diarrhea, Vomiting, Nausea, Loss of smell or taste, or any other new symptom of illness with no other diagnosis, please contact your primary clinic to find out if your student needs to be seen and if and where they can be tested for Covid-19.
Please call the attendance line to report an absence due to illness and include the reason for the absence, including your student’s symptoms.
When a student becomes ill at school we will need to contact you. Please provide the school with at least 2, and preferably 3 emergency contacts, with up to date phone numbers. This can be added to the registration process in Infinite Campus. Ill students will need to go home as soon as possible to prevent the spread of illness. Please make arrangements to be able to have your student picked up promptly.
Students who are ill and need to go home will be escorted by staff out of the building to the parent or emergency contact. Parents will need to call when they arrive at school to pick up their child, as they will be instructed to not enter the school building.
Students who are ill will need to be home for at least 10 days since the symptoms first appeared AND until no fever for at least 24 hours without pain reducing medication. Siblings and household members, including those in other school buildings, will also need to be picked up and stay home for at least 14 days, to monitor for symptoms of Covid-19.
If your student has a known health condition, please contact the school health office and fill out an Individual Health Condition/Emergency Plan Form. If symptoms are related to the health condition we will discuss this with parents. We may require a note from your healthcare provider which indicates a specific diagnosis, if other than Covid-19.
If you plan to have medication at school for your student (prescription AND nonprescription) we will need a Primary Care Provider to complete the Consent Form For Administration of Medication During School Day form. Please call the school to arrange for a time to drop off medications. Please be aware that you will need to keep a supply of medication at home also, in case the school transitions to distance learning. If at all possible, medications should be given at home.
Students will be required to wear masks in the building. This can be a cloth mask made of at least two layers of material, and should not be a mask with a vent. All students will be expected to wear a mask. If there is a health condition that prevents the student from wearing a mask, the school will require a note from the student’s Primary Care Provider. Staff from school will contact you to discuss alternative protective measures.
We know that this year will be like no other. We ask for your patience and understanding as we go through this together. If you have any questions or concerns, please call, Julie Carroll, the Licensed School Nurse, at 507-207-3287 or cell number 507-382-1136.
Additional Information
Hoover Masks & Apparel Order
Feeding Our Community Partners (FOCP)
Feeding our Community Partners (FOCP) is a local organization committed to providing adequate nutrition for ultimate success. Registration for enrolling in this program is now available. Please use the link below to begin the enrollment process. Once the form is completed, you will be linked to the registration form. Due to the current pandemic, food will be delivered to student homes monthly. If you family identifies as food insecure, please enroll your child.
School Meals
Here is a link to the ISD77 website to find the application.
No Snack Cart This Year
If you are willing to donate and send extra snacks for students who don't have access to snacks, please send pre-packaged items from the following list:
Teddy Grahams
Gold Fish,
Cheezits
Animal Crackers
granola bars
pretzels
Contact Us:
Email: mmeyer1@isd77.org
Website: he.isd77.org
Location: 1524 Hoover Drive, North Mankato, MN, USA
Phone: 507-388-5202