ROCORI
RES NOVEMBER 20 Newsletter 2020-2021
Good Afternoon Richmond Families
RE: Friday Nov. 20th
This Friday will be our first Practice Distance Learning Day. What does this mean? We are excited to try our new learning platforms and access to technology in school and at home. We also do not expect perfection, but hope we can all Distance Learn better than we did last spring. We heard your feedback and have made adjustments.
Here are some clarifications for the day.
Expectations
- Do your best to be online during “Live” times with your teacher. This will be a time to check-in and ask questions.
- Students should access their math and reading lessons for the day on Schoology.
- If your child cannot be live, please view the recorded live session from your teacher when you can. This may mean finishing over the weekend or at night.
- Learn together and explore the platforms and technology.
Devices
- We are going to try and hand out technology for our 1 day of practice but if we are unable to work will be sent home with your child. If we are able to send devices it will be only one device per family. Please use what you have or work through the offline work that was provided by your teacher. ALL DEVICES NEED TO BE RETURNED, MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2020.
- Share technology at home between siblings. We understand that you may not have enough devices for each individual student.
- If we are in Full Distance Learning, we will be able to share a device with your family.
Platforms
- We will be utilizing both Schoology and Microsoft 365. Your first log in should be to your child’s Schoology Account.
- Your child should use their Office 365 Username and Password to Login to Both.
- Passwords have been shared with your students by their teachers.
Daily Schedule
- Refer to your child’s teacher for specific daily schedules. This will have been shared with you before Friday.
- Follow along if you can! If not, recorded sessions of the live material will be available for you in Schoology.
Trouble Shooting
- If you have multiple users, you will need to log out of both Office 365 and Schoology before you switch student users on the same device.
- For Technical Assistance, please contact Brian Michalski (ROCORI Tech Director) at michalskib@rocori.k12.mn.us or by calling 320-685-4901
Expectations
1. Do your best to be online during “Live” times with your teacher. This will be a time to check-in and ask questions. 2. Share technology at home between siblings. We understand that you may not have enough devices for each individual student. If your child cannot be live, please view the recorded live session from your teacher when you can. This may mean over the weekend or at night.
Please connect with your child’s teacher for specific classroom questions regarding content and schedule. Here are links to two guides for parents regarding Schoology and Microsoft 365.
Parents Guide to Microsoft Teams
In addition, our instructional coaches are offering 2 live events to help model Schoology for families. They will also be available for questions. Please join them for this optional training on one of the two available times if you are able.
What will you learn?
- -How to access Schoology on any device
- -What Schoology looks like as a student
- -Creating a parent access account and adding students
Any other inquiries can be addressed by your building principal by email (johnsonk@rocori.k12.mn.us) or by contacting the school office (320-597-2016).
Keri Johnson
Richmond Elementary Principal
ALL DEVICES and HOT SPOTS ARE TO BE RETURNED ON MONDAY November 23, 2020. Thank YOU!
Microsoft Teams
Families,
Our district uses Microsoft Teams for video calls. Here is some information if you have not used Teams before.
Hello Parents/Guardians-
Below is a helpful guide for attending virtual conferences via-Teams. There are also quick videos explaining joining using a computer or phone.
First, if possible download the Teams app onto you device. It is not necessary for computers but is necessary for using phones to join.
- Log into your email account you listed on your conference sign-up or in Skyward.
- Look for the Conference Invite in your email, it will look like this
3. At your conference time select the words-> click here to join the meeting in the email.
4. You may be prompted with three option to open in Teams App, open in browser, or download the Teams app. If you do not have the Teams App choose open in browser.
5. If you are on a phone you must download the Teams app.
6. Then you select join as guest and enter your name.
8. As you enter the meeting you can choose to have your video on or off but please have your mic on.
9. Wait in this meeting until the teacher appears.
10. At the end of the meeting select the red hang-up button to end the conference.
Some devices and web browser are not supported for Teams.
The best option for web browsers is Edge with Chrome being the second choice.
We are excited to try a new format for conferences this year. Teachers have set up times to meet with them for virtual conferences. Please use the link below to set up a time that works for you and your family to meet via Microsoft Teams with your classroom teacher.
The Fall Virtual Flex Conferences are meant to be
1. Virtual
2. Flexible
3. Focused on what you and your child need. We will be checking in about Academics, Social and Emotional Health.
MyConferenceTime: Please use this link to sign up for a time that works for you to meet with the classroom teacher via Teams.
https://www.myconferencetime.com/richmondelementary
Additional staff (Special Education, EL, Title, and counselors) will be available if you need to meet with them through "virtual office hours". These links will come in a separate communication.
If you have questions, please contact your teacher or the Richmond Elementary Office at 320-597-2016 or by email at johnsonk@rocori.k12.mn.us
Keri Johnson
Richmond Elementary Principal
November 26 - Happy Thanksgiving. No School
November 27 - No School
December 4 - No School for Students
December 23 -January 4 - Winter Break
For the district calendar click here.
If you are considering ordering Christmas cards or gifts from Shutterfly this season, if you use this link: Shutterfly: Photo Books, Cards, Prints, Wall Art, Gifts, Wedding - our school (Richmond Elementary) will receive an 8% rebate of your total purchase. You can still use all the available coupons and promotions! Thank you for considering it.
Hello from CentraCare,
Our situation has drastically changed over this past week. The exponential growth is impacting our ability to meet all of the needs of our communities and the health of our staff. We know you are seeing this impact too with many districts moving to distance learning.
There are many resources out there if you are sick or have been exposed to COVID-19. Testing is widely available. Recommendations for quarantine are clear and communicated. But what if COVID-19 is affecting you and your family’s mental health?
It may feel like this topic isn’t receiving enough attention. That’s why we gathered information from Dr. Lori Listug-Lunde about the impacts of this pandemic on mental health. Dr. Listug-Lunde specializes in Child & Adolescent Psychology and outlined some stress warning signs and ways to cope in her recent blog.
MYTHS: I’m immune to COVID-19. I will get the virus if I go to the hospital or clinic. COVID-19 can’t survive in the cold weather.
FACTS: Evidence does not support these claims. This misinformation can cause serious harm. Don’t let myths keep you from protecting yourself during this pandemic.
Please help us spread this video – not the virus – to make sure our community stays safe.
We encourage you to share these resources and the above video with your families via newsletters, on your websites or through social media channels. And, as always, thank you for your partnership and for serving our communities during these stressful times.
-- Dr. George Morris
Have a topic you want us to cover? Email Laurie.Schulte@centracare.com.
Free Meals Extended for the Entire School Year
The US Department of Agriculture has announced that the free meal program will be extended throughout the entire 2020-21 school year! We are very excited for the support that this provides to our school and families.
APPLY FOR EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS
You can help generate state aid for your school by completing the Application for Educational Benefits https://www.rocori.k12.mn.us/services/food-services/application-for-educational-benefits and returning it to your school. Some schools collect income data through a web-based collection system which replaces the paper forms. These are household income statements; only one application is needed per household but each district or charter school in which students in the household are enrolled would need a copy.
Students in households that meet the free or reduced price meal income guidelines will generate compensatory revenue for their school. Schools must use compensatory revenue to meet the needs of students who are behind their peers, such as remedial instruction, instructional materials including digital learning and technology, bilingual programs and additional teachers and teacher aides. These applications may also make teachers in your school eligible for the federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program if they have outstanding college loans. However, the household must complete and return the forms, or complete the online form, no later than December 15 so the school can calculate eligibility and report to MDE.
School age Care in Distance Learning or Hybid Model
According to Executive Order 20-82, districts must provide care for Eligible Children at no cost during the time children are typically in the school building for regular hours. School-enrolled school-age children age 12 and under who are children of critical workers in Tier 1 of the state critical worker list are eligible for the free care from 7:30am-3pm. Calendar days that are originally scheduled non-school days do not qualify as Tier 1 prioritized days. All families are equally eligible for fee-based childcare on these days (for example, MEA break).
Tier 1 is defined as:
Healthcare and public health
Law Enforcement, public safety and first responders
Food and agriculture
Judicial branch (essential Services)
National Guard (activated under a Governor Executive Order)
Educators in pre-K through grade 12 settings
School staff caring for children of critical workers
Childcare and school-age providers
The school-age care for children of critical workers is intended for extreme circumstances in which no parent or guardian is at home and both parents/guardians meet the Tier 1 definition. Districts must provide transportation for those of Tier 1 workers if the family determines it is a need.
ROCORI Childcare programs plan to care for as many families as they safely can. With current space and COVID-19 guidelines, our program can accommodate 80 school-age students per day.
What if your family needs care but does not qualify as tier 1?
Any district can serve their district enrolled children beyond tier 1 as a fee-based program. In the interest to keep costs as affordable for families as possible, we have kept our rates low and aligned with Spartan SPOT:
Before School: $4.00 (same as SPOT)
School Day: $10.50 (free for tier 1 families)
After School: $10.75 (same as SPOT)
The total for the entire day is the same as a regular non-school day and summer day ($25.25) in ROCORI’s Spartan SPOT program.
To register for childcare during a distance learning model, please go to https://rocori.ce.eleyo.com/child-care/3/spartan-spot and click “enroll now” and follow the prompts. If you have participated in ROCORI Community Education activities before, please use the same log-in information.
Change of Plans?
ABSENTEEISM
Parents are asked to please call the school by 8:30 A.M. if your child will be absent from school that day. You are able to leave messages on the school answering machine during non-school hours. The school phone number is 597-2016 ext. 4. If you prefer, you may also send an email to the following: groetschd@rocori.k12.mn.us. Please send a note explaining the reason for the absence when your child returns to school. Please have end of the day plans made and explained to your child before they come to school. If there is a change in their schedule, then send a note to the classroom teacher. Please avoid calling at the end of the day, as it is difficult to get messages out to classroom teachers.
School Attendance - Skyward
You have the option to submit an absence for your child through Skyward. Please see the two pdf's below for instructions on how to do so. We are still more than happy to accept phone calls to the office, but this provides one more option for you all. Please do your best to submit absences for that day by 8:30am.
However, if you feel that the absence is at all related to COVID-19, we ask that you call the school office instead of submitting an absence online. Thank you!
SPARTAN ONLINE SCHOOL
DISTRICT LINKS
SOCIAL and Emotional Resources for Students and Families
Community Assistance Groups
Catholic Charities Food Shelf
Food Relief Bags will be available on Wednesdays from 3:00pm-7:00pm and on Fridays 9:00am-12:00pm
United Way
Call 2-1-1 or text MNCOVID to 898-211 and a specialist will help connect you with resources
ROCORI Area Food Shelf
Call: (320) 685-8785
Text: (320) 248-6943
MN Unemployment
Online application: https://www1.uimn.org/ui_applicant/applicant/login.do
If you don’t have access to apply online: Call 877-898-9090 Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:30pm
Central MN Sexual Assault Center
Crisis Hotline: 320-251-4357
Central MN Mental Health Center
Crisis Response Line: 320-253-5555 or 800-635-8008
Or Text MN to 741741
MN Domestic Violence Hotline
Call: 866-223-1111
Richmond Elementary Links
2020-2021 ROCORI Elementary Handbook Supplement
For student safety, some adjustments are being made to the student handbook for the 2020-2021 school year due to COVID-19. The policies and procedures identified in this supplement will override what is written in the handbook.
COVID-19 and Absences:
Students who are absent from school for COVID-19 testing or waiting for test results will be considered excused.
Students who test positive for COVID-19 will receive excused absences for days of school missed and should follow guidance from, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Stearns County Public Health (SCPH), and their doctor when planning a return to school. See linked resources below.
School will work with any student who tests positive for COVID-19 to make up work after the student has been deemed healthy enough to resume their studies and follows guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health for return
Quarantine and Absences:
If a student and family is alerted that a student is considered a “close contact” of someone who tested positive for COVID-19, that student will follow guidance from the MDH, SCPH, and the school nurse for quarantining from school.
Close Contact: MDH defines a close contact as anyone who was within 6 feet of the person who is sick while they were considered to be infectious, for 15 minutes or more (regardless of whether either person wore a cloth face covering or face shield).
Students in quarantine who are not showing symptoms of COVID-19 and are physically able to complete schoolwork are expected to keep up with assignments from class.
The daily schedule will be modified to accommodate passing times, breakfast, and lunch.
Keep-In-Touch (K.I.T.) will not occur during the 2020-21 school year. Please work with your child’s teacher to continue to build strong school-home communication.
Mask Usage: In accordance with Emergency Executive Order 20-81, students will be required to wear masks while at school. If you are unable to tolerate a face-covering due to a medical condition or disability-related condition you may be permitted to utilize alternative options such as a face shield or other reasonable accommodation. Please submit a doctor’s note stating the reason you are unable to wear a mask to your building’s principal.
Masks will be treated as part of the dress code policy.
Other procedures in the ROCORI School District restart blueprint.
Resources:
Decision Tree for People with COVID-19 Symptoms: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/schools/exguide.pdf
What to do when waiting for COVID-19 results: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/waiting.pdf
Richmond Elementary School
Email: johnsonk@rocori.k12.mn.us
Website: https://www.rocori.k12.mn.us/richmond-elementary-home
Location: 34 2nd Street Northeast, Richmond, MN, USA
Phone: (320)597-2016
Facebook: facebook.com/RichmondElementary
Twitter: @RichmondElemen1