Back To School 2020
5th/6th Grade Face To Face Update
Zoom Q & A Meeting
I will be hosting a Q & A session Monday, 26th at 6:00 pm for families in 5th & 6th grade. Please email me your questions prior to the meeting at kristina.tepper@uticak12.org
Kristi Tepper is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: 5th & 6th Grade Q&A
Time: Oct 26, 2020 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82067764740?pwd=OVRUOElzUityakVKNGh4UG1qdzdUdz09
Meeting ID: 820 6776 4740
Passcode: siH8m3
AM/PM Placement Notification
School Hours
Our 1/2 days will follow the times listed below:
AM- 9:10am-11:50am
PM- 1:20pm-4:00pm
How will Arrival and Dismissal Work?
As a reminder, due to our security protocols, parents WILL NOT be allowed in the classroom.
Arrival Procedures
- Students will wait on a social distancing spot outside of their classroom door while they wait for their teacher to welcome them into the classroom.
- If you are driving your child to school and walking them to the classroom we are highly encouraging ONE ADULT ONLY per student (and no siblings)
- Students must wear a mask
- Masks are required for all adults and children over the age of 2 years old
- The playground is not to be used while waiting for the teacher to open the classroom door
- We will be opening up a drop off lane in the back of the building for students in 4th, 5th, & 6th grade will be able to hop out and walk to their classroom exterior door.
- Supervision does not begin until 9:00 and 1:10. Parents DO NOT leave your child unattended prior to our supervision times.
Dismissal Procedures
Car Riders:
- Parents who are picking up students after school are encouraged to stay in their cars until dismissal. This will help us maintain social distancing and reduce overcrowding in the pick-up areas.
Classes will be staggered during dismissal at these times:
- 5th Grade- 11:45 am/ 3:55 pm from their exterior classroom doors
- 6th Grade- 11:50 am / 4:00 pm from their exterior classroom doors
Self Screening / Reporting An Absence
Before your child leaves in the morning, ask these simple questions:
- In the past 10 days has the student tested positive for COVID-19?
- In the past 14 days has the student come in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19?
- Is the student experiencing one or more of the following symptoms?
- Temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher when taken by mouth
- Sore throat
- New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing
- Diarrhea, vomiting or abdominal pain
- New onset of severe headache, especially with fever
The answer should be no to all of these questions. If not, your child should remain at home for their protection and the health and safety of his/her classmates and the adults in your local school.
Please call our attendance line at 586-797-5299 to report the absence. Be sure to include the specific symptoms that your child is experiencing/reason for the absence.
Will My Child Have to Wear a Mask?
Face coverings provide an essential shield to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 from spreading from child to child, adult to child, child to adult or adult to adult. Face coverings will be used by all individuals in schools at all times. This includes hallways, indoor common areas and classrooms.
The only exceptions will be taking a water break. When removing the face covering to eat, they should only be touched by the strings and students should be careful not to rub their eyes, nose or mouth. Below is a sign being displayed at schools that shows the proper way to wear face coverings.
Building Protocols
Our school staff members have been working collaboratively to establish the health measures that will be in place when our students return. These protocols include:
- Distancing in hallways and classrooms
- Regular, scheduled handwashing with soap and water
- Limiting the sharing of personal items and supplies to small groups and disinfecting between use
- Keeping student personal items limited and making sure they are individually labeled and placed in student cubbies, desks, containers or backpacks.
- Your child may have seen evidence of these protocols through various signage in the building.
Our staff will be modeling proper protocols for our students, including line ups, movement in the halls and distancing. In addition, we have placed reminders throughout the schools about the importance of taking simple steps to support our health and safety measures.
The signs are in place to encourage students to wash their hands frequently, maintain appropriate distancing, help locate disinfecting stations and reminders on wearing face coverings. There is also signage on each UCS school entrance reminding everyone about COVID-19 protocols.
5th Grade Suggested Supply List
The following supplies are necessary both in and out of school.
pencil box or pouch
dry erase markers
pencils
glue sticks
scissors
colored pencils
colored pens for checking or for notetaking
headphones or earbuds
lanyard for mask
Kleenex
water bottle (labeled with name) We do not have a drinking fountain!
Your child can have one pencil box/pouch of supplies to carry back and forth or have two and store one in his/her desk and leave one at home. This might lighten up the backpack as they should also already have 4 notebooks, one for each main subject, to transport daily with their computer and charger.
6th Grade Suggested School Supply List
4 spiral notebooks- each a different color
highlighter
colored pencils
pencils with pencil pouch
2 ink pens
scissors
glue sticks
basic calculator
box of Kleenex
Thanks-the 6th grade team!
Transportation News
Students are eligible for transportation service if their residence is 1.5 miles or farther from the school. Elementary students should not walk further than 0.5 mile to reach a bus stop and secondary students should not walk further than one mile.
The Transportation Department and schools will be contacting families directly regarding pick up and drop off times and locations.
While On the Bus
For students receiving bus service, the commitment to health and safety for in-person learning starts and ends each day at their bus stop.
Prior to entering the bus, students will need to use hand sanitizer provided by the district and wear face coverings. The students should look to their driver for instruction on proper seating and distancing while on the bus and the process for exiting the bus at arrival at school.
Before and after each run, buses will be cleaned and disinfected, including frequently touched services and any specialized equipment students may need to ride the bus safely. If weather permits, the windows will be open to allow the air to thoroughly circulate.
Structure of the Day
They will be attending their special and logging in to their teachers meeting for attendance. For example, if your child is starting their day at home with you, they will log into TEAMS for attendance and a check in from their teacher. They will work on their independent work that the teacher has given them and they will attend their special.
Our teachers will be communicating to you what the structure of the day as time to return gets closer.
Face To Face Time-
Students will receive direct instruction from their classroom teacher core curriculum content.
Students will be able to have a short recess break outside.
Students will receive lessons on how to wash their hands and how to wear/take care of their mask.
More specific information will come directly from your child's teacher.
What If I Need to Pick My Child Up From School Early or Check Them In Late?
- For the safety of our staff and students, parents/visitors will not be allowed in the building unless they have an approved appointment.
- If you need to check your child out of school early, you will need to walk up to the main entrance, buzz the intercom and request your child be released.
- Be prepared to show ID so we can verify you are authorized to pick up the student.
- The student will check out with the office staff and then walk out the front entrance to the parent.
- If your child needs to check in late, simply walk him/her to the front door, buzz the intercom, state the reason for being late, and the student will be allowed to enter the building.
What if I need to bring something to school for my child?
How do I contact my child's teacher?
- Your child's teacher sent you an invitation to join Remind in the back to school letter. The Remind App is a quick and easy way for the teacher to communicate with you and send you information. In turn, you can also send text messages to the teacher.
- Every teacher has an email that he/she checks frequently. Feel free to email the teacher with questions or concerns. The teacher will respond within 24-48 hours.
- You may also phone the front office to leave a message for the teacher to call you. Our number is 586-797-5200.
Can I drop my child's school supplies off before the first day of school?
Visitors/Volunteers
We love having parents volunteer in our schools. Unfortunately, we need to limit the interactions among adults and students to reduce the possible spread of COVID-19.
Visitors are not permitted at school at this time. If you do have a need to meet personally with school staff, please call ahead to make an appointment. Before you arrive, please make sure you have completed a self-screening process (see appendix for self-screening document), wear a face covering and use hand sanitizer as you enter the building. Be sure to have your photo ID available.
Food Service/Meal Information
All students attending in-person programs will be provided meals by the UCS Food Services department. Meals are temporarily available at no cost through funding provided by the USDA.
All elementary students in the AM and PM programs will be provided a grab and go breakfast and lunch at the end of their school day. Please refrigerate these meals once they come home. If you prefer that your student does not receive this service, please ask your teacher to remove them from the meal count.
For allergies, please have your physician fill out and sign the MDE Dietary Needs Form. These forms need to be returned to the school or the Food and Nutrition Service office. Someone from the office of Food and Nutrition Services will contact you about the request.
More information and to see menus this link: https://uticak12.nutrislice.com/menu
UCS Wellness
Utica Community Schools has created a wellness page for parents that provides resources to make sure we are all caring for our physical, mental and social well being. The page includes resources for self-care, supporting your child and remote learning strategies.
The page is located at http://www.uticak12.org/ucs_wellness