Life at Ambleside
I am, I can, I ought, I will
From The Desk of Mrs. Flora and Mrs. Vosburg
Dear Ambleside Families,
I pray this email finds each of you and your loved ones well.
In this newsletter we will do our best not to speculate and not “what if” rather our focus will be on what we know we will do and as more guidelines are presented we will make decisions that are best for the students and faculty and share with each of you.
You may have seen that Governor Abbott signed an order separating private schools from TEA COVID guidelines, we are to use them to help structure what works for our campus as a small private school. Many of the things listed as guidelines we already do such as having children do chores to keep their school clean, no gathering in a large cafeteria or gymnasium.
Here are things we will do for certain:
Instruction will be in person (unless another shut down mandates we must close). We will not be offering an in person or virtual option at this time. Our plan is to begin and continue with in person instruction. We plan to begin according to the calendar previously sent and included in this newsletter below. Kinder-12th grade will begin with 1/2 days from 8-12 starting on August 24th. During this time we will not require chapel uniforms students will wear their Tuesday-Friday uniforms daily. Upper school gentlemen may wear shorts similar to uniform shorts with a collared shirt. We will not have chapel during this time, students will begin their day with a devotional and prayer time in their individual classrooms. Pre- k students will join us starting September 8th. Beginning September 8th we will have full in person instruction. Our school doors will open at 7:40 am not before. Dismissal will be staggered.
Our faculty, staff and students will have access to PPE as needed.
Each faculty member will self disclose daily if they have any of the symptoms or test positive for COVID.
Arrival to campus will be different. Students will enter the building and go to their classroom. Each student will have their temperature taken upon entry to the classroom. Each classroom will be equipped with a touch less thermometer. If a student has a fever they will be sent to the HOS office and then home for 48 hours, 24 must be fever free without medication before returning. Teachers will be at their doors to greet students. We will no longer gather in the backyard before chapel as distancing can not occur. Students will go directly to their classroom and remain there.
Automatic hand sanitizing stations have been purchased and will be in place before school begins.
Outdoor play and exercise will still occur, schedules have been constructed so that there are no more than two classes in the backyard at a time.
Students will clean their areas and hands frequently (this is already standard for us). Ambleside students are used to chores being a part of their day and will continue. We will increase the frequency of cleaning their individual desks during the day. Shared spaces such as the art room will be cleaned between classes.
Students will not wait in hallways for special classes to avoid crowding, schedules have been constructed to allow for time.
Students will continue to enjoy lunch in classrooms or in the backyard. We will only have two classes in the backyard at a time.
Items required for the school day should come in the morning with each student. We will not call for missing materials such as violins.
Students should plan to bring a water bottle and a packed snack and packed lunch to school each day. We will not begin the year bringing food in from Pizza Hut and chick Fil a but will revisit during the fall term. We are asking parents to please reduce the number of fast food lunches that are dropped off after the school day has begun as we are trying to reduce the number of people in and out of the building. If you have specific questions on this please e-mail hos@amblesidesanangelo.com.
Visitors on campus will have to fill out a Covid screener and have their temperature taken upon entry.
We will stagger dismissal times again this year to reduce the number of student outside at one time. Dismissal will begin at
2:50 for PK,Kinder and 1st
3:00 for 2nd-4th Grades
3:10 for 5th-12th Grades
Students will not be out before their dismissal time. If you have students dismissing at multiple times please park and wait in a parking spot. Please come at the time for your earliest pick up.
The requirement of masks, this is a tentative decision as private schools have been advised to have our school lawyer read the governor’s order and help guide our decision. As we uunderstand it now all students in grade 3 and above must wear a mask. They may remove masks for lunch, snack, outside play and for any activity that a mask may inhibit their a ability to participate. For grades pk-2nd we are awaiting clarification. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
We will close off areas that are heavily used by the individual with the lab-confirmed case (student, teacher, or staff) until the non-porous surfaces in those areas can be disinfected, unless more than 3 days have already passed since that person was on campus.
Our class sizes are small and will remain as such. For our classes that have 14 students they will be in our larger classrooms.
In non Covid campus news. We are thrilled to welcome back most of our faculty from last year and are excited to welcome two new faces.
2020-2021 Ambleside Faculty
Pre-K- JoAnna Speciale
Kinder- Deb Luther
1st Grade- Jennifer Tate
2nd Grade- Regina Steakley
3rd/4th Grade- Susan Graves
5th-7th- Karri Anne Reynolds
8th-12th- Rebecca Aidala
Office Manager/ Spanish- Olga Verastegui
Voice- Pam O’Donnell
Violin- Paula Woynton
Art- Camille Martinez
Math/ Science for 7th-12th- Rebecca Ridge
Teaching Assistant- Ashley Hurst
AfterSchool Sports- Angela Buckley
We will host “Meet Ambleside” on August 20th beginning at 5:30. We will ask everyone to wear a mask and it will be a come and go event. We will not gather with families in the chapel before as that gathering is rather large. This is not a required event but allows students to see their classrooms and meet their teacher before the first day. Please do what feels comfortable for your family.
The visual of school will look different but the heart of the school remains the same.
Nehemiah 8:10 “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Every Blessing,
Mrs. Flora and Mrs. Vosburg
Ambleside School of San Angelo
Email: HOS@amblesidesanangelo.com
Website: http://www.amblesidesanangelo.net/
Location: 511 West Harris Avenue, San Angelo, TX, USA
Phone: 325-659-1654