EEA Parent & Student News
November 2020
A message from your Principal
Welcome to November, EEA Families!
First of all, I'd like to extend a huge thank you to the families who joined us for the October virtual family night! I also am so grateful to the staff who made such a fun event for all of us and took care of making sure we all had the supplies we needed to participate - it was great fun!
Another big thank you to the staff and students for making the return to in-person learning so smooth this week. Easing into the "new" with fewer students is working very well and helping everyone adjust.
Attendance is still very important, even in the virtual setting. Our students have 5 attendance periods per day they are expected to engage in. They should be on advisory at 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. daily. Then they have either APEX periods or classes with Ms. Lukens or Mr. Marsh from 9:40-3:30. They are expected to be actively working and asking for help if needed. We have very easy ways in place for students to get the help they need, but we can't read minds - they need to reach out. Some of you may have received 10-day absence letters and others had conversations in conferences about creating a plan to avoid any further attendance issues. We are here to help! We have attendance expectations placed on us as well - we can't teach the kids if they aren't showing up how they are supposed to be (virtually or in-person).
We know times are challenging right now, please let us know if there are ways we can help!
Dr. Young
Important dates in November
* If your student is attending in person, please make sure we have your current phone numbers in case we need to reach you to notify of a classroom returning to virtual-only learning, or to notify you if your child has become ill while at school.
Meet your EEA Staff
Student Camera Privacy
As you know EEA uses a program called Go Guardian to monitor student’s internet activity on WSD devices. This program allows staff to see a student’s screen in real time during school hours, to see what they are working on to help them with their APEX assignments and to do GG Chat for submitting assignments and communicating with staff in this virtual environment. Unfortunately, EEA staff can sometimes also see a student’s screen when they are ready to enter a google meet before they hit the join button. We have tried working with the WSD IT department to auto disable the cameras and that was working until another google extension that allows them to change their background was installed. This program overrides the blocks we had in place. If students are changing their Google background before a meet, EEA staff can see them before they join the meeting.
We need to go OLD SCHOOL! From now on, camera responsibility is in the hands of the students!!! The only way to 100% prevent EEA staff from seeing them through our security program, Go Guardian is for each student to take the responsibility to cover their camera.
Students will be receiving sticky notes this week. Students should use these sticky notes to cover the camera on their chrome book when they do not want to be seen. These are reusable until the sticky wears off and then use what you have available to cover the camera opening. (A post it, a folded piece of paper, washi tape etc.) Do not use anything that will damage the screen.
Prior to receiving these sticky notes, students should be using what they have available at home to cover their cameras. This is a good Digital Security life skill for all. To always protect your privacy, you need to insure that your camera is not in use until you authorize it.
For some classes, students may need to have the camera on and to be visible, whatever students use to cover the camera, it must be something that is easily removable when they are ready to authorize the camera.
Cameras are only on when students are accessing Google Meet or other similar sites. No one is spying into your workspace or home! The issue is with Google meet and GG video chat. Once a student logs into the meet the camera can start automatically.
If a student can see themselves on the screen, we can see them.
Thank you for your understanding. Please let your child’s advisor know if you have any questions.
NCHC Youth Behavioral Health Clinic
Covid-19 Resources
https://www.marshfieldclinic.org/specialties/infectious-diseases/coronavirus-update
https://www.aspirus.org/coronavirus-covid19
https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/clinic-locator/covid-19-testing/wausau-covid-10172.html
Mask Wearing Policies
● Face coverings can be removed outside as long as 6 feet of distance is maintained.
● Face coverings may be temporarily removed to eat or drink, but care should be taken to maintain as much space as possible between people, recognizing it is not always feasible to maintain 6 feet of distance from others.
● People who are entering the school building during the day may be required by school staff to briefly remove their face covering for the purposes of checking identification.
● Staff working alone in their offices, classrooms, vehicles, or other job locations who do not have any person-to-person interaction.
● When communicating with a person who is deaf or hard of hearing or has a disability, medical condition, or mental health condition that makes communication with a face covering difficult, provided that social distancing is maintained to the extent possible.
A letter on letterhead will be required from a Physician or Licensed Mental Health Practitioner in order for any staff, student aged 5 and older or visitor to be exempt from wearing a face covering. The masking requirement will be evaluated each month at the board meeting by the Wausau School Board.
The face covering cannot have any holes, mesh, or vents and must cover the nose and mouth. Gators are not considered to be an acceptable face covering.
A face shield can be worn in addition to a face covering.
Protocol if a student refuses to wear a face covering or continuously removes their face covering:
1st offense: Verbal reminder from staff member and reteach of safety protocol
2nd offense: Teacher will contact the parent/guardian and administrator will be notified
3rd offense: The student will be placed in a virtual classroom and will be required to learn remotely.
Mercury Reduction Program Info
EEA Learning Academy
Email: azarnke@wausauschools.org
Website: http://eea.wausauschools.org/
Location: 2607 North 18th Street, Wausau, WI, USA
Phone: 715-261-0636
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EEALearningAcademy