Woodcrest Spanish Immersion
September 9, 2020 Newsletter
See translation information below / Consulte la información de traducción a continuación.
Greetings Woodcrest families,
We are very excited to begin the school year with your children. Teachers are making final refinements to their plans and we are ready to begin tomorrow. On the eve of the first days of school, we have a few reminders for what students and families will be experiencing in the upcoming days.
Kindergartners: Kindergarten teachers look forward to meet & greet opportunities with all families. Please refer to information about signing up for a meeting time that has been shared with you. Kindergarteners in the Modified Campus Schedule (Hybrid) Model will come to school starting tomorrow, Sept. 10. They will come to school each day going forward, in alignment with a traditional school calendar. Kindergarteners in the Extended Flexible Learning (Distance Learning) model will have information from the teacher about when and where to meet on WebEx.
First graders: Teachers look forward to online meet and greet opportunities starting tomorrow and Friday. They will be flexible and are able to meet into next week to ensure a convenient time to meet with families. First graders in the Modified Campus Schedule (Hybrid) model will have their first day at school on Monday, Sept. 14. They will come to school each day after that in alignment with a traditional school calendar. First graders in the Extended Flexible Learning (distance learning) model will have information from their teacher on the schedule for learning.
Grade 2-4 students: Teachers look forward to online meet & greet opportunities starting tomorrow and Friday. Please check communication from homeroom teachers for specific information about times and how to access learning experiences for learning at home days. Students in the hybrid model in the “A” group will have their first day learning at school on Monday, Sept. 14, and will come to school on Mondays and Thursdays after that. Students in the hybrid model in the “B” group will have their first learning at school day on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and will come to school on Tuesdays and Fridays after that.
Face masks are required for anyone coming to the school building. Staff will be monitoring students as they get on the bus or are dropped off in the parent line-up each morning. It is very important to remember that all students must wear a face mask and are prepared to do so.
Arrival and dismissal procedures are critical for ensuring the health and safety of all. If you will be dropping off and picking up students at Woodcrest in the coming days for learning at school days, please pay particular attention to the information provided in this week’s newsletter. We ask all families to follow these guidelines as they drop off and pick up students at school.
We are excited to welcome and get to know each of your children and acquaint ourselves with each of you during our Meet & Greet opportunities. All staff at Woodcrest Spanish Immersion are committed to personalizing learning experiences for each of your children, and we are excited for the year to begin.
John Franke
Interim Principal
Woodcrest Spanish Immersion Arrival and Dismissal Information
Student Arrival and Dismissal
To ensure the highest level of safety for all students, we ask all families to follow these guidelines to ensure physical safety and safety for those entering and exiting the parking lots. It is important that students remain in vehicles until 8:50 a.m. when staff members welcome them to enter the building.
Please know that the northern exit of our large parking lot is currently under construction and not usable. When exiting the parking lot, please be patient and careful.
Family Drop-Off
Families of Kindergarten and 1st grade students:
Park in the parking lot in the SOUTH (nearest to the large playground) parking lot and wait for staff to welcome your child/ren at 8:50 a.m.
Park in the WEST (nearest to the small playground) parking lot and wait for staff to welcome your child/ren
At 8:50 a.m., a staff member will welcome students car-by-car to school. This will ensure social distancing and a warm personal welcome. We will welcome by parking row, starting with the row closest Van Buren St.
As students enter the building they will be welcomed/guided by a number of other staff along the way (re-enforcing social distancing and greeting students along the way).
Families with students in grades 2-4:
Use the “Parent drop-off circle.”
Families park within the circle and wait for staff to welcome your child/ren.
Family Pick Up at Dismissal
All students will exit from Door #1. To ensure a safe and orderly dismissal time, families will be assigned a number. Parents/Families must stay at their vehicle. For safety reasons, we encourage you to stand outside of your vehicle with your number in hand. This way, students and parents have a clear view of one another during dismissal time. Staff will identify your assigned number and will radio for your child/ren.
Your assigned parking spot number will also be your child's dismissal number. Student dismissal will begin at 3:45 p.m.
Families of Kindergarten and 1st grade students:
Park in the SOUTH or WEST lots and wait for your child/ren to join you at the vehicle.
Families with students in grades 2-4:
Park in the parent drop-off circle and wait for your child to join you at the vehicle.
Welcome to the 2020-2021 School Year
Taking and Tracking Attendance
This fall, we will be taking attendance in our different learning models following guidance from Minnesota Department of Education.
Modified Campus Schedules (Hybrid Learning)
For K-4 students who are participating in the modified campus schedules, attendance will be taken in the following ways:
- On "learning at school" days, attendance will be taken based on a student's presence at school
- On "interactive learning at home" days, attendance will be taken based on student attendance in the "live" sessions for the day
- On the "on-demand learning at home" day (Wednesday), attendance will be taken based on students posting completed work for that day as assigned.
Extended Flexible Learning (Distance Learning)
For K-4 students who are participating in full-time extended flexible learning, attendance will be taken and recorded at the end of each day based on student attendance in the "live" sessions for the day.
Parents are asked to call the attendance line at 763-600-5809 to report a student absence when a student is too ill to attend school in person, and/or participate in "live" sessions, and/or complete daily work expectations. Parents should also call the attendance line if a student will miss instruction for other reasons, including vacations, appointments, etc.
If students in either learning model are experiencing frequent absences, students and families will have follow-up conversations with school staff to identify and resolve access concerns or other barriers to participating in instruction.
School meals this fall
Students need access to nutritious meals in order to learn well. Spring Lake Park Schools' Nutrition Services Department continues to participate in the USDA Summer Food Service Program which has now been extended through December 31, 2020 for as long as federal funds are available. Through this program, breakfast and lunch is provided at no cost to all enrolled students.
Here is what you need to know about available meal service as school begins:
- Students learning at school will have access to breakfast and lunch at no cost.
- Students learning at home can pick up a daily meal pack that includes one breakfast and lunch at the Spring Lake Park High School, 1100 81st Avenue Northeast; Door #32 (look for the blue tent). Meal pick up is available Monday – Friday, 9-11 a.m. and 1-2:30 p.m.
Families should still complete the application for free and reduced-price meals as soon as possible, even if you don’t believe you’re eligible. It is necessary to apply for this benefit each year, and funding supports families directly and a variety of needs in our schools.
Guidelines for families on peanut/nut aware classrooms
Spring Lake Park Schools is continuing to emphasize practices that make our schools safe for all students. This work includes partnering with parents in adopting peanut and nut aware practices. Many students in our schools have severe allergies to tree nuts, peanuts, peanut butter, and/or products which contain nuts. Strict avoidance is the best way to prevent a severe allergic reaction. Accidental ingestion or even touching a tiny trace of a nut may cause a potentially fatal reaction for some students.
In an effort to ensure all students are safe throughout the school day, we are asking parents to partner with us to ensure the safety of our students. We need help in supporting the following guidelines to make our classrooms peanut/nut aware:
- All classrooms will be peanut/nut aware throughout Spring Lake Park Schools
- Please do not send any classroom snacks containing nuts, peanuts, peanut butter, or other nut products for daily snacks
- Students who have nut products in their lunch or snack will be removed from the classroom to eat in an alternate location.
- Please be aware of products that may be produced in a plant that contains peanuts/nuts
- Check out the Snack Safely website to reference what snacks and lunch items are safe to send.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Woodcrest's Health Care Specialist.
First Day of School Signs for the 2020-2021 School Year
We love to see students on the first day of school, so we created first day of school photo signs for each grade that families can print or pull up on their iPad and use in their first day of school photos. Don't forget to tag us and use #SLPPantherProud when you post your photos! Find the signs at SpringLakeParkSchools.org/backtoschool.
Download the MyStop Bus Tracking App
Is your student riding the bus this fall? MyStop is a web-based application which allows parents and students access to live GPS information for morning and afternoon school bus routes. MyStop displays the school bus’s approximate location on a map, as well as the estimated time of arrival (ETA) to a specific student’s bus stop.
To download the MyStop app, go to the iTunes store for iOS devices (iPhones and iPads) or Google Play for Android devices. Look for “Versatrans MyStop and click to download.
10 Tips for Successful Learning at Home
We asked for tips and tricks to help students and families be successful learning at home. Here are our SLP top ten:
- Establish a routine and limit distractions.
- Designate a learning space for students where they can be productive, preferably not where they sleep.
- Make WebEx, Flipgrid and other technology resources easy to access. Write down codes and passwords on a piece of paper and tape it in the student work area.
- Take a break. Build exercise into a break.
- Use a bucket or a box for learning supplies that are needed each day. Put all items back in the bucket at the end of the day so it's easy to find the next day.
- Keep iPads charged.
- Complete school work throughout the week. (Don't put everything off until the weekend.)
- Check in to see how things are going each day -- academically and emotionally.
- Communicate with teachers. We're all in this together. Connect and ask if you have questions or concerns.
- Organize a study group where students can connect and work together.
September 11- Second Day of school for students in Kindergarten
September 14- Students in Kinder, grade 1, and students grades 2-4 in group A attend Woodcrest
September 15- Students in Kinder, grade 1, and students grades 2-4 in group B attend Woodcrest
In case you missed important information from last week's newsletter, check out the topics below and click to learn more.
- One-Page Overviews of What Students and Families can Expect for Learning Experiences Model - Within the Overview of Learning Models and Schedules section
- Make sure your child's immunization records are up-to-date
- View School Supply Lists
- Apply now for Free or Reduced-Priced Meal Benefits for the 2020-2021 School Year
- Make a Plan for Internet Access
Translate This Newsletter / Traducir Este Boletín
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Para traducir este boletín de noticias a otro idioma, por favor presionen en cualquier lugar del boletín para abrir el boletín en un navegador web y en la parte superior de la página seleccione su idioma del menú.