Faculty Focus
COVID- Style
Parent Square is the new school-wide communication tool at EES!
A Note on Re-Opening the School
We will begin the year this way. Things may change as the year goes on depending upon the current situation with the pandemic. We may be able to remove some of the restrictions. We also may have to temporarily close school and move to NTI again. Our team will have to be flexible, understanding and positive to weather this storm. Whatever changes, adjustments or barriers come our way, we will overcome them and do our jobs because our jobs are some of the most important jobs in the world, and they matter to the most important people in the world- the future. Our best will be good enough. We can do this together!
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Healthy and Safe at School
To contain exposure to possible virus germs, the following changes will be made.
Social distancing will need to take place at all times by staff, students and visitors.
BEFORE SCHOOL
- There will be no before school care.
- Students may not enter the building before 8:30.
- Staff children will be able to enter early with parents. They must be masked and must be in classrooms. Groups of staff kids can't play together unmasked or unsupervised. When they are in the building, it is my responsibility to ensure we are following the regulations to keep everyone safe.
ARRIVAL FOR STAFF
Parking:
Please do not park in the playground or block the entrance to the playground. Parents will be parking there each morning.
Starting the Day:
- Masks will need to be worn when you are moving. This means masks need to be worn as you enter the building and walk to your room. Masks will need to be worn as you greet your students. They can be taken off when you are stationary and at least 6 feet apart from everyone.
- Staff will need to arrive, be clocked in and be standing at your doors by 8:30, because students will be entering the building at this time, and we need you to
- Each staff member will have a thermometer buddy. It will be the person across the hall from you. You will share a thermometer each morning.
- Staff members need to take their temperatures every morning before students arrive and sign a form. Each person will have a folder with copies of the form kept on your desk.
- If your temperature is 100 or higher, please come to the First Aid Room right away for further evaluation. Mrs. Aimee will re-test you in 15 minutes. We will also need to notify Mrs. April so we can being potentially securing a substitute.
ARRIVAL FOR STUDENTS
Note:
· Busses will drop off in bus loop
· Parents will drop off on the side of building
· Staff ready to monitor at 8:30 start time (at doors)
- All students who ride the bus must wear a mask.
- There will be staff members who do not have a homeroom who are assigned to the same bus every day
- Their job is to help the students from that bus get from the bus to the classrooms while following safety protocol
- Buses arrive as close to 8:30 as possible
- We will dismiss buses once at a time beginning at 8 :30
- Teachers standing at doors in hallways at 8:30
- Students greeted by teacher, temperature taken and enter classroom
Arrival Walking or on Bicycle
- - Walker and bicycle riders must arrive and cross together at the crosswalk with school staff at 8: 30.
- They must be wearing a mask upon entering school property.
- - They can’t cross earlier than 8:30.
- - The will enter the building will the bus students.
Arrival by Car
- Parent Drop-off students may be dropped off starting at 8:40
- - Parents can begin the drop-off line before 8:40 by parking in the playground
- - J Neace and JStef will assist with parking
- - Spillover from drop-off parking will form traditional drop-off line
- - At 8:40, staff who are assigned to monitor PPU will be waiting by gym/cafeteria and front lobby doors area to monitor the walking in of drop-off students and ensure they get to their spots while following guidelines
- - At 8:40, JStef will begin holding spillover line and directing parents out of the parking lot in order to side of the building where JNeace is standing
- - Mrs. Pass will radio when last bus has left the loop
- - JStef will then direct 20 of those parents on to the bus loop where Mrs. Pass will be standing
- - Parents will establish a drop off line in the bus loop
- - After Mr. S has directed 20 cars on to the bus loop, he will establish a drop-off routine in the side of the building where it typically is
- That means there are two drop-off lines going on at the same time to expedite the process
- - Mrs. Pass will radio Mr. S when the bus loop is ready for 20 more cars
- - MR. S will then direct 20 more cars to move on to the bus loop to drop off students
- - After 20 cars, he will pick up the drop off routine in the side of the building again
- - When the parking lot is clear, the spillover drop-off line can begin running through the side of the building
- Students will enter through the gym door and the lobby doors and walk to their classrooms
Arrival to the Classroom
- As students arrive to the classroom, teachers will take their temperatures.
- Mrs. Aimee will be providing a quick training on taking temperatures.
- Student temperatures do not need to be recorded.
- Teachers may not ask health questions to students.
- We will have non-homeroom staff members assigned to each hallway every day. If a student has a temperature of 100 or above, please send them to this staff member. This staff member will gather the bus riders with elevated temperatures and take them to the library. They will return to the hallway and gather any parent drop-offs students who have elevated temperatures in your hallway and take them to the library.
- Mrs. Dawson will be helping the kids with fevers stay calm until Ms. Aimee can further evaluate. Mrs. Beth will be handling the daily morning issues in the First Aid Room.
- Students will not be sent back to the room if they have a temperature. If Mrs. Aimee has evaluated them and they are OK, she will send them back to class.
- Students will need to bring as clear water bottle, as we won't be able to offer the use of our water fountains to students this year. They will be able to fill them using water bottle fillers on top of the water fountains.-
Hallways
Hallways will be marked with stickers on the floor 6 feet apart. One sticker will indicate all students moving in one direction (north toward the cafeteria from the academic wing). Another sticker on the other side of the hallway will indicate students moving the other directions (south back toward the academic wing).
Teachers will have to be aware of classes in the hallway and try to bring your class out when other classes are clear of the hallway as much as possible.
Access to classroom and hallway water fountains will be restricted. Students may have one labeled, clear water bottle in their cubbies in your room.
We will be receiving 6 hand sanitizing stations from the district. They will be put up around the building.
Classrooms- NEEDS TO BE EDITED
Students will not be allowed to share school supplies and materials. The school will have a supply closet available to teachers for students who do not have basic, adequate supplies. They should not share with a friend. This may look like each student having their own pencil box and parent replenishing the box as needed.
Classroom libraries will be discouraged until further notice. You do not need to remove the books, but maybe put a curtain over the bookshelf for now. Students will be encouraged to use the online tools we provide to read books on their devices.
BREAKFAST
Note: (times are estimated)
· Parents will use Parent Square or Google to fill out breakfast/ lunch for the week
· Breakfast will be on a cart in a grab-and-go bag
· At 8:50, Ms. Leah’s team will be around to give breakfast to your students who need it.
o Specials teachers will do breakfast with 4th grade
· Students will get breakfast and eat it in your room.
· At 9:00, Mr. Rod will have garbage cans in the hallway for breakfast garbage.
· Students need to put their bags in the garbage cans outside your doors.
· The cans will be removed at 9:15.
LUNCH
Note:
· Based on the numbers we have from last year, about half the class packs and half the class buys.
· Half the class will eat in the room while the other half will go to the cafeteria.
· There will be lunch aides assigned to each classroom and to the lunchroom.
· Lunch Aides will come to each classroom.
· Packers will stay in the classroom and get no extras if you pack.
· Teacher will escort school lunch buyers by classroom down to the lunchroom.
· Students will line up in both lines, go through the line and sit down in their assigned seat for lunch. These seats will be 6 feet apart.
· Students stay seated for lunch.
· Café aides take garbage cans around tables and students throw bag in garbage when finished.
· Teachers come pick up buyers from lunch and bring them back to class.
MID-DAY ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL FOR PRE-K and K
Note:
· PRE-K and K BUS on the SIDE
· Ms. Paula’s bus in loop
· parents in bus loop behind Ms. Paula
· For the first few weeks, cones will be set out to give space between Ms. Paula’s bus and parents in parent pick-up – this will also be communicated to parents who are picking up not to pass or get near this bus
Ms. PAULA’s BUS 11:45
· Mrs. Aimee escorts students out to Ms. Paula’s bus. Students get on bus and head out. Parent pick-ups move forward.
K BUS 11:55
· K teachers walk bus riders out to the side of the building. They dismiss by classroom. Students stand in line and/or enter bus
K PARENT PICK-UP 11:50
Note:
· Parent Pick Up for Pre-K and K may not arrive earlier than 11:50
· Early parents pull up behind Mrs. Paula bus and stop
· At 11:58, paras walk Kindergarten PICK-Ups to the loop
· Students stand on chalk K’s under the awning (They will leave 8 spots open toward the front door marked with P’s (preschoolers)
· The line will start on the first K
· Parents are parked in the loop and get out of the car and stand by their car (masked) holding their number.
· One K aide goes to cars to identify parent, tells the others which child it is, and the child walks to the car and K para ensures they enter the right car safely.
PRESCHOOL BUS 12:00
· At 12, the preschool teacher walks to the bus via the gym
· The teacher and one para get students off bus and put students on bus
· Students will be brought inside the gym by para to allow for social distancing
· Teacher will ensure students get safely on the bus
PRESCHOOL PICK-UP 12:00
· The preschool para walks the pick-ups to the front and they line up on the Ps.
· The preschool parents should be last in line since their students are released later.
They get out and stand next to their car holding their child's number.
· The K para walks up to the cars and tells the preschool para which child the car is picking up.
· The preschool para sends the student toward the K para and K para ensures they enter the right car safely.
SPECIALS
Physical Education
My goal is to still have PE for your students. The students will have an individual PE bag with his/her name on it with individual PE equipment. This bag will need to be kept in his/her cubby. PE is the only special we feel is safe for the students to travel to because they won't be touching furniture, tables, chairs, etc. Students will hand sanitize on the way in and on the way out. They will be wearing masks during PE. There will be one spot on the bleachers marked off for a student who may need to rest or take the mask off to breathe heavily. Mr. Stefanopoulos will clean this spot between students using it. The students will only touch their individual PE bags and materials. They will pack their bags up and bring them back to their classroom.
RECESS
Note:
David will be giving us ideas for indoor recess to try our best to comply with wellness policy and health and safety of students and staff
· Recess will be done weather permitting by stations.
· The playground equipment will be closed.
· The classes will stay with their class. They will rotate stations each day.
· Preschool should work with K rotation for recess areas.
· Groups with 5 can choose to eliminate one of the stations out of the rotation
Station 1: Bus Loop *second and fourth may have times where afternoon pick-up and/or drop off is lingering, so that class will need to wait next to the bus loop in the grass until the bus loop is clear to use it
Station 2: Grassy Berm area outside green hallway door
Station 3: Middle of Grassy Berm area
Station 4: Baseball infield
Station 5: Baseball outfield
Station 6: Blacktop
Instructional Model
Instructional Day
Students will be staying in the same classroom as much as possible. This means we will limit changing environments to recess, PE and lunch.Teachers are able to switch rooms, but students will stay.
Mustang Round-Up Time
We will not be switching for Mustang Round-Up time. This time will still be designed as TIER 2, to meet students where they are on mastery of grade-level standards. This will need to be done in your classroom with your homeroom students this year, as it has been done years in the past.
Mentoring
Mentoring time will be every Friday at the end of the day. For the beginning of the year, you will be mentoring your own students. This is a set time for you to do Class Building / Team Building and SEL activities targeted to the needs of your class.
DISMISSAL
- WALKERS AND BICYCLE RIDERS
- · Walker and Bicycle riders will be dismissed first
- · These students will meet Mrs. Rice on the blue curve to check out
- · They will walk out together and cross with Mrs. Rice
- MRS. WELLS and MRS. LOUDEN students released to busses
- PARENT-PICK-UP
- · Teachers without a homeroom will be assigned to grade levels
- · After walkers are called, they will pick up the parent pick-ups and walk them to the gym
- · In the gym, the students will be socially distanced on the bleachers by class
- · Parent Pick-ups will be then called as the normal system
- BUS
- · Ms. Paula’s bus loads
- · Bus riders will then be dismissed by class by grade level, Pre-K and then K going first.
- · Each classroom will dismiss individually to avoid cross exposure.
- · Students will walk out and board busses.
Visitors and Volunteers
Visitors will be limited. Only 2 visitors will be allowed in the office at one time.
There will be no lunch visitors. All pick-ups and drop-off will be handled outside of the building at a station that will be set up using a durable tall container with labeled shelving. There will be no lunch visitors and no classroom visitors, even for special occasions.
All visitors must wear masks and have their temperature taken.
All volunteer work will need to take place after hours and be approved by Rod Niesus ahead of time so he can add to the cleaning schedule to sanitize the area in the evening after the volunteer has completed the job. The volunteer will have to be at school at 4 PM to ensure his/her temperature is taken.
Intermittent School Closure
Should we need to switch from our current instructional plan to students learning entirely from home, we have a plan to ensure teachers and students can engage in high level learning through the time of closure.
Using a blended learning style and platform like Google Classroom, teachers and paras will be ready at any moment to switch to NTI Instruction.
At the beginning of the year, parents will be surveyed to find out who has a device at home. Families who DO NOT have devices and agree to the terms will be given a Chromebook to keep at home. These families will be serviced first. Families who do have devices at home but believe they will need one for an emergency NTI situation will be taken care of next. We have about 150 Chromebooks we could possibly send home for this school year only. Students will not bring these Chromebooks back and fourth to school.
Students will still have 1:1 access to Chromebooks at school.
The expectations of NTI in the case of intermittent closure will be similar to the expectations during the Spring shutdown.
All work during NTI will be digital. There will be no pick-ups and drop-offs.
Blended Learning Models v NTI
Blended Learning- Blended Learning is a way to design instruction so that students are using digital tools mixed with more traditional, face-to-face instruction. There are many models that can be used to achieve this.
Blended Learning differs from NTI in that the learning is intentionally designed to integrate the best parts of face-to-face and digital instruction. This is not intended to be used off and on in emergency situations and school closures. This is a model that schools use every year in education, not just in emergency situations.
NTI- NTI stands for Non-Traditional Instruction. NTI is designed to be ready to take the place of traditional instruction when an emergency school closure has to take place.
NTI differs from Blended Learning in that it is not an instructional model. It is just for emergency situations and does not include face-to-face instruction.