Bulldog Bulletin
July 24, 2020
The Latest and Greatest Updates
- July 27th - Badges will work any day. Please remember to use the digital sign in so we can connect in the event of a positive case with anyone that may have been in proximity.
- August 6th - All Staff welcome, look for information coming soon about details for this day.
- August 7th - Building Meeting Day: Details to come but plan on this day being set aside for building meetings and discussions.
- August 18th - First Day of School.
In Case You Need to Look Back at Prior Info
Master Schedule - DRAFT
Please review and provide any requests for adjustments by Friday, July 31st. This will allow me enough time to review requests and make adjustments where possible.
Hint: the easiest way to view I find is on an ipad where you can pinch to zoom in and read the fine print.
Note:
* Specials will actually only be 40 minutes long to provide time to either disinfect materials or in some instances to travel from room to room.
* This schedule would be followed during a Green or Red format of learning. Further adjustments may be necessary in Yellow. If so, time will be designated in pre-opening to engage staff in these discussions.
* Some classes had to have time added due to district or state time requirements.
* For Wednesday, the block shortens to 35 minutes. This is a 22% reduction, so that was used as a guide for shortening subjects evenly. Some subjects (such as foundational skills) cannot be shortened. All subjects were adjusted to the closest 5 minutes possible.
Sneak Peek Goes Virtual
Specials
Special Teachers will also only be teaching for 40 of the 45 minutes to provide time for cleaning and transition as it is likely that Art and Library will come to classrooms and Music and PE will be in the gym or outside.
Congratulations Cathy on Your Retirement
I am working with HR to see how we will fill this position and will let staff know once a decision is made.
Condolences to Former Rockbrook Building Services - Scott Hall's Family
Pre-Opening
Educational Assistants: Due to the change of start date we actually get more time with our Educational Assistants. EA's are able to work 5 days between August 6th and August 17th. This does include 1/2 day for District Opening and 1/2 day for EA training on August 14th, but leaves us 4 days to help out at school instead of our typical 2. EAs will also be able to work during our professional learning days this year.
Follow-Ups from Before
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):
All staff will receive a second face mask and may provide their own if they prefer. All students will receive 3 face masks or may provide their own if they prefer. All certified staff will receive (we hope before school starts) a clear face shield that can be worn with mask removed when teaching from 6+ft away from students. Masks will be required of all, mask breaks will be scheduled at teacher discretion, and can occur in the class if students are more than 6ft apart.
Note: we are also providing a small colorful carabiner to use to clip your mask to your lanyard. While I believe the 6ft distance is still currently supported we got some suggestion this may change.
Plexiglass Shields:
All classes will eventually have Plexi shields available for small group instruction. For the start of school, priority has been placed on Lunch, Specials, Special Education, and K-2. 3rd through 6th will likely not have shields until after school starts. Our current best recommendation for small group instruction seems to be using video chat to meet from their seat (I know it sounds weird).
Seating and Supplies:
Student supplies as well as manipulatives will be kept separately. Desks need to be spread apart as much as possible. Group seating will not be allowed until plexi-shields are available.
Ziploc bags have been purchased for all classrooms and we will have additional supplies available to help support this.
Furniture Note: A couple teachers have come in and mocked up a spread out class arrangement. It leaves very little room for extra furniture. Building services has also let us know that they will only be able to clean and disinfect hard surfaces of school-owned items. Most soft surface items need to be removed (this does not include rugs). Once desks are received, district-owned group furniture we deem needing to be stored may be able to be sent to the service center. It will be important whether stored there or on the stage that we mark things well and keep an inventory of anything sent. Personal furniture will be for teacher individual use only if it is kept in the room and will be the responsibility of the teacher to clean. Custodial staff will do more thorough disinfection 2-3 times per week in addition to general cleaning, so there is not adequate time for additional items. Staff are encouraged to take personal items home, as they cannot be stored by the district.
Breakfast: The breakfast will be grab and go to speed the line, but we currently think we can still seat students in the cafeteria. Due to needing to setup and take down the plexiglass shields, specials adjacent to breakfast and lunch may be impacted on days when PE is not able to occur outside. We will just have to be flexible and work together to do the best we can.
After School Clubs & After School Activities
Visitors
This will also include helping in setting up classrooms. Unfortunately we are not able to have staff family come and do so during contract hours. Family or friends could come in to help during non-contract hours but need to be checked in using the QR code at the main entrances.
We know this puts a damper on the often fun event of having a relative visit. As an alternative students and staff are welcome to check out during their lunchtime to enjoy that time with family either outside (picnic) or at a local restaurant.
Common Questions and Answers
Dress during Pre-Opening: Casual summer/work attire during building meetings and work days at Rockbrook. Business casual attire during district meetings and staff development activities.
If you do not have a meeting or training scheduled somewhere in the district, that time is to be dedicated to preparing your classroom. Please take lunches and breaks accordingly. If you need to leave the building, please let your team leader or me know. Your room does not need to be completed by the night of Sneak Peek.
Team Leaders will meet with teams at some point in our pre-opening time. Team Leaders will communicate when and where.
Finalized class lists and schedules will be handed out to you during our Nuts and Bolts meeting. (Lists will go out to parents in early August and I will send them out to staff electronically at that time as well).
Supplies and textbooks will be delivered to your room. If you notice missing items, please tell your team leader.
See your Team Leader (Ann Miller, Jan Kyle, Michele Madson) if you have any other questions.
Contact Me with Any Questions
Email: higginbotham.garret@westside66.net
Website: www.rockbrookstaff.com
Phone: 402-390-6476