#KSD Ready & Resilient
Update from Kuna Superintendent Wendy Johnson
8.27.2020
- Welcoming your students back next week!
- First day of school essentials
- Parents: Tips on back-to-school emotions and children
- Riding the bus will be little different this fall
- Updated bell times
- How meals work in our blue/gold schedule
- What happens when students are sick
- Tech staff will contact Wifi hotspot applicants
- Low-cost device insurance now available for families!
- How to watch Friday's football game; Update on fall sports season
Welcoming your students back next week!
We are so excited for our students -- your children -- to return for in person learning with their teachers when school starts Monday and Tuesday. We are one of the few large school districts in the Treasure Valley that will be serving students in person.
We are able to do this by working closely with Central District Health Department and by putting in prevention measures. School will look different and we will do many things different because we want to prevent the spread of the virus and stay open, and eventually have students come to school every day.
These changes might be unsettling for some. Please watch our first video with some great tips for parents to help your children manage this change.
What hasn't changed is our love and commitment to your children and their education and their well being.
We also remain steadfast in our gratitude for our community - your generosity in providing masks, supplies, & more and your support of our supplemental levy. Thanks to the levy, we have Chromebooks for our students and staff and we can provide quality distance learning this fall.
It's is a lot of hard to work to open schools for students amid a pandemic, but worth it.
We are eager to start the year with our Blue students Monday and Gold students Tuesday!
Stay safe!
Wendy
Parents: Tips on back-to-school emotions and children
The start of school, not to mention starting in a pandemic, can be unsettling for some children. In this video, KSD's Sheila Blewett offers three tips for parents:
- Talk about emotions
- Remind youth they're not alone
- Focus on hope
Here are links to information referenced in the video:
Riding the bus will be little different this fall
- Frequent cleaning of buses
- Loading buses back to front
- Drivers & riders required to wear face coverings
Bus pick up and drop off times posted on district website. Remember the first weeks of school routes may change to adjust to new students and road conditions. We appreciate your patience!
Updated bell schedule, route information
How meals work in our blue/gold schedule
In this video, Assistant Superintendent Dave Reinhart reviews how physical distancing impacts meals when students are in the building and he talks about the plan to distribute meals for students when they aren't in school or online only.
Meals on Remote/E-Days Start Sept. 8
We hoped Congress would extend the program that allowed for free meals to families when students are in remote learning. This didn't happen.
We will provide breakfast and lunch to students when they are in school the first week of school and expand services in the second week to provide curbside meals for our remote and online only learners. This will start Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Those who do not qualify for free meals will pay either the reduced price or full price for the meal. Student identification numbers must be provided as well as payment through a My School Bucks account or cash. More details to come.
Meal Prices
Breakfast
- Breakfast (Elementary/Secondary) Free
- Student Second Breakfast $2.75
Lunch
- Elementary Lunch $2.75
- Middle School / High School Lunch $3.25
- Reduced Lunch (Elementary/Secondary) $0.40
- Student Second Lunch $4.25
- Milk (White or Chocolate )$0.50
Apply for Free or Reduced Priced Meals
Families may apply for free or reduced price meals using this link.
What happens when students are sick
In the video above, Assistant Superintendent Dave Reinhart talks about the health training and staff that are being added to schools this year to support nurses in serving our students and staff. He also reviews what to do when your child is sick.
Given the COVID pandemic and absence of a vaccine, we ask families to help prevent the spread of the virus by being cautious when their children become sick and keep them home. We are relaxing attendance requirements and no awards will be given for “perfect attendance.”
When the spread of the virus is in the red zone, students and staff who become ill will be spending more time away from school than in the past.
Below is a chart to help you when your child is ill. Please do not send them to school if they have any of the following symptoms: fever, chills, new or unusual headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, cough, muscle aches, sore throat, shortness of breath, fatigue, congestion or a runny nose. Keep them home until they are symptom free -- without medicine -- for at least 24 hours.
If a student comes to school with symptoms or becomes ill at school, they will be sent home with instructions on when to return.
We will work with families to provide access to the learning so they can still “attend” the learning from a distance.
How to watch Friday's football game; Update on fall sports season
Central District Health Department’s limit on gatherings of 10 or less means no tailgate parties or spectators at Friday's Kuna High School's junior varsity and varsity football games against Lewiston.
Live stream the game!
Anyone can watch the game -- for a fee -- through the NFHS (Pixellot) streaming service: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/kuna-high-school-kuna-id
NFHS does not offer a single game option. Instead for $10.99, the subscriber gets access to a month of streaming service. (Annual plans also are available) This service includes all sports that are streamed by our district AND the subscriber can watch games streamed by other districts including many in the Treasure Valley.
Season Outlook
Our players and coaches have done a terrific job following safety protocols and staying healthy and practicing. They're ready to play. Kuna High is the only school in our 5A conference of 11 schools competing.
Here's what has happened:
West Ada, Boise, and Nampa are starting the school year in remote learning -- all online.
West Ada, Boise, and Nampa school boards did not authorize their sports teams to compete and in some cases teams are not practicing
All of our SIC competitors are in these three districts
Non-conference 5A teams in northern and southern Idaho have full schedules
Central District Health officials recommend sports team avoid hot spots and play close-to-home rather than travel
We're hopeful that the spread of the virus in the urban areas of Ada and Canyon counties will continue to drop and our SIC neighbors will return to the playing fields and gyms for fall sports.
There is hope. West Ada’s school board is discussing sports again next week.
In the meantime, our coaches and activities directors are contacting other schools to see if schedules are changing and opportunities opening up.
Tech staff will contact Wifi hotspot applicants
Low-cost device insurance now available for families!
Superintendent Wendy Johnson
Email: ksdcommunications@kunaschools.org
Website: www.kunaschools.org
Location: 711 East Porter Street, Kuna, ID, USA
Phone: 208-922-1000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kuna-Jt-School-District-No-3
Twitter: @Supt_Wendy_J